St Margarets is a special commmunity. We are fortunate with our local schools, shops, friendly streets and local environment. But the pressures of urban living and modern economics could endanger the St Margarets we all value.
Following an idea started during the recent local elections it was agreed we need to devise a local community plan for St Margarets. This Community Plan will address a wide range of issues, for example:
- Transport; cycling and pedestrian facilities; parking and controlled parking zones (CPZs)
- home zones and safe residential streets for our children
- planning and gated developments
- support for local businesses
- the “Tesco problem”
- school places
- environmental protection and improvements – trees and other street planting
- the River Crane
- Moormead and allotments
The final outcome will feed into the council’s Local Development Framework (LDF), and provide our new councillors with guidelines from us, on how we want to be represented.
An initial meeting has been arranged for Tuesday 6th June, 7.30 pm at Winchester Hall, Winchester Road (by the Turks Head pub and St. Stephens Jnr. School). Representatives from various community groups, the police, our new councillors as well as individual residents will be attending, but we will need the views and support of as many people as possible if the project is to develop into a practical community plan.
Contact Judy Maciejowska judymaciejowska@blueyonder.co.uk for further information.
Comments
Following some useful discussions with several people I thought it might be helpful to post my proposed agenda for the meeting. The final format will depend on the numbers attending, but can be adjusted at the time.
7.30 Welcome, explanation of evening
7.35 Intro to Local Development Framework and Unitary Development Plan - from one of the council's LDF team
7.45 Parking and CPZ - current progress, from one of our Councillors
7.55 St. Margaret's vision - general discussion on our vision for St. Margarets
8.20 Workshops (dependent on numbers attending):
Businesses, shops, pubs & restaurants; Schools; Safe residential streets; Crime & anti social behaviour Housing Environment
8.45 Feedback from workshops
9.00 Parking & CPZ - general discussion
9.30 Close
If anybody feels like running a particular workshop, please let me know.
Judy Maciejowska
Judy Maciejowska on 2006-06-02 09:33:56 +0000I think Judy deserves a big thank you for organising this and then so effectively chairing it. In discussion with other people afterwards I found that a lot of people did not know about this site; amongst those who did, several did not notice the facility for 'logging' incidents around parking outside Tesco(I quit posting only because I began to feel like a lone obssessive rather than because things had improved).
May I suggest that posters be put in local shop/business windows advertising the community website, that local schools/groups be asked to put a notice in their newsletters about the site, plus any other suggestions??
Elaine on 2006-06-07 10:48:50 +0000Thank you to everybody for a stimulating and lively debate. I have sent a report to Peter for this site and to Oncom for their site (www.stmargarets-online.co.uk).
But my overall impression is that the biggest threats to the quality of our lives in St. Margarets are the increase in car numbers and overall traffic growth; the Tesco factor - big stores opening branches that compete with independent stores, and the estate agent factor. Of course these all impact on other aspects of community life, but they are symptoms of an increasingly wealthy neighbourhood, which is in danger of becoming a "wealthy area" and not a "neighbourhood".
Let's keep the momentum going and not let St. Margaret's become just an wealthy area.
Judy
p.s. Oh, and the bloody airoplanes
Judy Maciejowska on 2006-06-08 09:10:53 +0000