Hi all
Hexham Annual Town Meeting this year is very important as the interim Hexham Town Plan interim report is being presented to the town. The plan has had input directly by 7 Transitioners.. The council will have the full report and the recommendations after the local elections when we hope the new council will move some of the proposed projects forward in partnership with Hexham organizations, (including Transition Tynedale). and members of the public. Roger Higgins will be delivering the presentation on the Built Environment
The following is the letter to the town from Judy Lloyd..
Hexham Town Plan. Making it Happen!
The Hexham Annual Town Meeting; Monday, March 18th, 7pm-9.00pm
Dear Transition Tynedale ,
I am writing to you on behalf of Hexham Town Council and as Chair of the Hexham Town Plan Steering Group to warmly invite you to join members of the Council and the Hexham Town Plan Steering Committee at the Hexham Annual Town Meeting on Monday, March 18th.
This year the event, for town organisations and individual residents, will take place on Monday, at 7pm in Hexham Community Centre on Gilesgate. The theme of the meeting will be ‘Hexham Town Plan; 2013-18: Making it Happen!’ We need your input.
Over the last 15 months a wide consultation and engagement exercise has been going on about the things which Hexham groups and residents would like to see happen here in the next five years, and how we might try to achieve them in a time of economic austerity. This process finished in February with a town wide survey which was done by just under 770 people/households. On March 4th a final interim report on the process so far was presented to the Town Council Meeting. ( please see copy attached for your information).
On the basis of your responses to questions which arose from the consultation process, the 5 Town Plan themed working groups have developed a number of outline ideas for projects and initiatives which we believe will be supported in the town in the next 5 years. Some of these will require assistance and partnership working with external bodies, including the County Council. Others are projects which could largely be achieved by Hexham organisations pulling together to achieve what individual organisations on their own might not be able to achieve.
We would warmly invite members of your organisation to come to the meeting to hear some brief presentations from the different working groups regarding these ideas. There will be time to give some feedback and for us to answer questions. We would particularly like to obtain some initial expressions of interest from groups and individuals in contributing to/being actively involved in the project suggestions outlined during the evening.
Following this we will have a more general question and answer session around issues connected with the underlying aims of the Town Plan. The aims cover issues which affect every one of us as members of Hexham’s community trying to contribute to the well being and future of the town, as individual volunteers and as members of groups. They include how we achieve more coordinated partnership working and how we can be more effective at securing funding for town projects at a difficult time. We would like all of you to contribute your views-about what is working well here already and how other things might work better/more effectively.
The Town Plan can play a major part in helping the town to fulfil its huge potential. However, it needs all of us to make it work. I do hope you will join us to plan how we get the most out of people’s concern and interest in our town’s future.
We do hope to see many of you there.
With best wishes,
Judy Lloyd (Hexham Town Councillor and Chair of Town Plan Steering group)
Transition Tynedale 