Upham: Our Village, Our Voice
Here is our Parish Plan. This was the result of a village consultation in 2013.
What is a Parish Plan?
It aims to find out what features, local characteristics, facilities and services are valued by people in the village. It also aims to identify local problems and issues which need to be tackled. This information will then enable us to create a document which makes clear how we want our community to develop in the future and to create an action plan to achieve this vision.
Why did we do it?
Our Plan will influence decisions by service providers, help inform the Parish Council’s strategy, influence the planning of actions by people in the parish and – hopefully – win funds for local initiatives.
How was it put together?
Early in 2012 the Parish Council decided to investigate the possibility of creating a Parish Plan for Upham.
In March 2012 a Public Meeting was held in the Village Hall to promote awareness and interest in the idea and volunteers were requested to form a steering group.
October 2012 saw the first meeting of the volunteer steering group and the formation of Upham: Our Village, Our Voice.
In February 2013 members of the Steering Group visited every household in the parish chatting to people whenever possible to find their views and identify any issues. They left details of….
The Launch Meeting on 9th March 2013 in the Village Hall. This was a great success with 60 – 70 attendees. Doug Jones from Buriton village gave an inspirational talk on the positive effect of the Parish Plan on their village after which tea and coffee were served and we broke up into interest groups to discuss issues which had been identified. These groups have continued to meet through April and May to further tease out issues and to begin to formulate questions for the Village Questionnaire. New members have joined both the Steering Group and the interest groups and questions are now being worked on by a market research professional.
The Village Questionnaire was made available. The questionnaires were filled in either on paper, or online.
November, December 2013. The returned questionnaires were analysed, there was further discussion by the interest groups and an action plan was developed.
Autumn 2014 A beautiful document was produced which celebrates the unique nature of our village. Within it is an action plan to enable the community to tackle issues raised and so achieve their vision of Upham in the future.
What did we achieve?
Upham Update , a two monthly village newsletter, was initiated by the Communications Group.
Commshub, a village email service, was created.
A Community Group was stengthened to welcome newcomers to the village and help those in need.
The Village websites were enhanced.
New village entry signs, a new Traffic island, Traffic calming measures, Tree and Wildflower planting on Winchester Road.
Fibre Broadband was brought to over 150 houses.
