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HATHERLEIGH AREA PROJECT -LAYING THE FOUNDATION FOR A BRIGHTER FUTURE |
| 1. Index | 9. Local Economy |
| 2. Introduction | 10. Local Activities, Sports & Leisure |
| 3. Invest to Save | 11. Employment and Training |
| 4. Programme Delivery | 12. Public Transport |
| 5. Results | 13. Traffic & Highways |
| 6. Background | 14. Local Government |
| 7. Housing | 15. Environment & Places |
| 8. Services | 16. Conclusion, |
| 17. Recommendations for Actions, | |
"VISION FOR HATHERLEIGH" Consultation Report
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The Hatherleigh Area Project was launched in April 2001 with the principal aim of addressing the social consequences of the Foot and Mouth Disease outbreak in the Hatherleigh area of Devon. The South West RDA and West Devon Borough Council funded the project with additional match funding from a range of other organisations including Devon County Council, and the Arkleton Trust, which is managing the project. In developing a consistent approach to regenerating the Hatherleigh area the project has been helping to deliver two distinctive but complementary community initiatives. Under the first initiative, Invest to Save Budget (ISB) has provided the opportunity to carry out a full community consultation in Hatherleigh Parish, finding out what is needed to improve quality of life. Emphasis of Invest to Save Budget is on promotion of an innovative response from the agencies. The second initiative is Market & Coastal Towns Initiative (M&CTI). This RDA led programme looks at the regeneration of the wider Hatherleigh area and its emphasis is on using consultation as a gateway to a stream of funding. Both involve consultation, capacity building, the development of long-term plans and a co-ordinated response from agencies and in the case of M&CTI, funders. In practice, they are complementary as Invest to Save Budget concentrates on Hatherleigh, while M&CTI looks at the whole area. This report focuses on the results of the Invest to Save Budget work in Hatherleigh town and parish - a report on the whole area will be published a later date.
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Invest to Save budget is a Treasury (Central Government) fund; its underlying principle is to encourage agencies to work together to maximise the opportunity to provide a more efficient service overall and to avoid duplication, thereby saving money. In West Devon, West Devon Borough Council is running a pilot project using the Invest to Save Budget funding in an imaginative way. The aim of this project is to assist four communities by helping them in carrying out community consultations, in order to arrive at Community Action Plans, which can be used as the basis for future funding bids, and also as a mechanism for dialogue with the agencies, with the aim of changing practices to fit in more closely with the wishes of the communities. The four communities were chosen (with their agreement) for the West Devon project; Spreyton lies on the eastern border of West Devon and looks outside of the borough for many of its services; Hatherleigh is a market town that has been affected badly by Foot and Mouth disease; Buckland Monachorum has a high proportion of residents commuting outside of the parish to work; and Princetown is an isolated moorland community with a high level of need. In West Devon the project is being led by West Devon Borough Council, working with Devon County Council, and the two Primary Health Care Trusts covering the area; the action planning aspects of the work have been contracted to West DEN. The project also addresses debt counselling, welfare benefit take up, and credit unions, as well as looking to identify the best use of ICT (computers) in each community.
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The delivery of both the ISB and M&CTI in the Hatherleigh Area, as already explained, has similar objectives, although Invest to Save Budget focuses only on Hatherleigh town and Parish. The outcomes from the full consultation process will dovetail into a Strategic Community Plan for Hatherleigh and its hinterland. For the Invest to Save Budget project, it was decided to hold an event in Hatherleigh to focus on the key issues in the town. Many different groups and organisations were invited to be involved in an Exhibition. They were asked to prepare some posters and information for their group, highlighting their activities and views on the future. 25 groups participated in the event, representing a wide
range of interests in the town.
The Hatherleigh Primary School made an outstanding contribution with every child entering a poster of its ideas. The exhibition was held in early December 2001, in a variety of venues throughout the town - the Old Schools, HAP Office, the Methodist Hall, and the Hatherleigh Primary School. A number of posters and flyers were used to encourage as many people as possible to attend. The exhibition was set up to enable an interactive display of the main concerns to be highlighted and commented upon. A large map of the town on display allowed people to write down their comments and suggestions on "post-it" notes.
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The 180 people, who attended the Hatherleigh Exhibition throughout the week, appreciated the opportunity to exchange their views with other members of the community. In the process 300 individual comments were received and collated into general themes such as; Education and Training, Services, Shopping and Local Economy, Transport, Sports/Social/Leisure, Employment, Youth Issues, Environment and Places. These formed the basis of the questionnaire that was distributed to all households in February, and has now been followed by this report, again delivered to each household. The issues raised were included in discussion at a wide-ranging Workshop event in April to develop a vision for the Hatherleigh Area. These issues will help to form the basis of the Community Strategic Plan from which funding for specific projects will result.
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