VILLAGE LIFE QUESTIONNAIRE

This article and questionnaire appears in the January 2011 edition to enable Appleshaw Parish Council, and anyone wishing to stand for election in May when the present term expires, to understand the dynamics of the villages so that all sections of the community can be provided for as we go forward to the next decade.
Send your responses to arceditors@gmail.com (cut and paste the questions into an e-mail) or remain anonymous, print them off and deliver the answers to one of the editors. We will pass to the Clerk to the Parish Council.

Appleshaw and Redenham: a rural or an urban community?

‘Let’s defend our village life’
The sub heading above is from the Campaign to Protect Rural England’s (CPRE) November 2010 newsletter. The Campaign will be 100 years old in 2026 and part of its vision for the centenary year is that ‘many more people live and work in the countryside and visit it for pleasure and where most of the new homes are affordable with improved access to services’. A large part of the project will be to help to reinvigorate rural areas by encouraging developers to build properties which younger families on modest incomes can afford to buy or rent. Let’s see if we can achieve this goal!

John Marshall gave us some facts in the Christmas issue, confirmed by the Campaign to Protect Rural England, about the national closures of village schools, shops and pubs. In addition, England has lost a fifth of its entire network of rural post offices since 2000. This community has contributed to the statistics with the closure of the village shop and Post Office and, at the start of a new decade and with the forthcoming Parish elections on 5th May, it is worth finding out whether we really are still a rural community with all the associated needs or have become a mainly urban village.

Please let us have your views either way.

The villages have changed dramatically in the last ten years, and will continue to change. Happily there are lots of individuals and families, especially those with small children, who are contributing their spare time and money to ensure the various village causes thrive and it has been wonderful to see new and younger members of the community coming forward to show that their new ways of working can achieve as much, if not more, than some of the old established routines. The trick is to find out and accept what the majority of the community actually wants – one thing we do know from the November meeting is that there is overwhelming support for the retention of a village pub.

There is a feeling that Appleshaw is more divided now than it has ever been, and from the people who have made the remark it is not on purely economic or social boundaries. It appears to be because the shift in population away from the rural mind towards the urban has been so huge that a large proportion of residents have no idea about their neighbour’s way of life and are making little effort to find out. Unfortunately, too, the only event which brings most of us together is the fabulous Fete and Flower Show which takes place only once a year: we are missing a common thread for the majority of the time, but that could change.

This is not meant to be a criticism, but merely a means of introducing a short questionnaire which should help the people who can do something about the community’s needs: the results will be passed to the Parish Council and made available to anyone who wants to stand as a councillor in the May elections. The Parish Council is the grassroots government and it would be great to see new people coming forward to represent their various interests. If you are interested, contact the Clerk by e-mail: richard.waterman150@btinternet.com , or tel: 01264 772460.

Please respond with your answers to the questions below to arceditors@gmail.com . If you prefer to respond anonymously, just print out the page and drop in to one of the editors’ letterboxes. Delete the options as appropriate.

1. How long have you lived in Appleshaw or Redenham? ..................................................................................................................................
2. Why did you choose to move to a village? .....................................................................................................................................................
3. Did you buy a house or move to the village because this is where you wanted to live or was it just that accommodation/house was available? .......................................................................................................................................................................................,.....................
4. Do you know your neighbours? Yes/No
5. Do you want to know your neighbours? Yes/No
6. Do you like country pursuits? Yes/No
7. Do you own animals or birds, either pet or farm? Yes/No
8. Are you interested in the welfare of animals and birds and the countryside in general? Yes/No (Please answer even if you do not own an animal or bird)
9. Do you enjoy being part of a small mixed community? Yes/No
10. Are you content that there is no shop in either village? Yes/No
11. Do you think that the public transport (Cango bus) is available enough? Yes/No
12. Do you own or have access to a car? Yes/No
13. If you do not have access to a car, is it easy to get to your doctor? Yes/No
14. Are you happy with the villages’ recreational facilities for all children? Yes/No
15. Is it important that you are able to walk to your local school? Yes/No
16. Do you think the needs of older residents (60+) are catered for? Yes/No. (If ‘No’, give examples of facilities which should be provided) .........................................................................................................................................................................................................
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17. Should we be working to provide more houses/units for young people in the village? Yes/No
18. How much do you rely on the internet for day-to-day information? Completely/Some/Not at all