TOM LONG'S POST Spring is here! - Stroud District Community ...

Tom Long’s PostParish Council NewsMinchinhampton Library andYouth CentreFollowing the Public Meeting, andwith the support of the Parish Councila Steering Group was formed to lookat the future of service provision withinthe parish. At the meeting onWednesday 19th January two subgroups were formed, one for LibraryServices and one for the YouthCentre, both tasked with providing amodel or models for the future of theirservice. These will be brought to themeeting provisionally set for the 17thFebruary. Costing and provision offunding has been kept as a separateissue at present, to be determinedafter the models have been received.The expression of interest incommunity involvement with theprovision of library services has beensent to G.C.C, incorporating a missionstatement prepared by the SteeringGroup.“To work with the County, charitiesand other specialist providers, withinand outside the local Community, tonot only fill the gap left by the libraryand youth club closures, but ensuresustainable assets remain for futuregenerations.”There will be regular press releaseson the progress of the Steering Groupin the local press and also on theParish Council web site and on theFriends of Minchinhampton Librarywebsiteathttp://friendsofminchinhamptonlibrary.wordpress.com/Minchinhampton ParishCouncil Traffic and ParkingGroupOver the weekend of 27/28 March2010, the Parish Council carried out apublic consultation exercise entitledPlanning for Real. Residents wereinvited to contribute observations andcomments on a wide range of issues45and to participate in an open debate atthe conclusion of the event. Planningfor Real was well supported byresidents and one of the topics whichattracted many comments was trafficand parking issues withinMinchinhampton.This lead to the setting up of theTraffic and Parking Group which wastasked with looking at possiblesolutions for the future trafficmanagement and parking needswithin the town, the group includesmembers of the Parish Council RoadSafety Team, representatives fromlocal business and residents.In order to assess the current situationobjectively, it was decided to carry outa number of surveys, which includedvehicle parking patterns, speed andvolume. The results are currentlybeing studied so that possiblesolutions to any relevant issues canbe formed into actual plans, these willthen be made available on display forpublic comment.Cllr John WilliamsMinchinhamptonRegeneration CommitteeLast year saw the development ofwhat would be required for the newMinchinhampton Regeneration WebSite, having considered a number ofoptions we have finally decided to runwith our own site which we believe willbe helpful to all groups within the townand beyond.Following a competitive biddingprocess we are delighted to have localresident Mark Strevens of BookmarkComputers on board to help us withthe development of the new site. Wehave researched a number of thepubs and restaurants in the area forinclusion in the site as well as theNational Trust and others. We arecurrently seeking to populate the website and hope to have it available forall shortly. The more we use it for ourlocal activities the better for the website and the ease with which othersoutside the town will find it.In researching the facilities inMinchinhampton we feel that there isa need to promote where we can, thetown, its facilities and those in thesurrounding area, to this end wehave started the process ofapproaching appropriate authoritieswith a view to seeing whether wecould have better signage in the areawhich would encourage visitors andtrade. This is not expected to be aquick process as there have beenrecent changes in organisations, butwe trust that with trading partnersand goodwill on behalf of theauthorities we would see newopportunities to puttingMinchinhampton and area moreclearly on the map.Should you have ideas that youwould like to share concerningMinchinhampton regeneration,please do not hesitate to contactNigel Stapleton atnigels@uwclub.net .Planning for eventualities inMinchinhampton ParishThe early heavy snow inNovember/December served as atimely reminder why many of usneed the help of 'Good Neighbours'to clear snow and collect provisions.We know that many in ourcommunity already act as goodneighbours to friends and family atthese times, but some people still getleft out. We would really like toformalise whatever happens in yourarea so that every house is covered.Already we have volunteers who willbe out and about in the next fewweeks, knocking on doors andmaking sure everyone getsassistance if and when they need it.They will also take the opportunity ofrecruiting you as a emergencyhelper if you have practical skills ordrive a 4 x 4. The 'good neighbours'will be local to your house but if youdon’t recognise them or are in any