Vlognotes #01 GCPlan Data drop from The First Conversation

So not withstanding the busy week of webinars which ill pick up next week, the key headlines from what we have released this week are as follows (these are nicked from my colleague Hana (thx Hana :-);

We had brilliant comments to the consultation — so many responses and so varied.

• 8,500 responses! Brilliant!
• For the first time we also measured the diversity of our respondents through a voluntary anonymous survey and for example 12% of respondents were from BAME backgrounds which is exactly the same as the proportion in the general population of our area, so it’s fantastic to have a really diverse range of people telling us what they think.

It is fantastic to read how passionate people are about the future of the GC area.

• We asked people to rank the ‘big themes’ and the clear response was that climate change is the top priority. We embrace the challenge of meeting the ‘net zero’ target and we’ve commissioned some detailed studies on how we can achieve that
• We heard a lot about how planning and development can help us solve some of these big challenges — how we need good planning to help create affordable homes in the right places, to help adapt to climate change, to help bring better local services to areas that need them. If we don’t plan for these challenges, how can we possibly achieve positive change?
• We heard concerns about growth as well, but actually most respondents felt that continuing economic growth was really important — because it is the engine that can help us reduce inequality and create these benefits
• I loved this quote from one resident who simply said ‘Be groundbreaking and brave.’ We certainly hope to do that.

Lots of sites submitted but we only need a fraction of them.

• So people should really not be concerned about sites that were suggested near them. Anyone could put forward a site, but we will only be choosing sites that fit with the strategy we develop — and that strategy will be driven by those big themes of climate change and so forth.
• And when we publish our suggested shortlist of sites next year we will be asking everyone in the area if we’ve got it right. We will want to know exactly what you think — is the strategy right, and are the sites a good fit for that strategy?
• This is about transparency — we are aiming demystify the process of plan-making so that everyone understands how it works and gets to be part of the process.
• No decisions have been made yet — it’s a huge number of sites and a very thorough process that we go through.

So how can people have their say?

• We’ll be consulting on the Preferred Option for the Plan next year and we’ll be asking everyone to tell us what they think at that point.
• Between now and then we’re compiling a vast range of evidence on water, transport, housing need, environmental quality. We have to ensure the Plan is first and foremost based on really sound evidence. We need to assemble and publish that all in a manageable format for everyone to be able to understand it and comment on it.
• We’re involving Parish Councils and Residents Associations in more workshops later this Autumn and we’re going to keep updating our website, publishing more evidence and so forth.
• Go online, have a read, join one of our webinars or if you can’t, watch it back on our youtube channels afterwards — and thanks to everyone who has taken part so far.

I would also suggest you have the FAQ page on our website open in your browser