Villages caught napping (From Stroud News and Journal)

Villages caught napping

COMMUNITY leaders have been left fuming after civil servants branded their towns and villages as 'barely active' following a crude test of what makes neighbourhoods tick.

Eleven Stroud district parishes were placed on the 'barely active' list following an audit in response to a Government Rural White Paper. It was intended only for civil servants' eyes until Rural Affairs Minister Alun Michael agreed that it should be placed in the House of Commons Library.

So when Upton St Leonards Parish Council chairman David Hunt saw the list, he was angered by what he saw as the Countryside Agency's lack of care in carrying out the survey.

According to the list, Mr Hunt lives in a 'barely active' village. He was so incensed he complained and received an apology from the Countryside Agency and the parish has now been upgraded to 'active'.

"They checked the survey and recognised us as active," said Mr Hunt.

He pointed out that the village has a sports pavilion and a recently extended village hall, a pub and two hotels, a primary school, a post office and other shops, two festivals a year, a football ground, two tennis courts, a petanque ground, two WI's, two Probus clubs, a badminton club and Prinknash Abbey.

"How can all that be deemed to be barely active or even just active?" he fumed. "It's nonsense. I suggest that someone should start auditing the Countryside Agency.

"We are strong and vibrant."

The audit of the nations' villages was drawn up as part of a consultation on Quality Parish Councils, which could give parish councils more responsibilities.

But Mr Hunt was sceptical about the idea. If Upton St Leonards PC became a Quality Parish Council, it might have control over minor planning applications and street cleaning.

The parish council would then have to put its rates up. And he added: "Quality should be a measure of how well you do it, not what you do."

Julia Bailey, Countryside Agency spokesman, admitted the terms were inappropriate.

Much more work will be done on measuring village activity so the Government can target grant money more effectively, she said.

"It was drawn up in response to Government's Rural White Paper," said Ms Bailey. "Indicators will be developed to give an idea of what's going on in rural areas."

Five factors were taken in to consideration - whether the village had pub, a meeting space, annual activities and traditions, plus whether or not local elections were contested - if they were not, the agency wanted to know if seats were filled.

"What has caused the trouble is that some were classed as barely active when they were not," said Ms Bailey.

"We will be changing the terminology. The work that parish councils do is vitally important."

She laid some of the blame at parish councils which did not fill in the questionnaires but she recognised that the naming system was flawed.

For now though, many community leaders are still upset because the list is at odds with what they know to be true.

Phil Hughes, Cainscross Parish Council chairman was dumbfounded. "To say we are barely active is wrong," he said. "We've got everything we want here. It's a close-knit community."

Cainscross PC covers Ebley, Dudbridge, Cashes Green and Cainscross.

He pointed out that the parish has five pubs, a youth club, two allotment associations, St Matthews Church, Cashes Green Methodist Church, Ebley Chapel, Cainscross and Ebley Community Centre Association, Cashes Green Youth and Social Centre, which is home to the Brownies, the Burma Star Association, Cashes Green Fellowship Club, Cashes Green WI, marshal arts, sequence dancing, tea dances, and whist drives.

Cubs, Scouts, Guides and Venture Scouts groups all meet locally too.

Then there are residents associations for Sunny Hill and Orchard Road, numerous playgroups and toddler groups, three bowls clubs, two football clubs (incorporating youth teams) and Cainscross Rugby Club plus many more.

"The list goes on and on," said Mr Hughes. "We've got a chemist, a Co-op, a factory shop, a post office, a chip shop, a wool shop, a hairdressers, a barbers, a car parts shop, and a dry cleaners in Cainscross. In Ebley, there's Gordon's Autos, Ebley Tyres, a post office and a Spar Shop."

Sainsbury's at Dudbridge is within walking distance of Cainscross.

"Apart from a bank, there's no need to go to Stroud," he added.

Mike Beresford, chairman of the Gloucestershire Association of Parish and Town Councils criticised the Countryside Agency for producing a national list.

"It is upsetting for any council to be labelled sleepy or barely active but it is made even worse when the list was comprised from a survey which the Countryside Agency itself admitted was incomplete, poorly answered and the questions in it were open to individual interpretation."

He called for the list to be withdrawn and a proper survey carried out with backing from GAPTC and nationally, the National Association of Local Councils.

One village in the Stroud district, Alderley, south of Wotton-under-Edge was bracketed in the 'sleeping' group.

Not all councils were left wondering how the list was drawn up, though, as in the Stroud district 27 parishes fell in to the 'active' or vibrant categories. Bisley-with-Lypiatt Parish Council chairman Pat Carrick saw its 'vibrant' rating as reward for a lot of voluntary effort from villagers.

"We were quite surprised but its very good for the council, which has put in a lot of hard work, especially over the past few years," said Mrs Carrick.

Jilly Cooper, writer and Bisley resident of 20 years standing was delighted to hear the news that her home village was one of the table toppers. She acknowledged that a great deal goes on in Bisley and a real feeling of community spirit pervades the village.

"I think that's absolutely lovely," she said.

"Geographically, from top to bottom, it's got lovely people.

"When you are feeling a bit low and go out in the village you meet some lovely people."