Weekly digest: Sep 21

Hello again,

That’s it!  No more. The end. Finito. Our consultation on the Neighbourhood Plan has finally finished and finished on a terrific high!

Thank you for being patient over these last 8 or so weeks whilst we have focussed our efforts on the consultation and the various sessions.

And a HUGE THANK YOU! to those who have taken part in this exercise and provided us with your thoughts and feedback – it’s been our most successful event yet and the results are plain to see.

1. The results – a snap summary

  • The Good….
    • At the close of play on the 20th we had received a grand total of 118 responses! And a few more stragglers (stakeholders who have asked for an extension) are expected over the next couple of days
    • I know we set a target of 100 responses, published a couple of weeks ago in a previous digest, but even so… We thought anything over 50 would be a good level of feedback and anything over 80 would be terrific.
    • But we always thought 100 was a huge stretch – and you have smashed it! The breakdown is:
      • 101 from residents and/or friends
      • 17 from stakeholders / businesses
  • ..the Very Good….
    • It’s not just the number but the depth of the responses from residents and friends that is truly impressive. The thoughtful and considered comments clearly display a detailed understanding of the Plan which is very heartening and welcome to see.
    • We expect detailed examination of our policies from stakeholders such as local authorities and landowners – and indeed we got it in spades from them.
    • But to get the same level of commitment from you demonstrates a clear ownership of the Plan that is both remarkable and humbling. This is truly your plan!
  • …and the Bad…
    • We have to hold our hands up and apologise for the missed session last Friday at Tesco Toton. We messed up the booking and for some reason our event wasn’t scheduled in their diary. And with the key managers being out of the office the remaining staff were unable to sanction our presence on their site.
    • If you came along on Friday expecting to see us… sorry!  If you’d like to get in touch, we will make sure to meet up with you if you’d like to talk things over.

2. Next Steps

  • I thought at the start of the consultation period that the Steering Group would need two or three weeks to collate, summarise and agree the amendments needed before formal submission of the Plan to the council.
  • In hindsight I can see I was being somewhat optimistic! Given the level and detail of the feedback received, we will need to spend quite a few weeks undertaking this review and then refining the Plan.
  • So, whereas we were initially thinking of submitting the Plan by the end of October, it is now looking likely to be in November. This is a tad frustrating for those of us who want to push things along, but it is sensible to make sure we take the time needed to carefully review and amend. There is no point rushing things and then slipping up at the last minute.

3. And finally…..

  • This isn’t the time to report back on a couple of meetings we’ve attended over the last couple of weeks, so I’ll make a note to report on them in the next edition
  • The next edition will be in 3 weeks’ time. I’m sure you will appreciate the rest following my non-stop haranguing over the last few weeks.  And, by the time you read this, I’ll be in a cottage in deepest Suffolk having a rest and forgetting all about Plans and planning for a while.

Postscript.  This classic Elton John song (paraphrased!) came to mind earlier this morning..

“And you can tell everybody this is Your Plan
It may be quite simple, and (actually) a bit too long,
I hope you don’t mind…..”


*gets coat and leaves for the country…

Kind regards
Graham

Broxtowe Lotto: tickets available from our CTTC Forum page where you’ll find details of the scheme.

This entry was posted in Consultation, Latest News, Neighbourhood Plan. Bookmark the permalink.

2 Responses to Weekly digest: Sep 21

  1. DaveDont says:

    Resident of Toton need more wasy of being informed about consultations

    • CTTC Graham says:

      Hi DaveDont. Many thanks for your comment. It’s always tricky knowing how best to inform residents of our consultations but we believe we have done everything reasonable. For instance, we published the sessions on several local facebook sites, published on Broxtowe Council ‘what’s on’ pages; published in local free papers, put up posters in key locations. And the most effective channel was to our (approx 1,000) registered members and friends on our mailing lists via our weekly update enewsletter. I note that you are not on our lists, so if you get back to me on graham.cttcnf@gmail.com I’ll be glad to add you in.
      Regards
      Graham

We Welcome Comments. Comments are moderated.

This site uses Akismet to reduce spam. Learn how your comment data is processed.