Woodnewton Parish Plan

Contents

Nurture, Occupation & Wellbeing

EmploymentEducation

Health

Community SafetyCrimeTraffic & Transport

Heritage & History

Social Provision & ActivitiesRecreation & Leisure

Shopping

Summary

Local GovernanceParish Administration

Places of Worship

The Natural Environment

Introduction

The purpose of the Parish PlanIn 1989 the then Parish Council prepared a Parish Plan which wasused to guide their actions when responding to consultations fromDistrict and County Councils. In 2000 a Government White Paperfocused again on Parish Plans and grants were made available forthe preparation and production of plans. In 2004 there were manyconsultative documents sent to the Parish Council and on the issueof development a public meeting was held. Much interest wasshown and was of great benefit to the Parish Council when makingtheir responses. This led to the suggestion that the opportunity toprepare a new Parish Plan should be taken. The Parish Councilagreed that should it be possible to form a steering group they wouldbe happy to support. The aim was to give the people ofWoodnewton the opportunity to have input into the evolution oftheir own village with the objective being to influence local andregional policy decisions through a substantial survey of views.

How we did itThe Steering Group was formed in January 2006 and grant aid wasgiven to the group known as Woodnewton Appraisal Group (WAG)to prepare and produce a report. A substantial amount of feedbackfrom the ‘Village Have Your Say Day’ in June 2006 helped to focuson the issues that concerned the majority of people. WAGproduced a questionnaire based on these issues and thereforespecifically for the needs and aspirations of Woodnewton. Thequestionnaires were distributed to all houses in the village. Therewas a general household questionnaire and an individual one for allmembers of the household aged 11 and over. For the under 11’sthere was a special questionnaire. In total more than 80% of thehouseholds responded which gave a response rate of almost 70% ofthe population of the village. This response level means that thereport is based on data of very reasonable accuracy. Therecommendations on how to deal with the issues contained in thereport flow from the feedback at the ‘Have Your Say Day’ andthe questionnaire. These recommendations form the Village

Action Plan. The plan is not set in stone and it will be reviewed,modified and adapted as required.

Who has produced the plan?Although the Steering Group have overseen the development of theplan and have contributed substantial amounts of voluntary time andeffort to the project, the vital contributors were those that attendedthe ‘Have Your Say Day’ and completed the questionnaires. They airedtheir views, expressed opinions and made suggestions on the issuesaffecting Woodnewton. Without their involvement in our communitythere would be no plan.

What happens now?This plan contains a number of recommendations that thecommunity want implemented. The Parish Plan represents anagreement between the community and the Parish Council as tohow we would like Woodnewton to develop in the future. The ParishPlan is not a guarantee of immediate action on all areas affected bypolicy decisions at central, regional, county and district level. Whatthe Plan will do is provide those bodies with a very clear view of theneeds and expectations of our community.

Will the Plan have an effect?If all or even some of the recommendations contained in the Planare achieved then clearly the village will be a better place to live. Itwill be necessary to prioritise the recommendations because someissues will require more urgent action. A high priority though doesnot necessari ly mean rapid action as some wil l needconsiderable input of resources and co-operation from otherauthorities.

The ongoing success of this Parish Plan project can only beassured if the whole community is involved.

Introduction

Acknowledgments and Thanks

The people of Woodnewton for their enthusiastic participationin the ‘Have Your Say Day’ and the Questionnaire survey

Woodnewton Appraisal Group

Paul HamalainenAndrew HansfordMike JessepKen MardlinGrant NevilleJames PlattMatthew RobertsSue Roberts (Chairman)Patricia RyanTony WalkerHelen Wells

Julia Moss - for contribution of historical documents

Woodnewton Parish Council chaired consecutively by AndrewDowning and David Webb

Northamptonshire Action with Communities in Rural England(Northamptonshire ACRE)Carolyn Turner ACRE Rural Officer

Department for the Environment and Rural Affairs (DEFRA)

All photographs courtesy of Matthew Roberts Photographer(© Matthew Roberts)

Introduction

Like most rural villages in middleEngland, Woodnewton has a longhistory, starting with a mention in theDomesday Book as Niewtone with apopulation of about 70. At this time itwas part of an estate owned by theSheriff of Huntingdon. Over thecenturies until 1620 the villagechanged ownership as a result of beingbequeathed with various titles andchanging hands through marriage. In1620 the Manor came throughmarriage to Sir Francis Fane who laterbecame the Earl of Westmorland.

In 1735 a wooden bridge was built tocross the Willow Brook and in 1778the Earl enclosed the parish under theEnclosures Act. In 1840 the WesleyanChapel was built (now a Pottery andGallery), followed in 1876 by the villageSchool (demolished in 2006). In 1886the current brick bridge was built overthe Willow Brook, and in 1894 theParish Council was founded.Allotments were created in 1919.

Housing development started in the1950’s with Sycamore Close, withOrchard lane, St Mary’s Close,Wades Close, The Paddock andLindsey Close all following over thenext thirty years. In 1997 the lastmajor development finished with thecompletion of Pridmore Close. In theyears to 2007 there has been a smallamount of in-filling and rebuilding.

A large majority of respondents valuedthe heritage and environment ofWoodnewton and would be veryconcerned by any major threats whichmay change the slowly evolving natureof the village.

Recommendations

Heritage

Strong efforts will be made toprotect and conserve the values

and heritage of the village.

Any major development in andaround the village would be

unpopular and resisted.

Encourage the compilation of ahistorical record of the village

using recent research and otherrecords.

The majority of questionnaireresponses indicate that the attractiveenvironment and properties within thevillage are what brings people here. Itis these qualities that lead people toremain in Woodnewton for someconsiderable time. The responsesindicate a very stable communitywith 70% of the population having beenresident for at least 6 years. In addition,20% of the population have lived inWoodnewton for over 25 years.Focusing on the built environment,Woodnewton is typical of many villages,in having a wide variety of dwellings,but they are overwhelmingly detachedproperties. A large proportion of themain street falls within a conservationarea.

The large majority of people living inthe v i l l age fee l t ha t t he i r p res -en t a c c o mmo d a t i o n s u i t s t h e i rn e e d s . E q u a l l y , t h e r e a r ev e r y f e w f a m i l i e s w h e r e

s o m e o n e i s l o o k i n g f o ra l t e r n a t i v e a ccommodation.

A clear majority of responses areopposed to any further housingdevelopment in Woodnewton. Inaddition, a similar majority believe thatfurther housing would spoil theenvironment in and aroundWoodnewton. Those respondentswho be l ieve tha t Woodnewtoncould accommodate more housing areequally split between homes for youngpeople, small family homes andaffordable housing.

Overall, the questionnaire results pres-ent a view that the housing now avail-able in Woodnewton is adequate inquantity and type to meet the needs ofthe majority of residents for some yearsto come.

Recommendations

Built Environment

That the quality and mix ofdwellings now available inWoodnewton is sufficient for

short/medium term needs.

Further large scale housingdevelopment in or around the villageis not required for local needs and

could not be supported by local ser-vices, transport and employment op-

portunities.

If housing was imposed on thevillage it should be small scale

development of affordable homesfor young people and small

families.

How would you like Woodnewton to develop?

0 10 20 30 40 50 60 70

As a workingcommunity

As a retirementcommunity

As a commutercommunity

As a tourist centre

To stay as it is

Percentage of respondents

Do you think that Woodnewton can accommodate morenew housing?

Yes36%

No54%

Don't Know10%

Since the closure of WoodnewtonSchool in 1990 all education has takenplace outside the Village.

Nassington/Yarwell pre-school andOundle Community pre-school provideeducation for the 3 to 5 year age range.Of those responding about half ofchildren in this age range attend one ofthese facilities. There are also privatepre-school groups and mother/toddlergroups run in the Village at the VillageHall. Most of the children in the agerange receive some form of pre-schooleducation.

Nor thamptonshi re Educat ionDepar tment cur ren t ly opera tesa th ree-tier system in the Woodnewtonarea.

Primary Education (5-9 years) isavailable at Nassington and Kings CliffeMiddle (9-13 years) at Oundle andKings Cliffe.Secondary schooling (13-18 years) isat Prince William School, Oundle.

Whilst some parents take their childrento school, school buses are provided bythe education authority.

Public Schools in Oundle and Stamfordprovide Junior and SecondaryEducation.

The survey shows 20 children inPrimary education,14 in Middle schooland 16 in Secondary School. No furtherinformation was sought.

Further Education (16+) is available atPeterborough College and also in Corbyand Northampton.

A range of day/evening courses are runin local schools and village halls.There is no such provision inWoodnewton at present. The localpottery offers lessons on a Tuesday. Ahandful of villagers attend AdultEducation classes, a small number areon Training courses and a few are atUniversity.

Recommendations

Education

Parish Council to encouragelocal provision of pre-schoolgroups such as Mother /

toddlers.

Parish Council to promoteaccess to educational holiday

activities within the Village.

Adult education providers to beencouraged to use the Village

Hall facility.

School Type

Playgroup4%

Nursery School8%

Primary School25%

Middle School17%

Secondary School19%

Special Needs1%

Adult Education7%

University11%

Training Course8%

Woodnewton does not present anysignificant o p p o r t u n i t i e s f o re m p l o yment.

Responses indicate that there are atleast 29 small businesses of which twothirds employ between 1 and 3 staff.Small businesses accounted for 20% ofthose in employment.

Most businesses provide unspecifiedservices with Financial/Professionalservices, Agriculture/Horticulture andRetail accounting for the rest. Only onebusiness is linked with Tourism, thisbeing a recently opened ‘Bed andBreakfast’ establishment.

Of those working outside the Villagemost work within 30 mi les ofWoodnewton. The majority work inPeterborough and its environs whilst asmall number travel up to 50 miles anda few commute to London

Most people travel to work by car ormotorcycle. Of the small numbers whodo use public transport, those who trav-el by train would no doubt access thisby car.

Broadband facilities were introduced tothe village in 2004 after lobbying byVillagers supported by the ParishCouncil. This is seen as a major factorin enabling small businesses and homeworking.

Although the largest single group ofpeople who responded to thequestionnaire were in the 25-60 agerange ,the number of retirees and notanswered outnumbered those inemployment.

The overall response indicates thatsupport for and against any growth insmall businesses and tourism isbalanced at 50:50.

Recommendations

Employment

A business directory to beproduced to promote local

businesses.

Support and encouragement ofthe Parish Council to be given to

technological advances whichserve to promote homeworking

and small businesses.

Publicise existing socialtransport schemes to allow

young and disabled peopleaccess to employment

opportunities.

Which type of business do you run?

Agri/Horticulture14%

Retail10%

Finance/Proservices

24%Tourism

3%

Other services49%

Location of workplace

0

5

10

15

20

25

30

Nas

sing

ton

Foth

erin

ghay

Ape

thor

pe

K C

liffe

War

min

gton

Oun

dle

Sta

mfo

rd

Pet

erbo

urgh

Cor

by

Sou

th

St I

ves

Mol

esw

orth

Mkt

Dee

ping

Ket

terin

g

Hun

tingd

on

Wis

bech

Wel

lingb

orou

gh

Leic

este

r

Cam

brid

ge

Bed

ford

Ste

vena

ge

Loug

hbor

ough

Dav

entry

Bic

este

r

Not

tingh

am

Ber

kham

pste

ad

Lond

on

Any

whe

re

The Doctors’ Surgeries at Oundle andWansford provide health care for morethan 95% of the Woodnewtonpopulation. The Wansford practicealso has a surgery in Kings Cliffe. Anumber of services are attached tothese practices including Pharmacies,Nurses, District Nurses and Midwives.

A range of Clinics are also available.These include child and familyguidance, chiropody, physiotherapydietetics and counselling.

There is an NHS walk-in Centre in theRivergate Centre in Peterborough. Thisis open form 7am to 10pm. Out ofhours services for the Doctors Surgeryare provided by Rivergate Centre. Thenearest 24hr A&E is at PeterboroughDistrict Hospital.

Access to Dental Services is morevaried. Until 2006 there was NHSprovision in Oundle. This practice nowprovides private care only, neverthelessa large number of villagers are patients.

Dental Service provision must now besought further away from Woodnewton.Peterborough and Stamford are theclosest locations for NHS dental careand a reasonable proportion of Villagersare registered at one or other of theselocations.

A number of people are registered atpractices elsewhere perhaps reflectingregistration at premises near to worklocations. This may also be becausethere are waiting lists for registrationat dental practices in Stamford andPeterborough. There is a walk- inDenta l Pract ice in Peterborough.It must be noted that a significantnumber of people are not registered.

The majority of people have indicatedthat they do not have problemsaccessing Health Care (Hospitals,Doctors, Chemists, Dentists etc). Therewas though a significant proportion ofpeople who reported that they oftenhad problems attending health carefacilities despite the availability ofcommunity transport schemes.

Recommendations

Healthcare

Parish Council to liaise withlocal Health Service providersto ensure awareness of

services.

Parish Council to press forbetter locally based provision of

health service provision, inparticular Dental Services.

Parish Council to requireCommunity Transport providers

to actively promote theirschemes to ensure knowledge of

availability and enable betteraccess to services.

Where people go to the dentist

Oundle35%

Peterborough23%

Stamford16%

Corby4%

Other15%

Not Registered7%

The Village Hall was erected in 1991, afterfundraising, and is run by a Committeewho are responsible for the hiring andupkeep. They produce a Village Newsletterand are supported in this by the ParishCouncil. The Parish Council also provideallotments for which demand has increasedto such an extent that there is now a waitinglist.

The children's playground was installed ataround the same time as the Hall wasbuilt, again after local fundraising. There isan area for younger children, which isfenced off. Recent fundraising will providenew equipment for the older children. Mostpeople feel that the playground facilitiesare good/reasonable.

Within the village, the local public househas boules and darts teams; films areoccasionally shown in the Village Hall andrecently a ladies rounders group has started.In addition, many respondents are awareof aerobics and playgroup activities whichtake place in the Village Hall. Nevertheless,most people access leisure and recreationfacilities outside the village. Ofthose who indicated that they did notparticipate in sports activities most

said that their interests were not cateredfor or that they did not want to participate.Indications from the questionnaire are thatpeople would like to see a Gardening cluband a Ramblers club set up, as well asregular films shown. For these, there areenough people willing to help organisethem. Suggestions were also made forother possible activities and how provisioncould be improved.

Whilst many did not have a view on socialfacilities those who did felt that provisionwas poor, particularly for the 0 to 16 agegroup and the over 60’s.

A separate Questionnaire for the under10’s got a reasonable level of response.Most activities for this age group wereoutside the village. There was a clearresponse to provide more for the 11 to 16year olds either by extension of theplaying field facilities or by provision ofclubs/activities in the Village Hall.

It is apparent that better provision ofactivities and social events for the under16’s and the over 60’s would contribute tothe social structure of the village.

Recommendations

Recreation and Leisure

Parish Council to encourageand support improvements inSocial Provision in the Village.

Village Social Committee to be setup to actively develop socialact iv i t ies wi th par t icu lar

re ference for Young peopleand the over 60’s.

Analysis of the children’squestionnaire to be undertakenand feedback to be provided viathe village newsletter and Parish

Council.

Which new clubs/activities would you attend inWoodnewton if they were provided ?

0

10

20

30

40

50

60

70

80

Whist DriveSenior Citizens GroupGardening ClubRambling ClubArt ClubDramaChoirMusic SocietyBandCinema

Would you be prepared to help run any of the followinggroups ?

0

2

4

6

8

10

12

14

16

Whist DriveSenior Citizens GroupGardening ClubRambling ClubArt ClubDramaChoirMusic SocietyBandCinema

No distinction was made in thequestionnaire as to the type ofshopping so the responses cover allneeds.

Most Villagers shop in Oundle and/orPeterborough.A few people shop in Stamford, localFarmers Markets and less still makinguse of the shops in Nassington andKings Cli f fe. A small numberindicated that they use the Internet toshop.

Other than the areas already identifiedthere were a variety of other shoppingareas which roughly correlated withwork locations or routes home.

The village is currently supplied by anumber of mobile services whichinclude:Library – every third WednesdayBaker – From Kings Cliffe, deliverstelephone orders.Nelsons Butchers, (includes somegrocery) (Wednesday and Fridaymorning)

Fishmonger – (Thursday morning)

Very few people use these servicesregularly and the overwhelmingmajority do not use them at any time.The typical response was that the servicecame ‘at the wrong time’ or that peoplewere ‘unaware of the service’.In addition, whilst slightly overhalf of the responses suggested thatpeople would use a Community shopon at least a weekly basis the remainderconsisted of low use, no use or don’tknow. A few people are able to offerhelp with accounts, filling shelves andfetching supplies and a few offered todo counter work. However the numbersable to help were very low.

The existing shopping and workingpatterns and the low use of the shopsin the nearby villages make it doubtfulwhether a Community shop would beeconomically viable. Indeed it couldhave a detrimental impact on existingservices.

Recommendations

Shopping

Information on the availability ofmobile services and local

shops/farm shops to be given toall villagers.

Consider a feasibility study intothe provision of a Community

shop and the impact on currentservices.

Information on transportprovision for shopping to be pro-vided in order to ensure access

for all to local services.

How often would you use a community shop in Woodnewton ?

128

18

64

4

31

0 20 40 60 80 100 120 140

Weekly

Monthly

Occasionally

Not used

Don't know

Woodnewton does not suffer fromsignificant levels of crime, but just overtwo thirds of those questioned do haveconcerns about crime and antisocialbehaviour in the village.

Burglary was the biggest concern.Nearly a third of people felt thatvandalism is a problem. Fear of assaultand drug related crime is less evident.

The questionnaire reveals a desire for agreater police presence in the villageand a need to provide more activities foryoung people as well as a need forbetter consultation between the policeand local people.

In the last twelve months, the period ofpreparation of this report, crime figuresshow that the most common type ofcrime suffered was vandalism

Whilst crime affects few people it is clearfrom comments that anti-social

behaviour is a concern for a greatnumber of people in the village. Traffic,speeding and parking issues were themain concerns. Other issues weredrunkenness, dog fouling and litter.

The Crime and Disorder Act of 1988made it a statutory responsibility forCouncils to create a Community SafetyStrategy. Parish Council also have aresponsibility to do all that they can toprevent crime and disorder in their area.

There is a neighbourhood watchscheme in the village. The surveyshows that there are a significantnumber of villagers who are not yetmembers of the scheme but who wouldlike to join.

Recommendations

Crime Prevention/Occurrence

D e v e l o p a n d b u i l dp a r t i c i p a t i o n i n t h e

N e i g h b o u r h o o d W a t c hS c h e m e .

Parish Council to work withthe po l i ce to improve

commun ications and to seekways to improve the visible

policing of the Village.

The Parish Council to makeprovision for complaints to be

heard and to be referred to theappropriate authorities for

action.

What measures are needed to improve the community ?

104

85

13

107

7

0 20 40 60 80 100 120

More Police

People police link

More Drug/DrinkEducation

Young peopleactivites

Other

Crime and antisocial behaviour concerns

0

20

40

60

80

100

120

140

Burgl

ary

Mugg

ingDr

ugs

Drun

kenn

ess

Vand

alism

Spee

ding

No op

inion

Woodnewton is located about 5 miles from thenearest major roads, the A47 and the A605, alongcountry lanes.

Most traffic through the village is local orassociated with nearby villages.

From Oundle the road enters the village over anarrow bridge and at the junction of NassingtonRoad and Main Street there is a ‘triangle’ known as‘Hill Tree’. The road is very narrow at this point andlarge vehicles and buses tend to travel in the centreof the road. Speeding adds to the hazard.

Main Street varies in width, narrowing in theconservation area. Of necessity cars are parked onthe road in this area and do serve to slow trafficbut there is still concern for excessive speed.

The tight bend at the Church is also veryhazardous. The Church wall has been damaged,on numerous occasions, by traffic at this point.

Approaching Orchard Lane from the Church end ofMain Street there is a bl ind bend. Fastapproaching traffic from Apethorpe is a concern. Atthis point the speed limit is 60 mph, the 30 mph.sign having been moved several years ago. This isalso the point of access to the cemetery.

Orchard Lane is wider than Main Street. There areseveral residential areas, sheltered housing, the

Village Hall, Play Area and Allotments that all haveaccess onto Orchard Lane. Most properties haveparking for cars but on road parking is still an issue,in particular near the access to the Village Halland play area. This reduces visibility and isdangerous for those using the facilities, in particular,children.

Where Orchard Lane meets Nassington Road thejunction is virtually blind and traffic is oftenapproaching at speed from Nassington, in spite ofthe speed limit.

Excessive speed of traffic causes concern to peoplein the village. The level of concern was very varied.This is reflected in the fact 25% of respondents feltthat no speed control measures were necessary. Incontrast, the most commonly suggested measureswere traffic calming and extension of the 30mph limit.Whilst speeding was one issue raised, parking onthe roads, verges and pavements were others.

Most people use their cars for all their transportneeds. Few people use the bus/taxi or voluntary carscheme. It was clear that even non-users felt thatthere could be improvements in both routing andtime-tabling of buses.A small number of people do have difficultygetting out of the Village.

RecommendationsComparison of provision oftransport services needs to be

undertaken andr e c o m m e n d a t i o n s t o b ep r e s e n t e d t o t h e P a r i s h

C o u n c i l .

Participate in Community SpeedWatch Project.

Repositioning of 30 mph signs tobe considered to better advise of

speed within vil lage limits.

Traffic and transport

Professional opinion on trafficmovement and parking around the

vi l lage and a report wi thr e c o m m e n d a t i o n s f o r

i mprovement to be presented tothe Parish Council.

Information to be given tor e s i d e n t s o n t r a n s p o r tp r ov ision for Woodnewton.

Recommendations

Parish Administration

Summary to be produced toinform people of differentresponsibilities of County,District and Parish Council.

Parish Council to liaise withDistrict and County Councillors

t o s e e k t o i m p r o v eu n d e r s t a n ding of the needs

and views of people inWoodnewton.

Village Hall committee to set upa Newsletter Editorial Team to

be responsible for the productionand further development of the

Newsletter.

As the first tier of Local Government,Parish Councils deal with local communitymatters and are non-political. WoodnewtonParish Council is one of 9000 in England,and has a number of statutory powers andwide ranging powers at its disposalintended for the benefit of the localcommunity.

Parish Councils receive the majority of theirfunding from an annual charge called thePrecept which is levied on local electorsvia the Council Tax.

Woodnewton has seven Councillors and asalaried Clerk. Councillors do not receivepayment for their duties. The Council meetson the second Monday of every monthexcept December. Every meeting is open tothe public, with time allocated for publicpart icipation. The Parish Councilresponsibilities include street lighting, theChurchyard and Cemetery

Northamptonshire County Council and EastNorthamptonshire District Council are theother t iers o f Local Governmentprov iding services including highwaysmaintenance, footpaths and bridleways,libraries and education, refuse collection

and recycling and other environmentalservices.

The majority of people consider theEnvironmental Services provided by theDistrict and County Councils,(RefuseCollection, Road Sweeping and Clearingdrains), to be reasonable . This was also thecase for the Highways Services (Roads,Pavements, Verges and Street Lighting).

The questionnaire results indicate that themajority feel that Parish Councillors are fullyaware of local concerns and feelings butover a third of people felt that District andCounty Councillors were not so wellinformed.

It is clear that the Parish Council and EastNorthamptonshire Council need to improvepublicity about their decisions andactivities. Most people do not attend theAnnual Parish Meeting.

The village newsletter is received by nearlyall residents and is the main informationpoint for village events. There was muchcomment about content and style and manysuggestions for ways to further develop it.

St Mary’s Church is the only place ofworship in Woodnewton since theclosure of the Methodist Chapelseveral years ago.The Church has a 16th century towerwith pillars from the late 12th and early14 t h century. The porch wasremodelled in 1662 and the north aislewas destroyed in the same century.

St Mary’s Woodnewton is linked with StMary’s and All Saints, Nassington andSt. Mary Magdalene in Yarwell.At present there is no Vicar for thesechurches due to the recent retirementof the incumbent Vicar.

Numbers attending Church serviceshave fallen although the Harvestfestival service and the Carol serviceare attended by many in the Village.

The Parochial Church Council (PCC)are looking at ways to ensure that StMary’s remains at the centre of villagelife. It is hoped to make the churchavailable for meetings and the

questionnaire responses showedreasonable support for this with nearlyeveryone supporting the idea of havingconcerts in the Church.

The Churchyard has been recognisedas a wildlife haven with several rareplants .

The PCC produce an information sheetwhich is delivered to people movinginto the village. The sheet providesinformation about service providers andactivities within the village and localarea.

Many commented on the need to keepSt Mary’s alive as it would be a realloss to this small Community.

Recommendations

PCC to be encouraged toensure that St Mary’s continuesto play a central role in Village

life.

The PCC to consider thefindings of the questionnaireand to look at how the views

expressed could beimplemented.

PCC to join with other groups toconsider the social / welfare

needs of the Village.

Places of Worship

What would you like to see Woodnewton church used for ?

0

20

40

60

80

100

120

140

160

180

ConcertsMeetingsPlay GroupLunch ClubOther

With the Willow Brook winding its wayfor 2½ miles through the centre of theparish, Woodnewton sits in an area ofnatural beauty covering 573 hectares.The main part of the village stands onNorthamptonshire Ironstone. Furtherup the hill beyond the playing field, thischanges to Lincolnshire Limestone.The highest point in the parish is 64mabove sea level.

The majority of respondents rankedtranquility and openness as theelements of Woodnewton and itssurroundings that they valued most.This was reflected by the nearly 90%that considered the quality of thevillage environment as very importantto them.

To maintain the environment for futuregenerations is vital. Villagers are willingto help by taking part in clean up daysand litter picking. There was also agreat interest in recycling andcommunity composting schemes.While the village is covered by the

ENDC recycling collection and thereare ‘green waste’ bins available theremaybe scope for the village to act as acommunity in increasing this activity.

As might be imagined litter and dogmess were concerns raised by anumber of residents. Main areas oflittering included the roadside vergesleading away from the village, andaround the children's play area. Thereis some provision of litter bins but sitingand emptying are issues which need tobe reviewed. A regular complaint wasthe state of the streets after therefuse collection on Tuesdays.

Dog mess is a problem on all the maindog walking routes. The eastern endof the village and the track alongsidethe playing field seem to suffer most.There is no provision of dog messbins. There are no problems with straydogs.

Recommendations

Natural Environment

To set up a twice yearly clean upday.

Encourage a wider view of thewhole parish when considering anyproposals that may alter vistas, or

reduce bio diversity.

Investigate opportunities forcommunity composting schemes

and increased recycling.

Which elements of the countryside around Woodnewton do youvalue?

0

20

40

60

80

100

120

140

160

A Sense of PlaceLocal IdentityTranquillityOpeness

Residents have access to 4 miles offootpaths and byways butWoodnewton is unusual in that it hasno bridleways within the parishboundary. This does cause someproblems with local horse riders onlyable to access the surroundingcountryside via roads. Inevi tablythere is some encroachment ontofootpaths. This is perhaps reflected inthat a number of respondents citedmud and water as difficulties whenusing local footpaths.

It would be very difficult and alsoextremely unusual for a footpathto be upgraded to bridleway status orfor any new bridleways to be created.Any solution to the problem of equineaccess could be through theencouragement o f loca l accesspermissions, negotiated on an individualbasis between riders and landowners.It may be an opportunity for locallandowners to assess incomeopportunities but that is beyond thescope of this report.

Overall satisfaction with the footpathnetwork was high with considerationgiven to their accessibility, conditionand signage. Other than mud andwater, crops, brambles, bushes andnettles were the biggest problem topath users. Residents howevershowed little willingness to helpmaintain paths.

Over two thirds of respondents indicateda desire for more maps and leaflets.There is a wide range of maps andleaflets showing local walks and thepath network, available from localinformation points such as OundleTourist Information. A very detailedmap created within the village haslimited circulation. This may beevidence of a lack of communicationin terms of what information isavailable and where to find it. Thereare a number of permitted paths withinthe village envelope which link togetherforming a number of ‘dog walking’routes. These are well used by manyvillagers.

Recommedations

Footpaths And Bridleways

Investigate feasibility of having aninformation point in the village pub

or church porch.

Publicise the role of the villagepath warden, and use thewarden as a condu i t fo ri n fo rma t ion and access

p roblems.

Encourage horse riders to negotiatelocal access with landowners.

Footpaths & Bridleways

0%

10%

20%

30%

40%

50%

60%

70%

80%

90%

100%

Do you know wherethe local paths are?

Can you use themwithout difficulty?

Are they wellsignposted?

Would you bewilling to maintain

them?

No OpinionNoYes

The heritage and environment ofWoodnewton registered as veryimportant with the greater majority ofrespondents. As a r e s u l t a n y n e wl a r g e s c a l e d e v e l o pments whichmay threaten the slowly evolving natureof the village are likely to be stronglyresisted.

One of the main findings of the surveywas inadequate communication ofinformation of all types. This rangesfrom provision of local transport ser-vices such as bus timetables, infor-mation on which type and whenmobile shops stop in the village as wellas details on local footpaths, recy-cling availability, community activi-ties and local businesses. This lack ofinformation often results in a low takeup of services provided which canul t imately lead to service reduc-tion or withdrawal. A major part of thedelivery of the recommendations con-tained within this report will fall to all tiersof local government to better inform resi-dents.

Any survey of this nature will inevitablyilluminate residents’ concerns withspeeding traffic, anti social behaviour,littering and dog mess. Woodnewton isno different, although clearly by its’nature to a much lesser extent than

o t h e r a r e a s . A n u m b e r o fr e c o m m e n d ations are made to tacklethese problems.

This Parish Plan could not possiblycontain analysis of and recommendationsfor every question asked in the survey.It focuses on the areas of most concernto residents. However the comprehensiveinformation gathered that lies behindthis report is available to any villageresident and can be used to supportarguments, funding applications orother surveys if needed.

Woodnewton is always evolving and thisParish Plan needs to be flexible. It isintended as a working document that willbe reviewed in due course. A measureof its success will not only be theimplementation of its findings but alsothe continued involvement of thecommunity in its’ own future which it hasfostered.

Summary