Community engagement, through consultation and awareness raising, is at the heart of our Neighbourhood Plan.  Our logo, for example, designed by a pupil at Pensford School, shows the iconic Pensford Viaduct with representations of the River Chew and our churches.

Our Plan was prepared by volunteer residents and members of Publow with Pensford Parish Council working as a Steering Group with support from BANES Council.

Awareness raising to encourage local involvement was initially through articles in the Parish magazine. This led to formal community consultation in May 2015 with well attended “drop in” meetings to determine the key areas for inclusion in the Plan.

In October 2015 every household received a questionnaire, based on the findings of the May meetings, to further refine and research residents’ views on the important issues. The return rate of 42% was above the local and national average and reflected our community’s involvement in the Plan.

Further “drop in” meetings in March 2016 provided more evidence of the views and aspirations of the residents.

The policies in our Plan are based on this community consultation and other evidence (e.g. housing surveys).

Feedback from this community consultation is included here:

• Open Days May 2015 – Comments
• Questionnaire Responses October 2015
• Questionnaire Comments October 2015
• Open Days March 2016 – Comments
• Final Draft – Residents’ Comments