Parish Plan - Update

5th July 2010
At the Royston and District Committee meeting held on 16th June, the sum of £500 was requested by the Parish Council for funding to publish the Parish Plan. The Committee discussed this application, and agreed it, commenting that Barkway Parish Council were to be commended for the quality and low cost of producing the Plan. The Committee wished us every success with our bid for Quality Parish Council status.

17th June 2010
Bob Davidson and Gordon Baker attended the Royston and District Committee meeting at Royston Town hall on 16th June. Bob Davidson presented the Barkway and Newsells Parish Plan to the meeting and requested the endorsement of the Royston and District Committee. The Chairman thanked Bob for his interesting and comprehensive presentation.

1st June 2010
The Parish Plan was unveiled by Simon Taylor, Chairman of the Steering Group, at the Annual Parish meeting on 26th May in Barkway Village Hall and a copy was delivered to all households in the Parish during the last few days. Click here to download a copy. If anyone has not received a copy and would like one, please telephone Councillor Gordon Baker on 01763 848755.
It is important that we do not lose the impetus of the publication of the Parish Plan. The Steering Group and the Project Group volunteers have to reassemble and start the process of seeking to implement the proposals set out in the Plan. We have already heard from Herts Highways that they think the Plan is a well constructed document. The Plan is now being studied by their Strategic Client team, which studies parish plans and looks for any necessary funding. We have started the ball rolling!

1st May 2010
The final draft of the Barkway Parish Plan, as prepared by the Barkway-Newsells Parish Plan Steering Group and volunteers has gone to print. It will be published on 1 June 2010, but a short resume on its content will be delivered on 26. May 2010 at the Annual Parish Meeting. The APM is at 7.30pm in the village hall, guest speaker Julian Dollar from Newsells Stud. Everyone is welcome to join the meeting, with drinks and canapes being served beforehand from 7pm

21st April 2010
The Parish Plan is nearing its final draft - just a few minor additions alterations to make. The Steering Group is now considering the cost implications of printing around 350 copies of the plan. However, at the moment the target date of announcing the Plan at the Annual Parish Meeting is a reality.

19th April 2010
As part of the Parish Plan process, a Community Emergency Plan is to be developed and volunteers who could help out on in an emergency are being sought. Such a crisis might be the village being cut off by snow, as recently experienced, a lorry overturning or any instance where we cannot rely on outside help. At such times, many of our neighbours might need a hand coping or dealing with the situation. Everyone could be useful. Perhaps you own a 4x4, a chain saw or another piece of equipment? Perhaps you are trained in First Aid or are a doctor? Perhaps you are as strong as an Ox? Anything and everything could be extremely useful at such times when Barkway is cut off from the rest of the County.
If you think you might be able to help in an emergency and are willing to be included in the plan, please contact the Chair of the Barkway Parish Plan, Simon Taylor on simon.taylor@kalyxservices.com or 07917 327241

12th April 2010
The Steering Group met at 100 High Street, Barkway on 7th April to discuss the findings and draft reports from the project group meetings. Click here for the minutes of the meeting

26th March 2010

Since the meeting of the 26th February, many working group meetings have taken place - it appears that the issues identified have been discussed and researched with great energy and enthusiasm. The findings of these meetings will be pulled together as a start to the preparation of the Parish Plan at a meeting of the Steering Group to be held on 7th April.

As part of the Parish Plan process, Councillor Robert Davidson and Cecelia van der Heijden of the Parish Plan Steering Group met with two officials from Herts Highways yesterday to discuss traffic issues in Barkway which were raised as a result of the recent questionnaire. Several matters were discussed and the feeling was that the meeting was very constructive and certainly encouraging in that Herts Highways shared our concerns over traffic issues in the village. The issues raised will now be considered and subject to necessary safety, viability and economic areas, we are hopeful that solutions to our traffic problems will be found

The next meeting of the Steering Group is planned for Friday 26th February to be held in the Reading Room at 7.30pm. The purpose of this meeting is to discuss with volunteers the issues raised by the analysis of the recent questionnaire and to allocate resources to seek solutions to some of the issues.

Click here to view the report on the analysis of the recent questionnaire prepared by Dr Robert Davidson. A hard copy is available to view in the Reading Room.

29th January 2010
The Steering Group met at 26 High Street, Barkway to discuss the way forward after the analysis of the recent village questionnaire. Click here to view a copy of the minutes of this meeting. A copy of the report prepared by Dr Robert Davidson will be published on this website shortly.

The findings from the recent questionnaire are being analysed and the results will be presented to the Steering Group shortly.

There has been an excellent response to the questionnaire - a rate of 29% was achieved. Thanks to all those who found time to let us have their views and thoughts - they really do count. The date for submitting forms has now passed.

18th December 2009
Barkway School has organised a Christmas Holiday Art competition for the pupils. The theme is "What they like about Barkway". Entries will be in three age groups and the winning entries will be reproduced as part of the Parish Plan. Small prizes and certificates will be awarded to those pupils who, in the opinion of the judges, have achieved a good standard. Closing date for entries is Friday, 15th January 2010.

12th December 2009 - Engaging with the Community
As part of the process of producing a Parish Plan for Barkway and Newsells, a questionnaire was delivered recently to all households in the Parish. The findings from this exercise will highlight what people like about living in the Parish and what concerns they have for the future. A second phase is planned with questions and topics based on the findings from the first survey.

It is now proposed to organise the second phase involving the use of discussion groups.

It is planned that three groups of up to 8 persons each will meet on consecutive days in the Reading Room some time in January to discuss topics raised as a result of the first survey. Groups will be constructed by age as follows

Guidelines will apply to the running of the groups and a facilitator will be employed to control proceedings. Topic guides will be devised and all contributions will be noted and used to compile a report for later use in the Parish Plan.

This is another opportunity for people to have a say in the future running of the Parish and volunteers are sought to take part in this important process.

Anyone who would like to be involved with these groups should contact the Parish Plan Steering Group on 01763 848108 or parishplan@barkway-village.co.uk

At a meeting of the Parish Plan Steering Group held in the Reading Room on 27th November, it was agreed to produce and deliver a first questionnaire to residents of Barkway and Newsells during the week commencing Sunday 6th December. Residents are requested to complete and return the forms by Saturday 19th December. This will be an opportunity for people to have their say and contribute to the future of the community. Click here for minutes of the meeting, 27th November.

Following the latest Government thinking it is now important that Barkway Parish has a Parish Plan if we are to obtain funds for the projects that concern us most. Those Parishes with Parish Plans take precedence over those that do not.

The Parish Council has therefore asked for volunteers to form a Steering Group who will undertake the work of communicating with Barkway and Newsells residents to find out the issues that concern us most about living in Barkway.

We would like to ensure that the resulting Plan reflects the wishes and concerns of us all. If anyone has any questions they are free to contact any member of the Steering Group as we will be happy to talk with you. You may also contact the Steering Group via the "contact us" page on this website