Finding out about your community
In this step you will gather evidence to inform your decisions and support your proposals. Your Community-led Plan or Place Plan needs to be supported by good information to guide the decisions your Plan Team make. This is the stage where you will gather the evidence about what makes your place distinctive. You will explore its physical character – what it looks and feels like and why; and how it functions – the people, groups and organisations that make your place what it is today. This information can be used to shape, inform or propose new proposals or identify aspect that should be preserved or reflected in the future.
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This can be done through a series of evaluations done in small working groups. Consultation with the wider community can be helpful in making sure the voices of all residents and groups are heard. It is important to develop a thorough understanding of the current situation before you try and write a plan about how things could happen in the future.
As a starting point, you should gather information and resources about your place: contemporary and historic maps, plans and local strategies for your areas, historic photos and key statistics. Sources of information to ‘dig deeper’ into the these are listed throughout. Remember to record what you see and hear - cameras and audio recorders are useful tools to keep with you, as is a notepad to draw the things you see or to make notes.
