3 Community Engagement

This plan addresses the need for sustainable development within the parish of Glenfield until 2029. It builds on the principles of the Blaby District Core Strategy taking into account the views of the local population. This Plan has resulted directly from the views expressed to the Neighbourhood Plan Steering Group through earlier soundings, community groups, public events, questionnaire responses and other communication. The Neighbourhood Plan Steering Group which has been coordinated by Glenfield Parish Council, consisted of a mix of parish councillors and interested local residents, supported by Blaby District Council.

After the Parish Council took the decision to prepare a Neighbourhood Plan a process was set in motion to establish a Steering Committee to drive the process forward.

The Localism Act (2011) introduced Neighbourhood Planning to give communities in England the right to shape their future development at a local neighbourhood level and the Parish Council started working towards creating such a plan at that time, with members taking informal soundings of the community at any opportunity. The ‘Glenfield Neighbourhood Plan Steering Group’ was formally established by the Parish Council following a successful application from the Parish Council (as the qualifying body) to Blaby District Council for Neighbourhood Area status in 2018.

The Plan has evolved following work by members of the steering group, with input from residents and stakeholders. Extensive engagement and consultation has taken place with residents and stakeholders before and throughout the plan making process. In 2018 questionnaires were distributed to all houses in Glenfield as a supplement to the Glenfield Newsletter. Questionnaires were also distributed at a public meeting held In Park House, the home of the Parish Council, the meeting having been particularly advertised to discuss the potential plan. To ensure the consultation process was as inclusive as possible, posters were distributed to local businesses and placed on the many parish notice boards.

The views of parishioners on the future and needs of the community had also been initially established by a parish appraisal carried out nearly 20 years earlier and a subsequent Parish Plan.

Reflecting the general satisfaction with the current situation and subsequent lack of concerns the response to this questionnaire was not strong but the great majority of the questionnaires returned supported the Parish priorities for the embryo Neighbourhood Plan. The results of a similar exercise carried out in 2000 as part of the production of a parish Appraisal were also considered as was a Parish Plan drawn up in 2012.

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Glenfield Survey January 2021 Due to restrictions imposed during the coronavirus pandemic public meetings to further explore the wishes of the residents were not possible during 2020 so a further questionnaire was launched at the end of that year bearing down on the specifics within the Plan.

An excellent response rate from 822 people was achieved, and remarkably, over 400 said that they wanted to be involved as the Neighbourhood Plan progressed. They were all, therefore, invited to be part of a ‘Focus Group’ to receive updates about the Neighbourhood Plan and to contribute their thoughts.

The analysis of the survey was shared with the community of Glenfield in the February 2021 edition of the Glenfield Gazette.

Glenfield Gazette February 2021

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