New look for parish (From Stroud News and Journal)

New look for parish

Minchinhampton Parish Council is to receive a facelift, with a new logo, stationary and postcards.

The image overhaul is the result of two years' work, involving consultation between the public, councillors and local artist Tony Guy.

It is part of a wide-ranging initiative known as the Parish Plan, which aims to make Minchinhampton Parish Council more accessible to the people.

The new design features a cow at a cross roads, with signs for policing, affordable housing, traffic management, facilities for young people, supporting local business, preservation of green spaces and Tom Longs Post, the Parish newsletter.

The newsletter itself is also in the process of being redesigned to make it more appealing.

In order to offset the costs of the venture, the council has decided to have images of the area, which were commissioned during the design process, reproduced as post cards.

The idea was suggested by the artist who produced them, who generously agreed to waive copyright fees. They will be sold for around 25p in local shops.

There are four designs currently under discussion, which feature prominent sites in Amberley, Brimscombe, Box and Minchinhampton.

A new website is also under construction, though the launch date has been set back because of technical difficulties.

Chairwoman Eilish Cope said: "In the main, the council thought it was a good idea. We are really trying to pull all the villages together.

"The Parish Plan is something that we started two years ago. It started off with a sort of roadshow that involved people coming and looking at different techniques.

"We conducted a questionnaire to find out what they want. We were asking, 'what could best improve your community for the future?

"We also had focus groups to test different ideas.

"The Parish Plan is really the work of the people. It is what is important to them."