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High Bickington Parish
Appraisal 2001
Acknowledgements
The Committee of High
Bickington Project 2000 gratefully acknowledges the help and support of many
individuals and organisations without which we could not have undertaken this
appraisal.
Particular thanks are
extended to the following:
The Community Council
of Devon for the advice and guidance given by its staff
The Key Fund, Devon
County Council, Torridge District Council and High Bickington Parish Council
for Financial Assistance and help from Officers
Mike Knight for his
assistance in the setting up and analysis of the Appraisal Questionnaire
Shaun Carter for his
work on the statistical analysis
Walnut Bureau for the
analysis of the ‘Free Text’ comments made in individual responses to the appraisal
questions
All the committee
members of High Bickington Project 2000 for their many hours of tireless
voluntary effort to bring this phase of their work to a satisfactory conclusion
And finally… to the
residents of High Bickington Parish for the outstandingly high number of
completed appraisal questionnaires returned
High
Bickington Project 2000
Committee
Members: Jeff Adams, David Brown, Barry Checksfield, Tracee Cullen, Lesley
Davis,
Ian Gibson, Derek
Herniman, Rachel Phillips, Barbara Stewart, Avril Stone, Eric Stone, Peter
Tucker.
Executive
Summary
The appraisal was
conducted to provide the residents of the Parish of High Bickington with the
opportunity to give their opinion of what they view as possible, necessary or
lacking in the village, with particular emphasis on Little Bickington farm.
The major concerns
registered centre on the need for a new primary school with the possibility of
additional facilities for leisure activities, adult education services,
functions etc, the need for affordable housing, the volume of traffic through
the village and the problems of parking. Concern is also shown that the future
expansion of the village, due to extra housing, will require the infrastructure
to be enlarged to take account of the increase in population, employment
prospects and extra traffic.
295 questionnaires
were issued and a gratifying 72% (211) were returned completed, covering 512
people. This indicates the depth of interest shown by respondents to the future
of the parish, including the desire to be part of the village community.
1. FARMERS/PRODUCERS
MARKET
A
very large proportion of respondents indicate a desire for a local
Farmers/Producers Market. Some 372 people (93.5%) are in favour, showing a
strong preference for meat, fruit and vegetables together with dairy produce
and home baked items.
2. COUNTRYSIDE
IMPROVEMENTS
Strong
interest is shown in this section, with 98 people in favour of the creation of
a Wild Life area. 215 want the verges kept tidy, 123 wish to see more trees
planted. 229 want regular removal of litter and 139 want paths and bridleways
signposted. 243 people wish to see Nature Reserves and open spaces. 238 of the
respondents offered to join in a “Clean-Up of the Village Day”.
3. ENVIRONMENTAL
SERVICES/ENERGY
223
people see the need for a new Public Toilet, whilst 140 do not. A huge number
(380) indicate that they are prepared to separate their rubbish. 204 people
indicate an interest in renewable energy, 260 want to see all overhead cables
put underground.
4. THE SCHOOL
333
people indicated that they viewed the primary school as being “ Very
important”, whilst 235 think that the existing school facilities are below
standard. The majority view is that a new school is required, probably on
Little Bickington Farm, with additional facilities allowing the building to be
utilised outside school hours for adult education, (279 seek training), sports
facilities and function rooms.
5. CHURCH HALL
303
people indicate the need for a replacement hall in the village, 172 respondents
saying that the existing hall does not meet the present requirements adequately
and should be expanded to cater for additional people.
6. HOUSING
32
people indicate the need for alternative accommodation within the next ten
years and that this should be broken down into: starter homes (to buy or rent),
family homes, self-build houses, sheltered homes or residential care. 35 people
claim to be unable to find suitable accommodation due to price, availability,
or the lack of local authority housing.
7. TRAFFIC
315
people feel the need for a car park in the village, whilst 329 see speeding
traffic through the village as a growing problem. 223 are satisfied with the
general state of the roads. 202 people identified other problem areas with
roads.
8. MEDICAL
Of 416 responses, 80
people seek medical attention outside the village, whilst 336 use the existing
surgery. 219 people have difficulty finding other medical facilities such as a
chemist, dentist, optician etc. Many people see the need for additional medical
facilities, including blood donation (115), chiropody (60), dentist (153), and
physiotherapy (83) and optician (80).
This summary should
be read in conjunction with the Statistical Analysis and the Free Text Summary,
the latter being available on request, together with the separately attached
Business Survey.
Report of Findings
Introduction
Following discussions
between the County, District and Parish Councils during the early part of 2000
a Public Meeting was called to consider whether the Parish of High Bickington
wished to be part of a ‘Pilot Project’ whereby local people might participate
in deciding the future use of the County Council owned Little Bickington Farm.
The County Council
had already decided that when the current tenancy of the farm expired it would
not be re-let but would be declared ‘surplus to requirements’. Usually County Council Officers would be
required to dispose of the farm, by whatever means might be available, to
achieve the highest financial return.
On this occasion, however, bearing in mind the County Councils new and
wider responsibilities to promote the use of sustainable building techniques
and sources of renewable energy, it was decided to seek the views of local
people about the farm’s future.
The outcome of these
early consultations was that ‘High Bickington Project 2000’, a not-for-profit
voluntary organisation, was formed to work in partnership with the statutory
authorities, consult local residents and identify possible ways forward.
The High Bickington
Parish Appraisal is the first stage in this process and its results will
provide solid information on which to plan to meet the future needs of the
Parish and its residents over the next five to ten years. It will also be used to identify the kind of
‘sustainable’ developments that might take place at Little Bickington Farm.
The Appraisal was
conducted in August/September 2001 when 295 questionnaires were delivered to
every home in the Parish. A separate
‘Business Survey’ was distributed to 85 residents who were believed to operate
a business either in, or from’ the Parish.
Residents in 211 (72%) of Parish households completed the ‘Parish
Appraisal’ Questionnaires and 39 (46%) of businesses completed the ‘Business
Survey’ forms. This very high rate of
return not only demonstrates the willingness of local residents to participate
in planning for the future but is also much higher than many comparable
surveys.
The detailed
statistical analysis of the questionnaires of the ‘Parish Appraisal’ are not
included here due to space. A large
number of additional ‘free text comments’, made on individual questionnaires,
have been separately analysed and form part of the overall findings. Also included are action points and a more
recent statement on how these have been progressed by the Parish Council. The findings from the ‘Business Survey’ have
been separately analysed and are included here as well.
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Page Created: December 2002
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