A really successful ‘Big Brainstorm’, organised in partnership with the Croxley Green Residents Association and attended by 40 residents, took place on July 13th.  Ten people who live or work in Croxley Green volunteered to be part of the Steering Group which will set the vision and the objectives for the plan and guide it through the all that stages which need to be competed for publication.  The ‘Big Brainstorm’ was designed to get everyone energized and to show that planning can be creative and that everyone’s input is a valued part of the process.  The results of the brainstorm were written up under eight major areas;  green spaces, getting active, health and well-being, doing business in Croxley, senior citizens, getting together, the built environment and young Croxley.  These are not definitive areas, however, they were based on looking at various village and community plans which are already published and from the local issues which surface at the Residents’ Association and the Parish Council meetings.  

The excitement of winning funding for the plan, launching it at the Revels and getting a very well attended public meeting together has given the plan the best start.  Now the hard work begins and the Steering Group met on 27 July to put in place a constitution which sets out clearly the purpose, membership and activities of the committee.  The next step is to agree the objectives for the plan and then to set up Working Groups to pull together the expertise and experience in the community and contribute to the content of the questionnaire.  The Steering Group agreed that putting the questionnaire out this autumn with the Autumn/Winter issue of the Residents' Association newsletter was too short a deadline and therefore it will be distributed with the Spring/Summer issue of The Resident.

The next meeting will be on 14 September and the Steering Group agreed that meetings will be open to the public.  Keeping everyone informed of the development of the plan is a key issue and Croxley Green Residents’ Association is hosting a web page for the plan and updates will be regularly posted. 

The Steering Group, which I chair, wants as much input from the community as possible.  I am very happy to come and talk to groups and societies which would like get involved.  The email address croxleycommunityplan@gmail.com is constantly monitored, so please let us know if you are interested in joining one of the working groups or want to suggest other issues which should be considered.

Cllr Wendy Jordan

Chair Croxley Green Community Plan