on the button Issue 35 | Page 6

BRCC BRCC have provided some useful demographic informationNumber of people living locally: 5585 Households: 2345 Children under 16yrs: 1060 Working age adults: 3845 Over 65yrs: 680 Lone parent families: 150 Single pensioner households: 220 People in black and minority ethnic groups: 555 People born outside UK: 405 This information will be on our web site see: http://arleseynp.org.uk Last month we sent out and received responses to our initial survey where we asked what was liked, disliked and wants changing. We had 280 responses and some of the initial findings are :Things Liked community feel /people 125 rural location - 70 the station and access to the A1, towns etc - 106 green spaces - 55 Things Disliked congestion - 91 parking - 40 HGV / cars etc on pavements 63 traffic speed - 40 lack of shops 44 unmaintained / shabby appearance - 32 too much development - 6 dog mess - 16 travellers site - 12 6 | July 2015 | At our last meeting we met a representative from the consultancy we appointed. She came across as a very likeable, knowable lady who is willing to help. She gave a brief introduction to herself and her consultancy. As part of this she gave us some useful insights to what we need to do in order to complete the preparation of our plan. She visited us this afternoon so we could introduce Arlesey to her, explain some of the issues and show her the sights! Funding Next Steps The results of this survey will be used to formulate the aims of our plan and identify the issues that really matter. Of course we could produce a plan that covers everything but then we would never finish it! We need to identify a range of core issues and draft a Neighbourhood plan to cover these. Bear in mind one reason for the plan is to have some influence over the Arlesey Cross ( i.e. Master plan) development and gain control fo a significant financial contribution for the development ( 106 or Community infrastructure Levy money). The full summary of this survey will be put on to our website shortly. On 7th May, Arlesey residents elected a new Council to represent them. Your new Councillors are: Jason Auburn, Gursh Baines, Paul Chillery, Chris Ferris, Helen Frost, Chris Gravett, Mick Holloway, Kathy Lindskog, Chris Livermore, Rob Mcgregor, Jim Randall, Sandra Sarll, Steve Stanbury, Jon Want, Andrew Ward, Consultant An application for a grant of up to £8000 has been made and we are awaiting the result of this. Would like to change traffic improvements - 71 HGVs rerouted - 25 more/better recreational facilities 38 smarten up the village - 25 more shops /supermarket - 70 sort out parking - 40 new council BRCC are providing some display material for the launch event. The next major topic will be the housing needs survey undertaken by BRCC on our behalf for which CBC provide the funding etc. This is a detailed survey of housing needs and tries to identify the likely housing needs of the community. Because it contains some sensitive questions it is run by BRCC who will analyse the results and provide us with this analysis. NO personal information will be seen by the steering group. Also we will be establishing a group to look at producing a detailed survey of what is liked and needed by Arlesey. These 2 surveys are the first pieces of evidence that help justify what has been covered in the neighbourhood plan we produced. Now we have a consultant, we want to produce a project plan identifying the activities and time scales to produce our plan. Meetings, Volunteers etc. This group is open to people to attend our meetings, volunteer to help etc. If interested look at our web site for information about our meetings when they are held etc. Duncan Wang Chairman – Arlesey Neighbourhood Plan Steering Group. We want to thank everyone who voted for us and for giving us the opportunity to do what we can to try to make Arlesey a better place. Since being elected the new Council has appointed its Chairman (Mick Holloway), Vice Chairman (Chris Gravett) and has attended to a number of statutory and on-going matters. The Council has agreed a number of short-term priorities and formed working parties to look at the most pressing issues; these include Finance Reporting, Human Resource Processes, Standing Orders, Communication Strategy & Skate Park. There is a lot we must do to make the Council both effective and efficient, and we will be pressing ahead with this as quickly as possible. It is anticipated that over the next few months there will be lots of opportunities for the community and council to work together towards delivering a better Arlesey. The Neighbourhood Plan is one such opportunity, and we would like to thank everybody who has participated in the first stage of the process and helped gather the views of residents. In the meantime your new council is committed to keeping residents informed and will be looking at improving ways of ensuring it does this. Please feel free to contact us – details can be found here: www.arleseytc.co.uk/your-new-town-councillors or you can contact us via the Town Council office. on the button, 32 Stotfold Road, Arlesey. Bedfordshire. SG15 6XT www.onthebuttonarlesey.co.uk