FOREWORD by Philip Ringer, Chairman

The desire of any community to examine its strengths and weaknesses; its opportunities and threats; its very way of life must be regarded as both healthy and progressive.

After widespread initial exploratory talks the concept of holding a Community Appraisal was aired at a public meeting held in March 1996 and a steering committee was formed, consisting of The Reverend Philip Ringer (Chairman), Keith Shipman (Secretary), Doctor Roger Ferrar, Christine Bowden, David Berry, Carla Sim, Ben Bennett and Stephen Dodwell. We identified our objective as: To enable the community of the villages of Lynton, Lynmouth, Barbrook and surrounding hamlets to identify and prioritise their social, economic, environmental and developmental needs for regeneration.

I have been privileged to act as Chairman of the Steering Committee, and it is important to thank each of them for their personal commitment of time, enthusiasm, energy and ideas. Many meetings have been held and throughout it has been necessary to work to tight time schedules. I want especially to thank our hard working and diligent secretary, Keith Shipman, who has kept us in order and focused our minds on relevant matters.

In order to have sponsorship from the Community Council of Devon we were required to have 30 compulsory questions out of a maximum of 60 to be asked. Whilst this may appear unhelpful many of the compulsory questions mirrored issues we wished to probe. We are indebted to them for their support throughout the project and to Devon County Council and North Devon District Council for their financial support.

We must also thank the dedicated band of volunteers who distributed the questionnaires, during the wettest weekend in May, to over 500 households occupied by full-time residents and also collected them. Our community is entitled to be proud of this commitment and I thank you all. I also wish to thank the Town Council for extending the use of their facilities and the Chamber of Commerce for the original idea. Particularly helpful have been the comments made by you all on the last page of the questionnaire. Whilst only some have been directly quoted (as shown in italics) all have all been read and taken into consideration in the compilation of this report.

The high level of response (88%) shows we care very much about where we live, and the lifestyle of our villages. The community is entitled to see that action results from this report. The work of the Steering Committee is now complete. We must trust that those who have executive power will care as much about its contents as have the community and will turn ideas and concerns into real action. You may rest assured that members of the Steering Committee as individuals will watch how the report is progressed.

We have pleasure in presenting our report. A full copy of the data and the original questionnaire are available in the library at Lynton Town Hall. We have endeavoured to be fair and impartial. Where conclusions have been drawn we have tried to ensure we give a balanced view.