Progress Report by the Pre-steering Group
July 2021
At its meeting on 17th May the Parish Council resolved to proceed with a Neighbourhood Development Plan for Great Massingham and appointed an interim Pre-steering Group comprising three parish council members (Jon Cole, Kim Frazer, Peter James) chaired by a non-parish council resident (Mike Jackson). The Group has met twice since then.
Its first task has been to prepare and submit draft documents to the Parish Council for an application to the Borough Council for ‘designation of the neighbourhood area’. The area designated will be the whole of the parish. At its June meeting, the Parish Council agreed to proceed with the application, result of which is expected within thirteen weeks.
A second task has been to seek volunteers prepared to join either a full Steering Group or a Support Group that would stand-by to help in various practical ways. To this end a recruiting leaflet was distributed widely within the village via The Mallard, The Dabbling Duck and the Village Stores. If you have not already registered an interest and wish to do so please pick-up a copy at the Village Stores or get in touch by ringing the Chairman (01485 520 056) or sending an e-mail to gmndplan@yahoo.com.
So far, about 25 people have come forward which is most encouraging. The invitation to register an interest is open indefinitely. Next steps include: assembling the steering and support groups, establishing the terms of reference for the Steering Group and assembling a detailed case for financial support from a centrally-funded national scheme. Both will require considerable research and discussion. Producing a Neighbourhood Development Plan is a slow and bureaucratic process but it is also highly democratic. This means that what goes into the plan is in the hands of the whole village and not just members of the Parish Council or the Steering Group.