The survey results are in...

The Neighbourhood Plan Steering Group would like to thank everyone who completed our (long and detailed!) questionnaire. We had a fantastic response, with 177 completed, 18 of which were online. That’s pretty impressive for a parish with around 350 households.

The surveys were sent to an independent facilitator who has crunched the numbers and provided us with a draft report. Once the report is finalised, we will publish it on this website for all to read at their leisure.

The report provides the evidence base on which we can build our Plan. For example, it has given us a very good idea of the extent of homeworking in the parish (see diagram below).

It has also raised key issues that the plan must address.

The most significant of these is the retention of young people in the area when housing is so expensive and well-paid jobs are so scarce. Here, the steering group hopes to be able to work with Craven District Council and the Yorkshire Dales National Park Authority in formulating policies as both are currently working on initiatives in this area.

Another concern is the lack of housing for older people when they are ready to downsize. Isolation is of increasing concern for older people. They should not be compelled to move from a friendly community where many have lived for most of their lives if they do not wish to do so.

We will be contacting stakeholders shortly to move the process forward.

Questionnaire update

The steering group is completing the final review of the household survey. Watch this space for news of when it will be delivered, how to complete it and key collection dates.

Clapham Newsletter Update - December 2018 issue

The Neighbourhood Plan Steering Group

The Neighbourhood Plan is moving forward. Recent public consultation meetings in Newby, Keasden and Clapham have given an up-to-date picture of the range of issues which matter most to local residents.

The Neighbourhood Plan is a way of building on all the tremendous work which was put into compiling the Parish Plan back in 2008. Very little action resulted from all that work but the Localism Act of 2011 has given new hope of progressing the ideas and priorities in that 2008 Plan.

An impressive range of aspirations and ideas came to light - as well as a few frustrations and complaints. But these are all grist to the mill, when we think about improving life in Clapham and its parish. The list is a long one, with too many to mention here.

Among the many priorities, some major items cropped

up time and again:

˗ promoting businesses,

˗ job opportunities at differing levels;

˗ work units and start-up units with adequate parking;

˗ infrastructure for visitors and tourism;

˗ low-cost housing;

˗ the desperate need to support local services such as school, buses, shops, cafes, pub, churches and existing leisure facilities such as the tennis court (use it or lose it);

˗ youth provision;

˗ more adult education opportunities and social activities.

It was clear from some of the suggestions that not everyone knows just what is already going on in the parish.

We also need to ensure that we capture the views of all residents, not just those attending the open meetings. The Neighbourhood Plan steering group is developing a questionnaire for this purpose. More details will be in the next newsletter and also on our existing Facebook page and new Neighbourhood Plan website to be launched in the New Year.

All of us need to make sure that we read local noticeboards, get hold of a copy of the Clapham newsletter, make full use of the admirable facilities of the village hall and support the neighbourhood plan.