Sibfords Community Plan

A community led plan sets out a vision of how the community wants to develop and identifies the action needed to achieve it. Sibford Ferris and Sibford Gower Parish Councils initiated the preparation of a Community Plan but it is now being steered by local residents – ‘by the community for the community’.

The principal aims of a Community Plan are to:

• generate a shared vision for the whole community which can identify and kick start new projects in the village;
• develop a greater sense of community spirit, with an opportunity for everyone to contribute;
• influence and inform others and give a local perspective on policy making;
• highlight areas of concern and suggest ways of addressing them.

Following the LAUNCH of the Community Plan in December 2010 our OPEN DAY on 19 March 2011 was very successful. It was attended by 110 people who talked with Steering Group members about the aim of the PLAN and participated in the ‘Like / Dislike’ survey with their ‘post-it’ note comments on relevant issues. Several more people volunteered to help with the PLAN. Take a look at the Launch_Responses, Open Day_Responses and a Summary of Attendances.

Six Working Groups were set up to examine in more detail the wide range of issues and opportunities raised by the community at the Launch and Open Day events. The Groups covered the following topics: Housing & Planning; Roads, Traffic, Footpaths & Bridleways; Environment; Leisure & Recreation; Community Facilities; and Business & Economy.

Members of the Steering Group were available at the Village Hall Fayre on Saturday June 18th to explain more about the Community Plan and progress on the Working Groups.

The younger generation also contributed to the Community Plan by adding their ideas on a Graffiti Wall at the Village Hall Fayre. Take a look at the . The Graffiti Wall was also set up at the Church Fete in July and more youngsters added their ideas about the Sibfords.

The Steering Group decided that a comprehensive Household Questionnaire should form the major community consultation, enabling residents in the Sibfords to record their views about a wide range of items. Everyone would be encouraged to complete it as a high response ensures that the analysis of the data more accurately reflects the views and aspirations of our community. During the Summer and Autumn of 2011, the Steering Group progressed with the development of the Questionnaire, assisted by the Working Groups, whose research and findings guided the questions to be included in the various Questionnaire topics. The draft Questionnaire was reviewed by Oxfordshire Rural Communities Council, Cherwell District Council and Oxfordshire County Council all of whom provided helpful comments; a number of people in the Sibfords also kindly offered to review and pilot it. The Questionnaire was completed in early November and delivered to all houses in the Sibfords by a group of volunteers, many of whom already help with the distribution of the Newsletters.

Since the initial analysis of the Questionnaire responses during January 2012, the Working Groups have been examining the responses in more detail and preparing individual reports including a range of potential actions and opportunities for incorporation into the Final PLAN.

Take a look at the Final Questionnaire with Response Totals. This shows the total of numerical responses received in the Questionnaire, and also the Questionnaire Headlines arising from the initial analysis of the data. At the end of the Questionnaire, Questions 72 invited the community to add any further comments on what they valued about the Sibfords. Question 73 also invited any general comments. These can be viewed at Responses to Question 72 and Responses to Question 73.

Building on the feedback from the Working Groups, the Steering Group prepared a Consultation Draft of the Community Plan which was issued in mid July 2012. Over a six week period, the community was given the opportunity to comment on the Consultation Draft; it was also sent to Sibford Ferris and Sibford Gower Parish Councils, Oxfordshire Rural Communities Council, Cherwell District and Oxfordshire County Council to review.

The Steering Group examined all the comments received and completed the Sibfords Community Plan Final Report in October 2012. A presentation of the Plan to the community was held in the Village Hall on 6th November 2012.

The Community Plan has now been adopted by the two Parish Councils who will coordinate the ongoing delivery of the identified actions and initiatives. The two Parish Councils have also prepared a joint Statement setting out the Vision and Aims of the Plan.

The Steering Group has now completed their task of developing the Plan on behalf of the community. If anyone is interested in taking forward specific initiatives within the Plan, they are advised to contact the Clerks or Chairs of the Parish Councils who will be happy to provide information on the actions that are developing from the Community Plan.