Parish priorities statement submitted to SDNPA

Like 2/3 of the parishes in the South Downs National Park, our parish council (PC) had decided it did not have the resources or the need to produce a neighbourhood development plan meeting the requirements laid down by the government in 2016. However, the 2023 Levelling-up and Regeneration Bill introduced a much less proscribed and onerous way for parishes to set out their visions for the future and to inform their local planning authorities. The South Downs National Park Authority actively encouraged parishes to do so - to contribute to the current review of its Local Plan and to funding and other policy decisions – and emphasised that "community engagement is key".

Our PC therefore decided to produce a parish priorities statement and to use a survey of all residents to ensure that it reflected their views. This decision, and the planned survey, was publicised in the PC's annual report to residents (which is hand delivered to every household), at its annual parish meeting, in the parish magazine and on its website.

The survey received responses from an estimated 25% of all residents and 36% of all households and came out with very clear priorities of the community, which the parish council then incorporated into an official Parish priorities statement. This was submitted to the SDNPA on 17th October and the Priorities working party is now working on an action plan for approval by the PC to put the community's priorities at the centre of its work and to incorporate some of the wealth of comments and suggestions included in the survey responses.

The statement is available from the link below and includes links to the survey report and to the associated Parish sustainability charter.