Well done Slapton!

The Parish Appraisal is approaching the final stages of its development, thanks to everyone who filled in the questionnaires. The following analysis is drawn from the answers given about aspects of life in Slapton, good and bad, present and future. It talks of drains and dreams, the problems and delights of rural and village life as experienced by parishioners. Issues have been raised and suggestions made for resolving them.

The idea for the appraisal came about after several members of the Parish Council attended an open meeting run by the Community Council for Devon about the process and purpose of parish appraisals and the help available for statistical analysis of the data. The Parish Council canvassed local groups for their concerns, and from these and those compulsory questions from Devon County Council, a questionnaire was drawn up. A copy of the questionnaire was delivered to every household on the electoral roll. Of the 178 households that received an appraisal, 119 responded - a response rate of 67%.

This is not the end of the process. We shall have a Parish Meeting where everybody is welcome to discuss the findings and ideas and agree how to deal with them. Action groups could be set up to carry ideas forward. We will invite representatives of all local authorities - Devon County Council, South Hams District Council, Devon Highways, Community Council for Devon, South West Water, etc.. Having done the appraisal, Slapton has a voice, to be heard by government and funding agencies. No action will be taken until the meeting. In the meantime, this analysis gives some idea of the things we would like to see addressed, and the skills we have to bring together as a community. Copies of the full statistics, and all comments made are available from the Clerk to the Parish Council.

A big thank you to the people who were on the steering group and the extra helpers who delivered and collected the questionnaires, and also to Ron and Dale at the Post Office who acted as a collection point; to Sue Murphy of the Community Council for Devon and Devon County Council who encouraged and advised us through the whole process. Thanks too, to all who completed the questionnaire with so much care - we now have a real ‘voice’ of the Parish for the new millennium. Our thanks for financial support to: Slapton Parish Council, South Hams District Council, Devon County Council, South & West Devon Health Authority, National Lotteries Charities Board and the European 5b Fund

The report has been divided into the following sections:

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