Future Generations

Every baby born in the town gets a ‘welcome pack’ that encourages - long term - a commitment to the town. They are a ‘Town Citizen’  from the start.

People

Community included in decisions. If they are consulted they will be concerned and committed.

Tourism

Develop our USP (a quintessential English Market Town) and get people to use the town as a base.

Vision

Joined up partnerships working on long term vision.

Facilities

So we can choose not to travel out of town for cinema etc

Economy

Independent traders supported to become proactive and responsible for the town they trade in

Chris Stewart

Respect for country life; keep speed limits down, keep deaths down - people and animals

Let country issues be decided by country people (country based) rather than ‘townies’ from Westminster

Development of Market Towns to encourage local people to ‘live local, buy local’. Encouragement of high streets having mainly shops not a lot of estate agents, solicitors etc taking over the larger premises. A town plan on the type of shopping on offer - not multiples but small, individual businesses which can add character to the town.

Good transport links including via the villages and direct to the town; also free parking to encourage trade with easy access for disabled.

Ample facilities for young people

Development and implementation of renewable energy schemes.

Development of shared space, ideas to reduce spped and accidents - increasing people’s consideration for other road users / shared space users

Affordable housing to encourage the young to stay; and jobs

A willingness to contribute time and skills to local projects

Jane Barber

Population

- a new feeling of being born, brought up, experiencing the personality forming aspects of life

- feeling others understand and value all places and cultures and vice versa

- more diversity of people

Community recognition of what is valued i.e to live and work where these are the things which are valued e.g. retaining housing and places of character. To understand why ways of living and the environment are valued, preserved - not as museums but as recognition of skills.

Local sourcing - of repairs, food etc

A new type of ‘nationalised’ industry - evolved from community businesses.

Community enterprises / buying groups:

• reflecting needs and interests across all ages
• young people brought up to have ownership of support services, newsletters, leisure facilities around them
• people recognise and can develop their skills and learning through community projects which they can use to further careers
• care sector and local communications/ networks delivered by local people on volunteer and paid basis

Facilities and skills shared e.g. school IT, building maintenance people also providing costed service for others

Caroline O’Neill

Well used and thriving rural facilities such as shops, schools, community buildings open to all sections of the community.

Opportunities for rural communities to meet and contribute to the activity and future of their rural area.

Focus on promotion and use of local produce and services,

Availability of housing and employment opportunities, of a high quality, for local people.

Ability to use renewable energy for local use.

Simon Smith

Local renewable energy generation – biomass, wind turbines etc – created and owned by local communities through a community share offer and with profits re-invested into local groups and fuel prices reduced for community facilities such as schools, hospitals and swimming pools in our market towns

Oh and more recipes for rabbit!!

Chris Wade

Action for Market Towns

Adequate public / community transport to all areas. More cycle routes

Thriving local businesses – small business parks in rural areas and facilities to support small businesses

Improved broadband in remote areas

Greater understanding / support for energy generation projects leading to more use of renewable energy

Better use of existing facilities (churches, pubs etc) for wider community use

Local knowledge exchange – community websites

Frances Good

1) A viable farming sector being able to utilise redundant farm buildings for new vibrant businesses

2) Planning to use common sense to allow such involvement for the good of, the future employment and long term sustainability of rural areas

3) Affordable housing to be an integral and proud part of village life not seen as dumping grounds for problem urban families or individuals

4) Parking to be thought of as an attraction rather than a deterrent to visitors of market towns

5) Too often parking is seen as a council cash cow without looking at the long term benefits of attracting visitors in.

6) More forward thinking facilities for young people to keep them interested in local towns rather than spending money on ‘iconic’ structures that have not been widely asked for by local people.

7) Bill Langhamer

• A prosperous community with much reduced commuting

• A sustainable community taking its vision from best practice examples from across this country and wider.

• A community where people of all ages engage fully in its current events and its future planning

• A community where the growth and development of sustainable business models is encouraged and the local entrepreneur is supported in early development.

• A community where business and employment is treated as a key community building role – not as a hindrance to be pushed out to anonymous estates

• A stop to putting the elements of living into separate boxes e.g. home, work, shopping, leisure, community, sport, family, friends.

• A more holistic community should be encouraged

Gordon Cleaver

I would like to see more power devolved down to Town and Parish Council level from the tiers of government above; this to be accompanied by more money. I would like to see a regime of less bidding for money, less hoops to jump through replaced by a system of trust – give us the money and judge us by the results rather than huge amounts of time going into bids and monitoring.

For my area I’d hope to see a depressed and deprived area where the reliance of the population was based on a paternalistic society ( large powerful employers and large powerful trade unions) now become a society where people took responsibility into their own hands for what happens, where children are encouraged to aspire to the best and hold the older generation to account.

I’d like to build on the greening of my area – from one dominated by pits and chemical works, heavy engineering etc to a green area. This is happening now and is welcomed by local people. More nature reserves.

In housing I’d like to see more varies types in terms of private / housing association. I’d like a lower density than the Government recommends and I welcome the Code for Sustainable Homes.

I want more entrepreneurship, helped by those with experience, more social enterprises. We want to build on our heritage – canals, railways, model villages and use it to establish a pride in the past helping towards a pride in our future. We want to build on tourism. W want better public facilities.

Graeme Challands

Preserve local amenities – shops, pubs, schools, village halls

Balanced communities of age.

Local green solutions – let people walk & cycle etc

Sensible transport solutions

Connecting whole communities so they can support each other

Limit the scope of the supermarket

Better connections between Towns and Catchment Communities

Less beauracracy

Less air travel

Rupert Dick

UK Villages