Parish Plans are the foundation stone for any parish wanting to be more effective and have greater influence. In Wiltshire and Swindon there is a growing interest in parish plans. 20 parish plans have now been published, and many more parishes are interested in undertaking one.

Community First can advise and assist with all aspects of parish plan projects from the first questions through to the publication of the plan.

The support we offer includes:

• Presentations to Parish Councils
• Help getting started
• Supporting parish plan steering groups
• Providing training and networking opportunities
• Ideas about how to consult
• Advice about planning the parish plan project and budget
• Facilitation at events
• Design of consultation materials
• Advice about data analysis
• Commenting on drafts
• Loan of consultation tools
• Examples of questionnaires and completed plans
• Updates about regional and national trends
• Contacts for similar projects
• Working on your behalf to make sure plans are used

For those Parish Councils that are not yet ready to embark on a parish plan but would be interested to learn more then we would be happy to arrange to meet with the Parish Council to discuss further.

Parish Plan Workshop Programme

We run a rolling programme of workshop sessions for parish plan groups covering many aspects of managing a parish plan project.

These include:

Steering Group Briefing
All the basics information needed to get started on a parish plan including the nine steps of parish planning, role of the steering group, budgeting and lots more.

Consultation Basics
Best practice in consultation including principles such as identifying who to consult with.

Beyond Questionnaires
Alternative approaches to consultation. Easy and engaging ways of asking questions and collecting information

Mind the Gap!
Looking at consultation results to check for gaps, missing issues and if they are representative
 
Issues to Action
Turning community issues into realistic and achievable actions. Action planning and use of SMART objectives

Parish Plan Perfection
What does a ‘good parish plan’ look like? What are the essential elements to include? How do we make it look interesting and readable?