2023 NPSG Minutes

Meeting Number:  2

Date: 18th April 2023

Location:   Grasby Village Hall Meeting Room

Time: 19:00

Attendees:

Chris Mead (Chairman)
Janet Brown (Treasurer)
Rob Bennett
Mike Downing
Peter Morris (District Councillor)
Steve Riley (Secretary)

Apologies: None

Agenda:

1.  Actions from last meeting
2.   Progress since last meeting
3.   Community engagement
5.   Any other business
6.   Actions arising and next meeting

Major Points of Discussion

 
1.   Actions from last meeting

1.1   Janet to circulate Terms of Reference previously approved by the Parish Council. Completed.

1.2   Chris to confirm whether a Memorandum of Understanding is needed between the Parish Council and the District Council. MoU not needed. Completed.

1.3   Mike to follow up with Roy Harvey on engagement with the Steering Group. Roy is available for consultation as required by the group on environment matters. He believes there are no areas in the parish which require specific wildlife protection. Completed.

1.4   Chris to circulate current land use map available from the Parish Council. Ongoing.

Action: CM 1.4

1.5   All members of the Steering Group to consider ideas on how best to engage with the community to ensure inclusion of as many people as possible. Discussed as agenda item 3. Chris produced a set of discussion points for consultation with parish residents (Attachment 1 to these minutes). Completed. Note, this topic will be a regular agenda item for the steering group.

1.6   Janet to update and circulate along the long and short versions of the questionnaire produced by Viv Forbes to the members of the steering group. Completed.

1.7   Chris to progress contact with the Owmby and Searby parish meeting members to invite their participation on the steering group. Ongoing.

Action: CM 1.7

1.8   Janet will contact Jane Mager regarding the Village Hall room availability for future steering group meetings. Completed.

1.9   Chris to provide existing planning applications which may include development of retail facilities in the parish. The current list has been emailed to steering group members. Completed.

2.   Progress since last meeting

Chris reported that no feedback on the activities of the steering group were received at the last Parish Council meeting on the 15th March.

Janet reported that there is no change in the potential sources of government funding to support the development of the Neighbourhood Plan, i.e. currently no new applications are being accepted. Janet will continue to monitor and report updates back to the group. In addition Chris will contact Nev Brown to discuss the latest situation regarding council funding for Neighbourhood Plans.
 
Action: CM 2.1
 
3.   Community engagement

The following draft plan to elicit parish resident engagement in the development of the neighbourhood plan and future adoption was discussed:   

•   Step 1 – Social media and web site announcements. In order to prepare the community for participation in the development of the plan, a short announcement will be made on the local Grasby forums on social media and parish related web sites, e.g. Facebook, Nextdoor, Parish and District Council web sites. To this end, Mike will draft the announcement for review at the next steering group meeting on 9th May.

Action MH 2.2

Janet and Rob will find out who the admins for the proposed sites are to progress the announcement.

Action: JB/RB 2.3

•   Step 2 – Leafleting. A leaflet will be delivered to every household in the parish providing information on the neighbourhood plan and how residents can contribute. A request to contribute suggestions (via email) and to complete the long questionnaire (see Action 1.6) will be made. Only those people requesting further engagement will be contacted in Step 3 below. Mike will draft the contents of the leaflet for review at the next steering group meeting.

Action: MH 2.4

Steve will register an email address (GrasbyNP@gmail.com) for resident’s responses and general communication. 

Action: SR 2.5

Notes: There are just under 300 households in the parish. Janet can print the leaflets. The Parish Council will fund the cost of producing the leaflets which will be distributed by the steering group members (Peter is also willing to help). The possibility of holding a competition for those residents willing to contribute was suggested, e.g. a lottery or photo competition. Prizes may be made available from local businesses in the area, this topic will be discussed at the next meeting.   

•   Step  3  –  Questionnaire  feedback.  Online  and/or  paper  questionnaires  will  be distributed as requested in Step 2. All steering group members will review the draft content (see Action 1.6) and provide feedback to Janet before the next meeting.

Action: All 2.6

Notes: The group need to consider the criteria by which to analyse and process the completed questionnaires in advance of receipt. To engage younger members of the community and engender participation, a youth specific questionnaire was suggested. These topics will be discussed at a future meeting.   

•   Step 4 – Public meeting. It is anticipated that a public meeting to present, consult and discuss the community engagement and questionnaire feedback will be held in the Village Hall. Two similar meetings on different dates in the same week are expected to ensure as much community participation as possible.   

Notes: The use of post-it boards (one for each major area of the neighbourhood plan) was suggested for use by attendees who would like to contribute but do not wish to engage in direct debate.   

•   Step 5 – Producing the Neighbourhood Plan. Following the public meetings a draft neighbourhood plan will be produced for review by members of the steering group. Once finalised and approved by the Parish Council, this will be made public via the usual channels.

Notes: The role of a paid consultant in this process has yet to be agreed and is subject to securing funding. The steering group must produce a Terms of Reference for any consultancy involvement detailing what is required and on what basis a consultant will be used. This topic will be discussed at the next meeting.   

•   Step 6 – Parish referendum. After appropriate period after publication, a referendum will be held to decide on the adoption of the Neighbourhood Plan by the community.  The details, logistics and contingencies regarding the referendum will be discussed at a future meeting.   

•   Step 7 – Completion of activities. Once adopted the Neighbourhood Plan will be the responsibility of the Parish Council to progress. The steering group will be disbanded having met its current purpose and objectives.   

4.   Any other business   

Steering group members will review the paper produced by Chris on the areas and topics for community consultation (see Attachment 1). Any comments to be fed back to Chris before the next meeting on the 9th May.   

Action: All 2.7
 
5.   Actions arising and next meeting

The actions of this meeting were agreed by all those involved.

The next proposed steering group meeting is to be held at 19:00 on Tuesday the 9th May at the usual venue.

Attachment 1 - Grasby Neighbourhood Plan – Consultation What is this about?

A Village Neighbourhood Plan is an opportunity for the residents of Grasby parish to create a document that sets out how we would like to see future development happen. It will be supported by West Lindsey Council and legally must be considered when they decide on future development proposals. It’s our chance to have the views of our community views taken into account. No plan, no influence.

Why are we asking for your views?

We’re asking because we don’t know your views. We want to know as much about the village and its resident’s views to be able to propose aspirational, but deliverable plans for the future of the village. We would like everyone in the village to contribute so we can create a plan with the widest support.

What’s next?

We want to engage as many residents as possible. Look out for a leaflet drop, social media posts, a questionnaire, competitions and a ‘Post-it’ meeting in the Village Hall with refreshments to meet and talk about the Plan. Below is a list of points you may want to consider and comment on.

We look forward to hearing from you.

Grasby Neighbourhood Plan Committee