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• the landscape of the parish,
• how the settlements had developed, particularly the two settlement areas of Cradley,
• the roads, lane and footpaths, thier issues and benefits to the parish
• spaces within the village of Cradley that we want to earmark as "sensitive sites"
• buildings, the vernacular, and landmarks
• draft recommendations for future supplementary planning guidance
• associated draft recommendations that will be followed further in the Parish Plan

It was a very useful meeting for all present. The actions that are now taking place are:

• Jane Patton (Conservation) to make a presentation on her Landscape Character Assessment on Friday 16 @ 09.30 am (Old Rectory)
• Steve Dring (Strategy Planning ) will be responding on the proposed "Sensitive Sites" and also on which settlement boundary we should be using in our VDS, that of the 1998 Malvern Hills Plan or, that one that will be proposed in the Herefordshire UDP (draft) os 9/2002.

The meeting of 10 September 2001 in the Village Hall was opened by John Edgar and pictures by John Drummond for the Area Of Natural Beauty Jigsaw Project were shown. Progress to date was reviewed, and the plan for development of the VDS outlined.

In preparation for the meeting on 10th September in the village hall, two members of the VDS Core Group prepare their presentations.

John Edgar, Gerry Thomas and David Creed-Newton, as facilitators, gave presentations. Names were put into the structure for the editorial working group co-ordinators, led by Mike Vockins, and names for the three working groups. If you are not on a working group and would like to support development of the VDS please contact one of the following:-

Working groups:-

Facilitators:-

Interest cross reference table

	Architecture	Local history	Road & trans	Flora & fauna	Geology	Geography	Footpaths	Wildlife	Admin	Planning	Woodlands	Publications	Photography	Brooks & ponds	Other Special	Demography	Landscape	Workshop leader	Choices
P & K Shervington				1	1			1		1	1			1					6
Tim Leader			1			1	1			1		1							5
Ian Haynes										1					1				2
Alan Edwards										1		1	1						3
B & S Herriot				1				1											2
J & D Drummond		1					1	1			1		1		1		1		7
Scotford Lawrence	1		1																2
Alan Cutler		1					1	1			1							1	5
Jane Ireland		1															1		2
Pat Fairfax										1		1			1	1		1	5
Lynn Mitchell		1	1											1			1		4
C & G Lowder		1										1		1	1		1		5
Shelagh nunn	1	1		1			1	1											5
Sandy Fraser							1	1					1				1		4
F A Roadknight		1																	1
W & P Hunt		1						1	1		1								4
P & J Wynne-James	1	1	1	1		1	1	1		1	1			1			1		11
C R Downie				1			1	1			1						1		5
R & R Rowbery													1		1				2
Mo Sanders								1	1	1				1			1		5
Myra Jones		1	1					1											3
Russell Good									1										1
Sarah Ashton									1						1			1	3
Representation	3	10	5	5	1	2	7	11	4	7	6	4	4	5	6	1	8	3

Minutes of Village Design Statement meeting of 12 July 2001

Please complete the VDS interest form if you have not already done so, thank-you!

Parish and Town Plans - The Countryside Agency are starting an initiative which may be relevant to us. They point out that one tenth of the English population lives in a village, yet in 1997:
42% of rural parishes had no shop. We have the Butchers and Village Stores.
43% had no post office. Ours is at the Village Stores.
50% had no school for 6 year olds. Our school is about to be re-newed.
61% had no recreational clubs for older people. Evergreens, walkers, etc, etc
61% had no parent and toddler group. Yes!
68% had no youth club or other young person's club. Scouts, Monday choir, ...
75% had no daily bus service. Better than daily!
83% had no GP based in the parish. The practice is so well supported that it may decline patients from outside the area.
91% had no day care for older people. The Leys used to be sheltered housing with a resident warden to support the independently minded, but with fewer people in need the warden visits once a day. Every room has an emergency pull cord.
92% had no provision for out of school care.
96% had no day care for people with disabilities.

Cradley gets a score of about 9/11. To keep the score high we need a...

The Parish council has resolved to support the preparation of a "Village Design Statement".

Village Design Statements are documents that reflect the views of all in the village community about future developments in a Village.

Whilst change is and always has been inevitable, we can now have an influence upon change.

The Design Statement is taken in to account when applications for any future developments are considered and have real weight.

The Design statement is not produced by the Parish Council but some Council members have volunteered to act as facilitators.

A wide range of contributions is not only welcome but necessary for the Design Statement to have any value.

A meeting has been arranged so that as many people as possible can be informed about what is involved.

The aim is to manage and influence change

The objectives are

To describe the distinctive character of the village and the surrounding countryside

To show that character can be identified at three levels
1. the landscape setting of the village
2. the shape of the settlement
3. the nature of the buildings themselves

To draw up design principles based on the distinctive local character

To work in partnership with the local planning authority in the context of existing local planning policy, and to influence future policies

Cradley and Storridge should be treated as two separate villages but projects can be run in parallel

is developed, researched and written and edited by local people

is representative of the views of the village as a whole

has involved a wide section of the village community in its production

describes the visual character of the village

demonstrates how local character and distinctiveness can be protected and enhanced in new development

is compatible with statutory planning system and local planning context

is suitable for approval as supplementary planning guidance

is applicable to all forms and scale of development; and is about managing change in the village, not preventing it.

it sets out the character of the village in a way that will encourage locally distinctive design

it gives the community a recognised voice in the planning process that affect the visual quality of the village

it supports and strengthens the role of the parish council when consulted over planning applications

it is a representative view of local people of the character of the village

it demonstrates local commitment to high quality design and appropriate development that will improve the quality of life in the village

it enables local priorities to be considered in the development process

it enables local people to be able to respond in an informed and professional manner to planning and development proposals in the village; and

it is applicable to all villages and settlements, not just conservation or specially designated areas

it represent the view of the whole village community

it complements the existing planning and development control system and strengthens the local planning authority's position when advising or negotiating on design an appeal

it provides a structured, flexible approach to assessing village character

it is not a drain on their resources as it is undertaken by the community

it enables local people to make a positive contribution to the development debate, rather than having to rely on protest and a NIMBY stance to make their views heard

it provides support for elected members' decisions

it can be used as guidance in design and development briefing when approved as Supplementary Planning Guidance

it enables an informed dialog to take place with the community; and

it can be material evidence when used at appeals, when approved as Supplementary Planning guidance

it describes the visual qualities and character of the village as an inspiration for design

It describes the visual qualities and character of the village as perceived by local people

it can shorten the process of planning negotiation and application by reducing conflict and NIMBY responses; and

it encourages villagers to take a positive view of development.

The Millennium CD (the web site is a prototype for the CD) replicates part of the village design statement and draws its funding from some of the same sources. It is sensible therefore to run the projects in parallel. Sources of funding are:

Local Authority

Rural Community Council

Civic trust

Sell Better Britain Campaign

Rural Action

In 1996 a budget of around £2500 was thought to be reasonable.

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