Colton Community Plan
for 2010

Colton has embarked on a new Community Plan, to report in 2010. The principal authorities (the National Park, District and County Councils)  will look increasingly to Community Plans to inform local policy on key issues like housing, planning, countryside access, etc.., so it is even more important that we produce one for Colton. The Plan will focus on how we want our Parish to develop in the future, and as such should be a community-led initiative that will express your views, desires and ideas, so we will need your help and participation!

The Colton Community Plan Working Group was set up in March this year, with the following members at present:

Colin Barr (Parish Council Chairman)
David Baxter
Maggie Dryden
Bobbie Dobson
David Dunford
Brenda Fishwick (Parish Councillor)
Mandy Lane (Clerk to Council)
Penny Lovegrove (Parish Councillor)
Mike Postle

The WG has held two meetings so far: the first in March with representatives from the National Park (Clive Wickham) and District Council (Judith Quigley) explaining how they intend to use such Plans and the support that may be available, and the second in May with Julia Wilson from Action with Communities in Cumbria (ACT,formerly Voluntary Action Cumbria) providing very useful guidance on how to start out on the new Plan and on possible funding sources. See the ACT website for more useful information on Community Planning.

If you would like to become directly involved in the Colton Community Plan development, please contact the Parish Council Clerk, Mandy Lane.

Background
Colton's first Parish Plan (as they were then called) was produced in 2003 by a working group of local people, and involved contributions from a wide range of local organisations. It described Colton Parish and reported on people's likes, dislikes, and priority issues, based on responses to questionnaires and community events. The result of this local consultation was set out in an action plan, and was then used by the Parish Council to prioritise its efforts on those issues of greatest concern. Since 2003, the Parish Council has updated this action plan twice with progress reports (see Parish Plan webpages).