Coddenham Parish Council
The Coddenham Community Plan 2023-2030 was published on 15th June 2023 and is available at the Coddenham Parish website. It was produced collectively by the members of the Coddenham Community Response Group (CCRG), which includes the Parish’s charitable, statuary and voluntary organisations, including Coddenham Parish Council, which played a full part in its production. It was funded by the Day Foundation.
Copies of the Plan’s summary, in handout form were delivered to each property in the Parish. Residents are asked to opt into one of the five working groups the Plan suggests should be formed or to provide further input. Whilst responses to the Parish Survey conducted in 2022 are the main contributor to the Plan, it has been made clear that it will iterate in light of continued feedback from residents and the output of the working groups.
An update of Plan progress may be found here.
The Plan has no formal status. However, representing as it does the views of the Parish’s organisations and the majority of its households, it is viewed as a valuable input to future decision making, grant awards and dealing with issues experienced by the Parish.
The Parish Council’s responsibilities do not change as a result of the Plan and it will remain the main (lobbying) point of contact for items which fall within the orbit of the District or County Councils.
Whilst the Plan makes no demands directly on the Council or councillors, continued active involvement of both in taking the Plan forward has several benefits to the Council and the community as a whole. These include, but are not limited to:
⁃ Enabling Council to gather contributions from residents and home in on possible and acceptable solutions, which it wouldn’t be able to do with its current bandwidth. Traffic related issues are an example. Many people don’t have the inclination or the time to be full-time councillors, but are prepared to assist with specific initiatives. The Plan provides a backdrop to enable Council to tap-in to this pool of talent.
⁃ Sharing resourcing/costs with other Parish organisations via joint initiatives. Management, maintenance and development of the community’s green spaces is a case in point.
⁃ Underpinning the Council’s role as playing a full part in the community.
⁃ Providing an ongoing feedback loop with householders.
The Parish Council remains fully supportive of the Plan and taking account of councillor responsibilities, councillors have agreed to join the following Plan working groups, provided other members of the community step forward:
⁃ Housing: Cllrs Denning and Gregory
⁃ Roads and Traffic: Cllrs Denning and Whitehead
⁃ Energy Conservation and Recycling: Cllrs Gregory, Mills and Soanes
⁃ Green Spaces and Footpaths: Cllrs Burton, Mills and Soanes
⁃ Alternative Hub (Pub): Cllr Whitehead
If any Plan activities lead to requests for financial contributions from the Parish Council or require the Parish Council to be the sponsoring organisation, they will be approved by the full Council in the normal way. Hypothetical examples might be (part) payment of the printing of a renewable energy questionnaire or acting as the primary party in running a public meeting for residents to opine on options to relieve the impact of traffic in Coddenham village. For the avoidance of any doubt, if it involves the Parish Council or its statutory responsibilities, it will go through Parish Council governance.
Council will also ensure that it represents all areas of the Parish in taking the Plan forward. Again, using traffic as an example, speeding and lobbying for the application of a reduced speed limit on the Old Norwich Road or issues on the B1078 at Lime Kilns will be treated with the same level of attention as traffic issues in the village. (28-Jul-23)
