Dorstone Parish Plan

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Dorstone Parish Plan

• Questionnaire Results
• Highlights

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Responses

• One word brilliant!
• Thanks to you all and the volunteers who
  delivered and collected the questionnaires
• 85 of households which is 136
• Considerably higher than is normally achieved
  certainly in Herefordshire possibly nationally
• Solid basis for preparing the Plan itself

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Responses

• 227 Adults 45 Young people
• 0 to 5 years 10 30 to 44 years 28
• 5 to 10 years 14 45 to 59 years 61
• 11 to 17 years 20 60 to 74 years 44
• 18 to 24 years 13 75 to 84 years 19
• 25 to 29 years 7 85 years plus 15

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Good News

• How satisfied are you with your parish as a
  place to live?
• 63 - very satisfied
• 36 - fairly satisfied
• 1 - fairly dissatisfied

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Importance of Issues

• All issues covered were rated as either very
  important or important by a clear majority
  demonstrates our prior consultations were
  effective.
• Issues ranked as very important (important)
• Planning Conservation 56 (38)
• Traffic 54 (34)
• Environment 52 (38)

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Importance of Issues

• very imp (imp)
• Housing 43 (45)
• Communications 26 (56)
• Transport 25 (53)
• Parish Facilities Leisure 22 (55)
• Parish Services 14 (53)

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Planning and Conservation

• 52 not aware of conservation area conditions
• 30 satisfied/fairly with those conditions
• 10 not satisfied.
• 93 very important/important that new buildings
  matched existing styles
• Building materials stone 98 slate roofing 92
  wooden window frames 89.
• Opposition strongest against aluminium window
  frames 72 brick 51 and UPVC windows 47
• Long list of constructive comments on these
  issues

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Traffic

• Road Conditions
• 64 poor/very poor - 36 good
• Long list of locations identifying poor/very poor
  spots most frequently mentioned
• B4348 particularly the stretch to the Bage
• Dorstone Hill
• Scar Lane
• Mynydd Brith road
• Common Bach road

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Traffic

• 65 - Yes to traffic problems/safety issues and
  131 comments received.
• Speeding - 84
• Problems at specific locations - 21
• Speed of tractors - 12
• Problems with HGVs/Buses - 10
• Dorstone Bends - 9
• Also important concern in Youth Questionnaire

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Traffic Solutions

• 90 improve maintenance of ditches drains
• 80 30mph speed limit within village area
• 81 safe crossing to playing fields
• 73 against speed humps
• 50 against more pavements
• 46 against signs requesting more care
• Long list of detailed comments and suggested
  improvements to road safety.

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Environment Protection and Enhancement ideas

• In favour
• 82 Extended recycling collections throughout
  Parish
• 76 Bottle Bank within Parish
• 70 Minimal Carbon emissions for new buildings
• 62 Litter Bins
• 61 Solar lighting Schemes

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Environment Protection and Enhancement Ideas

• Limited Support/Opposition
• 75 against more street lights
• 62 against Tree on Village Green
• 40 against - 36 in favour Wind Turbines

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Other Environmental Issues

• Positive view of local footpaths and bridleways
• Majority support for development of cycle
  walking paths in GV 20 opposed
• Quiet Lanes Initiative 26 opposed
• Some of the list of other ideas for improvement
• Leave things as they are
• More flowers and planters
• No bonfires in summer

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Other Environmental Issues

• New village signs Welcome to Dorstone
• Provision of skips for removal of larger rubbish
• 15 (34 houses) affected by flooding mainly in
  garden/outhouse/cellar
• More sunshine!!

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Housing

• 109 owner occupiers - 10 rented
• Future housing needs -132 responses
• 12 - yes 30 - possibly
• Support was greater than opposition for all types
  of new housing
• privately owned/rented/low cost/housing
  association
• 20-30 had no opinion
• New homes built
• 73 in favour of small infill
• 72 - no to developments of more than 6 homes
• Building outside conservation area
• 42 yes - 43 no
• 43 businesses are run from homes within Parish

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Communications

• Amount of information available
• 81 good or reasonable - 10 poor.
• 71 word of mouth
• 51 Link / GVN
• 50 Post Office Notice Boards
• 65 in favour of Parish Council newsletter
• Of 55 newcomers 28 not received welcome pack
• 82 of those that had found it to be useful

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Communications

• 80 receive internet at home
• 78 broadband - 50 said speed was sufficient
• Only 22 had visited the Dorstone Community
  website
• There was widespread support for using the
  website for all information needs
• e.g. Parish Council Newsletter/Minutes, Events,
  News of Parish Groups, Planning Applications,
  Tourist Information

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Transport

• Car is the dominant mode of transport
• Bus services were important for a minority going
  to School or College and 67 of those thought the
  services were efficient.
• 54 never used the bus service and 28 had used
  it within the last year
• Reasons for not using it were inconvenient times,
  cost and the convenience of using own car.
• Demand for better bus shelter provision
• Car parking facilities within village
• 35 good - 56 reasonable - 9 poor

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Parish Facilities and Leisure

• Village Hall
• 65 used the Village Hall at least a few times a
  year 11 never used it.
• Facilities 43 good - 49 reasonable - 9 poor
• Many ideas for refurbishment e.g. better kitchen,
  heating, new chairs, sound proofing, late usage
  and redecoration
• 52 would use it more if there were more local
  events
• 40 would use it more if there were more clubs
  or regular activities

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Parish Facilities and Leisure

• Playing Fields
• 49 use Playing fields at least a few times a
  year
• 29 never use them.
• Main uses
• 61 specific events 24 walk or exercise
• 22 playground
• 47 of users rated playground facilities as poor
• Ideas improved facilities for Childrens
  playground (12) tennis court (18)

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Suggested Activities
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Parish Facilities and Leisure

• Church/Chapel
• 66 St Faiths important as historical building
• 57 as a focal point for the community
• 37 important for worship
• 45 thought it should be more of a community
  facility - 22 did not - 33 no opinion
• 39 people suggested using for concerts and
  music.
• Widespread view that Church would need toilet
  facilities, kitchen and flexible seating if it
  were to become more of a communal facility
• Dorstone Chapel 24 important as an historical
  building - 66 did not see its importance

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Parish Facilities and Leisure

• Co-ordination
• Need for more co-ordination between the various
  village groups to avoid overlap and duplication
• Lots of ideas have been put forward to improve
  facilities and leisure activities
• Existing groups or even new ones could pursue
  many of these suggestions

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Parish Services

• 59 use Post Office at least once a month
• 21 never use it.
• 134 made comments on how closure would affect
  them of these 42 said there would be no effect
  the remainder referred to adverse effects on
  themselves and the community.
• 130 were prepared to support community oil
  purchase scheme with various other suggestions
  for community purchase gardening supplies,
  firewood, LPG, potatoes, rice and pulses, office
  supplies all these being picked up by the
  Dorstone Front Room (See Oil form here)

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Parish Services
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Highlights of Youth Questionnaire

• Excellent response
• 45 out of 66 of 17 years and under.
• Best things about Dorstone
• 84 friendly - 58 safe - 49 neighbourly
• Like least lack of activities, isolated
  traffic
• Problems/worries speeding traffic, dog mess,
  having nothing to do being bored
• 66 knew about Youth Club
• 60 say they will use it

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Highlights of Youth Questionnaire

• Activities wanted on Playing fields e.g. tennis,
  mountain bike circuit, cricket and better
  playground facilities
• Wider choice of things to do
• More activities for young people at Village Hall
• More say for young people in community decisions
  e.g. Parish Plan Parish Council

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Next Steps

• Full report will be available on Web Site and a
  paper copy will be left in the Front Room, Church
  and Pandy Inn. Once you have read the report, any
  additional comments are very welcome.
• Email copies on request - leave email with us
• Copies of sections relating to various groups
• e.g. Village Hall, Church, Playing Fields,
  Parish Council Dorstone Front Room will be
  passed to each of them to consider and report
  back with their own action plan

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Next Steps

• Discussions will commence with service providers,
  including Parish Council, on issues raised and
  action required.
• This may involve open meetings with-
• Herefordshire Planning Department - planning,
  conservation, housing
• Herefordshire Highways and Police Traffic,
  speeding road safety issues
• Herefordshire Council/Parish Council (lengthsman
  scheme) - Highways maintenance
• Herefordshire Environmental Services -
  Environmental Issues
• Parish Council - Website development

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Next Steps

• As some of the possible improvements involve
  expenditure, we have to look at all methods of
  raising money, including grants.
• Report back to parishioners on progress as we go
• By mid-summer - produce the Parish Plan to be
  adopted by Parish Council and Herefordshire
  Council.
• Aim is to produce a short, concise document
  setting out improvements with an action plan to
  achieve them.
• There is no reason to wait for the Parish Plan -
• we can make a start today!