Bernard Pearson Introduces Our New Look at the People's Plan

The Wincanton People's Plan. Well - beware of what you wish for eh! Because now I am the chairman of what will I hope be a newly formed committee to take the Peoples Plan forward. It's a job I wanted and one I feel I can really do to make a difference in a town I have grown to love. A town I feel privileged to be part of.

The People's Plan was set up as part of the Market and Coastal Towns Association. This was a region wide programme in which towns like ours took stock of where they were and how they wanted their town to develop over the next twenty years.

The Wincanton Peoples Plan was published in 2007. Three years later the world is a different place. Banks, House prices, the economy let alone the World Cup, a lot has changed. We need to look again. We need to build on the very good foundations of the original plan and see just what we can do to realise some of the visions it enshrined and adapt or discard those that circumstances have made either impossible or irrelevant.

THE BIG SOCIETY

It was important for our town and its future to embark upon a plan for the future in 2006. It is even more important now. The whole political and economic landscape has changed - we have something called 'The Big Society' allow me to quote from the official statement.

Building the Big Society

Our Conservative - Liberal Democrat Government has come together with a driving ambition: to put more power and opportunity into people's hands. We want to give citizens, communities and local government the power and information they need to come together, solve the problems they face and build the Britain they want. We want society - the families, networks, neighbourhoods and communities that form the fabric of so much of our everyday lives - to be bigger and stronger than ever before. Only when people and communities are given more power and take more responsibility can we achieve fairness and opportunity for all. And so on - read it: www.cabinetoffice.gov.uk/media/407789/building-big-society.pdf

If ever a town, a community, really needed a vision of where it wants change or where it doesn't, it does now - with a vengeance. This is not a political statement. This is not just rhetoric - this is a fact. If we do not act together and form a realistic plan for our town's future then not only will we fail ourselves, we will fail future generations. So please help, be part of the process that takes the Wincanton People's Plan forward. Just e-mail and we will send you an information pack about what 'helping' might mean.

Comments

muriel cairns
Posts: 1

Wincanton People's Plan
Reply #1 on : Tue August 17, 2010, 21:47:43

---

Bernard - Good Luck with being Chairman - Great to see that the plan is being looked at and being brought up to date to reflect what Wincanton's needs are for today and what Wincanton's needs may be for the future.
To view a copy of Wincanton People's Plan 2006 - 2026 (launched April 2007) go to Wincanton Town Council website - www.wincantontowncouncil.co.uk and look at the WPP (Wincanton People's Plan) section. There are a few copies of the plan available in the Town Hall.

Login to comment!