HELLIFIELD VILLAGE PLAN GROUP

The Hellifield Village Plan Group is one of many organisations and individuals who work hard throughout the year to enhance the quality of life within Hellifield.

Background:

• Parish Council obtained funding 2006 to produce a village plan
• Group formed from volunteers at a meeting in July 2006
• Village surveys and meetings 2006/07
• Plan published October 2007
• Plan adopted by Hellifield Parish Council April 2008
• Action Plan reviewed quarterly at present.  

Unlike most villages, the group opted to remain in place after the plan was published to:

• Help the Parish Council in developing actions from the plan
• To keep the plan alive – it dies after publication in many villages
• To publicise developments within Hellifield and in Craven
• To help groups use the plan to attract funding for initiatives
• To help co-ordinate groups formed to carry out specific parts of the action plan
• To keep lobbying Craven District Council, North Yorkshire County Council and other agencies
• To co-ordinate some practical actions through the village.

The group now meets four times per year. The next set of meetings is:

Wednesday 15th July 2009
Wednesday 14th October 2009
Wednesday 13th January 2010
Wednesday 14th April 2010

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Hellifield Village Plan Group
Report to Hellifield Annual Village Meeting 25th march 2010

The group has met three times since our last report and in February called an open meeting for the village.

Many of the self help initiatives which were raised in the plan are now under way carried out both by the Parish Council and volunteers in the village: developments at the institute; Hellifield Youth and Youth CafÈ; Station Road Playground; increased planting and public area maintenance; bus shelter; ideas for road signs.

CDC and NYCC initiatives have also moved on plan items: kerbside plastic recycling; additional crossing on A65; 40 mph limit to the east of the village.

The plan has raised local involvement and has helped HPC and volunteer groups obtain significant grants toward village initiatives.  All the remaining members of the village plan group are actively involved as individuals or members of groups in various village initiatives.

The village meeting in February was called to see if people felt the group has a continuing role and to see if anyone new wished to take on that role. The meeting attracted only two people from the village other than group members and members of HPC as well as Helen Firth, CDC.

The outcome of the meeting was the group will close formally at it’s meeting on 14th April.  Responsibility for monitoring and driving the plan forward will reside with Hellifield Parish Council and that remaining funds raised by the group will be either held by HPC to support plan based initiatives or be passed to a registered organisation within the village who will be required to use the funds appropriately.

Bob Moore
Chairman Hellifield Village Plan Group
March 2010