A copy of the Village Plan is available to read online or to download see Melbourn Village Plan.

We would like to hear your views on the proposed Action Plans and have provided an online form to leave your comments. See Using ‘Your views’ and action plans for more details.

We have now completed almost all of the collection of information needed to make draft recommendations for future action. A ‘Like it –Hate it’ survey reported in early 2010 has been followed by a village wide Questionnaire. The Questionnaire was a fantastic success  – more than half the village returned completed forms – and we have had this feedback professionally analysed.

We have also carried out a detailed survey of businesses in Melbourn and can add much information from this very interesting and critical aspect of village life to our findings.

Great efforts have been made to contact local clubs, organisation and community groups, seeking their opinions, ideas and any problems they currently encounter. A special effort has been made to include Youth and Senior Citizens in our survey, as these groups are sometimes slow to come forward with their views. A focused survey of the needs of those with a variety of physical or other impairments is currently under way.

A very important initiative is to begin harnessing the amazing number of volunteers that have come forward through offering a number of practical options where the village can benefit sooner rather than later. If you would like to join this group, see the link  – Here’s to the Volunteers in Melbourn.

Most importantly, we are about to begin consultation with you on the detailed findings and recommendations that will make up the Final Report.

Look out for our new web page – Melbourn Plan Final report – Village Consultation  

Thanks to the efforts of a brilliant team involving 75 volunteers drawn from this larger group, questionnaires were delivered to the whole village. There was a fantastic response from residents with more than 1000 questionnaires returned, representing over 50% of the households in Melbourn.  The Questionnaire offered a chance to win £100 in a free-to-enter prize draw. John Travis, Chairman of the Village Plan Steering Committee, recently presented the prize for the winning entry to Sheena Jeetun who lives in High Street Melbourn. Congratulations Sheena!

In order to recognise the many volunteers now registered with the Village Plan, a Volunteer Event was organised during the first week of December 2010 to thank everyone for volunteering, and especially those who have already done so much. The occasion also showcased and offered a variety of new opportunities for volunteering. The ideas on display had arisen from the village questionnaire feedback. More than 100 people attended the event and most of the volunteer opportunities were very well subscribed.

County Councillor Susan van de Ven, speaking at the event, said

‘I fully support the Melbourn Village Plan. It’s been such a positive afternoon bringing together this wonderful people resource we have in the village’.

The Volunteer Event allowed expressions of further interest in areas as summarised below:
Play Parks – A ‘user group’ of parents with younger children has been formed with the objective of improving the play park provision within the village

Litter Picking – A volunteer litter-picking group is proposed supplementing local authority street-cleaning arrangements.
Volunteers for Stockbridge Meadows – Volunteers are suggested as a method of providing supplementary support to the existing wildlife management plan set out for The Stockbridge Meadows Riverside Park.

Footpath Networks Group – A volunteer group specialising in all aspects of footpath management including surveying, mapping and maintenance.

Senior Citizens Support – A volunteer initiative to work alongside existing provisions to improve the life of the more elderly population

Melbourn Conservation Group – A volunteer group is proposed to develop ideas for conserving energy, wildlife conservation and all ‘green’ initiatives.  A ‘champion’ is needed to set this going.

Youth – A volunteer initiative to work alongside existing provisions to improve facilities and support for young people in Melbourn.

Melbourn in Bloom – A volunteer-based plan to develop a ‘Village in Bloom’ project, with the objective of making the village more beautiful for visitors and residents alike.

If you would like to volunteer and have not already given us your name, please contact us at melbourn.planning@googlemail.com or Sally Arnott Tel: 07519791256

For more details of the volunteering opportunities, please take a look at our latest newsletter here: Newsletter February 2011