About
the VAP Committee...
Following a grant received
from the Countryside Agency, Wappenham Village Action Plan (VAP) steering
group was formed (as a sub-committee of the Parish Council) to undertake
a series of consultation activities with villagers, on Wappenham’s future
needs regarding, local amenities, leisure, housing, etc. for the next
5 years and produce a Village Action Plan.
The
actions to be put forward were based on a variety of consultative activities.
In addition the Village Action Plan is also producing a Village Design
Statement (read below for more details).
The
VAP committee consisted of Colin Bullock, Eileen Robbins, Nick Levinson,
the late David Foden, Phil King, Brian Watts, and D. Walsh. Since then,
it has now been taken over by the Parish Council.
Village
Design Statement
In 2004 the VAP committee consulted villagers about the possibility
of Wappenham having it's own Village Design Statement to help
influence decisions on design and development. A
majority of residents voted that they would welcome such a document.
In order to better understand what a Village Design Statement does and
what this will mean for Wappenham we have copied the following information
from the Countryside
Agency website. The village design statement was completed in 2007.
Following furhter consulation in May 2011, South Northants County Council
will be adopting it as supplementary guidance by the end of the summer
(2011).
Wappenham
VDS Consultation responses with SNC's recommendations - July 2011
Village
Design Statement - Revised & updated July 2011
(.pdf document - size: 2.13MB)
Parish
Plan (not updated)
(.pdf document - size: 103kb)
"Many
people feel that they have no say over what development takes place
in their community; but Village Design Statements (VDSs) offer a constructive
solution to this dilemma. Local communities have a unique appreciation
and understanding of their own place, and a VDS is based on this knowledge.
It describes the qualities that residents value in their village and
its surroundings. Around 200 English communities have completed Design
Statements to date."
"A
Village Design Statement sets out clear and simple guidance for the
design of all development in a village, based on its character. It is
an advisory document produced by the village community, not by the planning
authority. It will not stop change from happening, but it can help effect
how any new building fits into the village. VDSs are intended to influence
the operation of the statutory planning system, so that new development
is in harmony with its setting and makes a positive contribution to
the immediate environment."
Ref:http://www.countryside.gov.uk/LivingLandscapes/
countryside_character/landscape/village/index.asp
Questionnaire
It
has taken a lot of time and effort to compile the results of the questionnaire.
For those of you who were not yet residents when the questionnaire was
circulated, here is a bit of background information.
The questionnaire was constructed through
comments collected during Wappenham’s Future Needs Day event, which
took place at Wappenham Village Hall on the 30 November 2002. In 2003,
a questionnaire was devised and distributed over the summer. We had
such a good return that compiling the answers took much longer than
anticipated. Effectively out of the 122 questionnaires that we distributed
to 120 households, 108 were duly completed. In effect, 90% of households
took part in the survey; this is much higher than the average participation
rate for this type inquiry!
The fact that VAP committee members delivered
and collected the questionnaires in person had much to do with the high
turnout. A big thank you to Lyn Colby who compiled the questionnaire.
Analysis of the preliminary results has been presented to the Parish
Council; you can now view these on-line by clicking on the link below.
Please note that there are charts on this page and therefore it may
take some time to download depending on your connection (150 seconds
at 28.8 kbps).
Questionnaire
Results