Town Plan Description

From HalesworthTownPlan

Contents 1 Introduction. 2 Why do we need a Plan? 3 What is the aim of the Plan? 4 Who is doing the Plan? 5 How will the Plan evolve? 6 Timetable 7 How will the actions be delivered?

Introduction.

Halesworth is an attractive historic market town situated on a tributary of the River Blyth with a population of just under 5000 residents. It provides a range of services for residents and the surrounding villages with the doctors’ surgery; cottage hospital; District Council local office; a supermarket; a pedestrian shopping centre; two industrial areas with a range of small factories and retail outlets; a mainline railway station with direct trains to London; and an arts centre. The Middle School which provides secondary education for 9 - 13 year olds is due for closure although a new skill centre for vocational training for the 14+ age group for Halesworth and surrounding market towns has recently been built on the site. The police station is the base for some specialist services across the County. The outdoor swimming pool and the Rifle Hall [community hall] are due for closure and Tesco are keen to bring a major new supermarket to the Town.

Why do we need a Plan?

The proposed change to a unitary authority with the disappearance of Waveney District Council will place an increasing importance on local decision making. This means this is an ideal time to produce a long-term Plan for our Town that brings together the various social, economic and environmental issues, gives a voice to local people and involves them in the solutions. In this way we can become pro-active instead of always reacting to somebody else’s agenda. We may not achieve all the things in the Plan but we certainly will achieve a lot more than if we have no plan at all.

What is the aim of the Plan?

The Plan aims to achieve the following vision and key principles:

• Halesworth will prosper as a historic market town and become increasingly self-sufficient, meeting the needs of the town and surrounding communities whilst retaining its distinctive character in order to provide a high quality of life for present and future generations.
• Key facilities will be retained or provided where deficiencies are identified.
• Housing supply will ensure that young people are able to afford to stay in the area
• A range of job opportunities will be provided.
• Public transport will be effective and efficient to provide a viable alternative to car use. Provision will be made to enable an increase in walking and cycling.
• Contributions will be made to improved energy efficiency and reduction and other initiatives to combat climate change.
• The historic, wildlife and landscape character of the area will be protected and enhanced where appropriate.

Who is doing the Plan?

The production of the Plan has been stimulated by the Town Council and the Halesworth and Blyth Valley Partnership. Local people have come forward to form a number of working groups. Anyone interested in becoming involved with the Plan or any of the Working Groups would be most welcome. The Town Clerk will provide the appropriate contact or you can contact the Steering Group Chairman - Richard Woolnough on 01986 872268 At every stage of the process the wider community will be informed and involved by a range of consultation mechanisms. Regular updates will also appear in the Community News.

How will the Plan evolve?

Over the last few years two Vision days have been held in the Town to identify issues of concern to local people. The results from these events plus more issues that have been identified by the working groups are now being taken forward. For each subject area or issue the following process will be followed:

• The Audit – where are we now? Each issue will be examined to identify what the present situation is in Halesworth, which organisations are involved and what other influences affect it.
• Target setting – where do we want to be in 5/10/15 years? Targets are then set for where we want to be within a specified time period.
• Action plan – how do we get there? This details who will take the actions forward, how progress will be achieved and what priority it has.
• Monitoring – how are we doing? Ways to check on progress will be established.

Timetable

It is anticipated that the consultation on the draft plan will be in October 2009.

How will the actions be delivered?

The Town Council and the Partnership will be responsible for ensuring progress on the Action Plan. These are just some of the ways that actions can be achieved:

• Community Action. In Halesworth we already have an impressive array of community initiatives: the Community Care Fund; the Playing Field Association; the Partnership; the New Cut Arts Centre; the skateboard park; the Millennium Green, the Museum, the Friends of Patrick Stead; the Community Bus; the Produce Market – and many more. Some of the actions that come from the Plan will be able to be taken forward by new community initiatives run by volunteers. Funding for capital costs is easier to obtain when initiatives are part of a community developed plan. In practice many successful community initiatives are developed in partnership with the processes and organisations described below.
• The Planning Process. Some of the aspirations that will come forward as part of this Town Plan will need to be progressed through the planning system. A clear understanding of national, regional and local planning policies will ease the achievement of Town Plan actions and ideally these will be incorporated into the Local Development Framework. [LDF]
• The Sustainable Communities Plan. A clear understanding of the targets already set by Waveney and Suffolk Local Strategic Partnerships [LSPs] within their Strategies will help ensure that our targets and actions can get wider support and funding. Developing effective ways of working with the LSPs will be of great benefit to the Town.
• Statutory Bodies. Organisations like the Environment Agency have a considerable role to play with the centre of our Town in the flood plain and any work subject to their approval. Flood alleviation is also in their hands. We need to be aware of their latest plans and initiatives and feed our own ideas into their longer term strategies.
• Voluntary Organisations. Many national and regional voluntary organisations are keen to develop initiatives at the local level and can often provide advice and financial support. Taking these opportunities can be useful in achieving successful outcomes for local projects.