Parish/Town Plans and Market Town Initiatives
An extract from the Rural Community Council of Essex (RCCE) website

Parish/Town Plans and Market Town Initiatives were initiated following the Rural White Paper in 2000. They encourage the community to become proactively involved in planning for its future. The importance of these community-led plans was reinforced by the Home Office Paper ‘Firm Foundations’ in December 2004.

The essential characteristics of community-led plans are that they are produced at a very local level with a high degree of community involvement. They enable local community groups to get actively involved in the decision-making processes that affect the future of their town, village or locality. The process of producing a community-led plan includes extensive survey work to establish local needs and aspirations, highlight priorities and develop an action plan and vision for the future of the community.

Parish/Town Plans and Market Town Initiatives address a range of social, environmental and economic issues, and produce two main types of outcome – action which can be undertaken by local groups, and proposals to influence the actions, decisions and policies of larger organisations. Similar action based community-led plans can be undertaken in urban areas which focus on housing estates or other geographically identifiable areas of a town.

Recommended community participation methods include a household questionnaire and/or a participatory appraisal (subject to the size of the population), a separate youth questionnaire/surveys, and a business survey. Participatory workshops are also recommended.

Parish/Town Plans and Market Town Initiatives can:-

• Empower your community to identify local priorities and address their own needs.
• Build community spirit.
• Unleash hidden talents.
• Give the village and the parish council a fresh focus.
• Improve local governance.
• Increase the evidence base for your actions.
• Increase the public recognition for the value of the parish council.
• Contribute towards achieving quality parish status.
• Encourage new councillors to come forward.
• Create new partnerships with higher tier authorities and strategic partnerships.
• Open the door to funding streams