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Barrowford Parish Plan

Recent developments in Barrowford have partly been as a result the production of the Barrowford Parish Plan, which was published in June 2008.
A copy of the Parish Plan document is available from the Home page.
A copy of the January 2009 Report from the Parish Plan Working Group is also available.

What is a Parish Plan?
A Parish Plan is a vision of how residents would like their parish to be and should aim to bring together the views, needs and opinions of the whole community.
The end result is a document which reflects the values and priorities of the Parish. The Plan should also contain suggestions for an Action Plan which will form the basis of changes to be implemented by relevant organisations and associations and should influence what happens to the parish in the future.
Parish plans are developed by each community in response to their own needs, using their unique skills and enthusiasm.
Parish planning has proved to be a successful way for rural communities to make their voices heard and deliver local changes and can also lead to improved relationships with principal authorities and service providers.

How the Barrowford Parish Plan was Developed
In September 2006 all Barrowford residents, businesses, local authorities, Parish Councillors and relevant service providers were invited to a public meeting at Barrowford Civic Hall to launch the Parish Plan and discuss any issues they considered to be most important for the future of the Parish. At this meeting local residents were invited to volunteer to form a Steering Committee whose function would be to create the Parish Plan.
One of the first actions of the Steering Group was to design, produce and circulate a questionnaire to every household and business in Barrowford. The aim was to give all local residents an opportunity to say what they felt were the most important issues affecting the village both now and in the future.
As 41% of the questionnaires were returned the views expressed in the Parish Plan are considered to be a fair representation of Barrowford resident’s views.
The results of the questionnaire were assessed, both independently by ‘Community Futures’ and also by the Steering Group. Certain themes were identified and these formed the basis of various discussions with local interested bodies.
A series of Action Plans were drawn up which form the basis of the Parish Plan.

There are 5 main ways in which a Parish Plan may be used:
  1. The Parish Council its Steering and Action Groups can use the information as evidence to support decision making.
  2. The plan will be submitted to local government departments and other such organisations for them to adopt, particularly when making decisions, which may affect life within the parish.
  3. Individuals and organisations associated with the parish may be able to change things by helping to action suggestions made in the plan.
  4. It is planned that the parish residents will be encouraged to join the action groups needed to progress the various issues identified in the plan.
  5. It may be possible to apply for grants to fund specific projects and services that are identified by these action groups.
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