COLGATE PARISH ACTION PLAN 2010 - clp-se.org.uk PARISH ACTION PLAN 2010... · Colgate Parish Action Plan 2010 Page 1 Introduction ‘Community Led Planning’ is regarded by government

COLGATE PARISH ACTION PLAN

2010

Colgate Parish Action Plan

Contents

Introduction Page 1

Map showing Colgate Parish boundary Page 3

Brief history of the Parish of Colgate Page 4

Analysis of the 2004 survey results: A sample Page 7

Action Plan

Lifelong Learning / Communication Page 10

Local Businesses Page 10

Law and Order Page 11

Leisure & Cultural Activities Page 11

Facilities & Services for Older People Page 12

Health Page 12

Transport Page 13

Future Development Page 14

Facilities & Services for Young People Page 14

Environment Page 15

What happens next? Page 16

Acknowledgements Page 17

Colgate Parish Action Plan 2010 Page 1

Introduction

‘Community Led Planning’ is regarded by government as an effective way of

enabling communities to make their collective thoughts heard and to influence the

changes that may affect them. Parish or Village Action Plans set out a shared vision

for the community and contain a proposed course of actions for achieving these

goals. Although many of the actions within the plans will be implemented by the

communities themselves there will be some actions that require support and input

from other bodies such as the Local Authority or other Service Providers. As such it is

important to produce a quality plan that external agencies will take notice of.

The Colgate Parish Action Plan endeavours to provide an effective way of enabling

our community to make its collective thoughts heard and to influence the changes

that may affect this Parish. The Action Plan has evolved by consulting with the entire

community by way of questionnaires and discussion.

The Action Plan reflects issues of concern to the local community and presents to

local councils both at parish and district levels topics which are considered to be

important to residents. For example, if the majority of residents would like to see the

Parish Council have a website, as part of the Action Plan this would be followed

through with the Parish Council. With a completed Action Plan in place funding for

projects may be more forthcoming and also gain higher visibility and support from

the appropriate local authority.

It is also vital that with all the various community plans being produced, which could

have significant effects on our parish for the next 20 years, we have an effective

method of showing the many agencies involved the thoughts and feelings of our

Community.


The Action Plan will help us to influence the following points with all the appropriate

agencies to take the appropriate measures to ensure necessary actions are

undertaken.

• Enhance community spirit • Improve communication • Fully utilise the skills and expertise of residents • Influence people making decisions on behalf of the community • Improve the safety of the roads • Reduce lawlessness and petty crime within the parish • Establish links with local business • Work with agencies that can supply funding and support

This Action Plan is the product of a questionnaire sent in 2004 to every household in

the parish, 400 in total and which resulted in 152 adult questionnaires (a response

rate of 38%) and 26 young persons' questionnaires being completed and returned.

All the responses were analysed in detail to form the basis of the actions priorities

and timescales set out in the plan. Volunteers prepared a draft version of the Action

Plan which was sent to very household in the parish in 2009 and a meeting was held,

providing the whole community with a further opportunity to comment prior to the

publication of the Action Plan in its current form. From the 413 households

contacted, 65 feedback forms were returned (a response rate of 16%) all but one of

which were supportive of the actions prioritised in the plan.

It has been a very long drawn out process but we are indebted to Action in rural

Sussex for all the assistance and encouragement we received during the

preparation of the plan.



Brief History of the Parish of Colgate

The villages of Colgate and Faygate are situated in the high weald of Sussex, some

4 miles north-east of Horsham and in the midst of St. Leonards Forest. The parish

covers an area of some 2,243 hectares. In 1874 the population of the parish was

recorded as 449, but by the census of 2001 this had risen to 1,119 with 336

households. It is designated as an Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty and the

whole area is steeped in history.

Forest Road, which runs the full width of the parish through Colgate, follows the route

of a prehistoric ridgeway track which would have once connected Ashdown Forest

with the coast, via the Adur valley gap. There are several sites within the parish

where flint implements from the Middle Stone Age have been found, dating from

around 8,000 to 4,000 BC when the Mesolithic people had local hunting sites here.

These people were hunter – gatherers and were most likely the very first residents of

our parish!

Many possibilities exist for the origin of the Colgate village name (and none of them

are connected in any way with toothpaste!) The most likely for Col is a reference to

the charcoal burners and the Wealden iron industry which had flourished in the area

from pre Roman times. A direct connection may even have been from Godelene

de la Collegate who was recorded to live in the area in 1276, from the local

Horsham tax roll of that date. The family name means 'the charcoal dweller that

lives by the gate', the ‘gate’ as with Faygate, being one of the many forest gates

that would have protected access through the medieval deer parks which once

existed at Roughey (Roffey), Beaubush (Bewbush) and at Shelley to the north. The

plentiful supply of natural ironstone, along with the timber to supply the necessary

heat for both the furnace and the forge made this area ideal for ironworking; hence

the many beautiful furnace and hammer ponds that now grace our forest valleys.

St. Leonards Forest was a popular haunt and hiding place for smugglers during the

17th and 18th centuries. A story which was published in the London papers of 1614

reported that a fearsome serpent or dragon lived in the forest near Faygate. This

tale could well have been circulated to keep strangers away from the sensitive

areas of the forest which were frequented by the smugglers. The name of the

Colgate public house, The Dragon, reminds us of this famous legend. Opened in

1869 it was originally called the Colgate Inn. Faygate village still boasts two public

houses, The Cherry Tree, which in part dates from the 16th Century and next to the

station, The Holmbush Inn.

The railway station was built at Faygate as the new goods station for Rusper, when

the Crawley to Horsham railway branch line was opened in 1848.

In the 19th century both villages had their own village shops and Post Offices, but the

last of these to close was the Colgate shop which was converted into a private

house in the 1960’s. Faygate however, still has its own garage, built on the site of


the old Blacksmiths forge and also a popular roadside café, at the roundabout on

the A264 Crawley to Horsham road.

One of the oldest surviving buildings in Colgate is undoubtedly Stone Cottage,

situated opposite the church in Forest Road which dates from the 17th century and

is believed to have been the tollgate keeper’s cottage. The toll gate is shown here

on Budgen’s map of Sussex of 1796. Beedingwood Lodge is also shown on this map,

but most of the other houses in the village date from the Victorian period and many

were built for workers from the nearby Holmbush estate. The mansion at Holmbush

was built by Thomas Broadwood in 1823. By 1845 Broadwood was advertising as a

brickmaker at a site to the east of Hopper Farm. The brickyard went through the

hands of many owners and was known as the Holmbush Pottery Works when it finally

closed in 1959. The site is still used by a builder’s merchant and many other small

businesses. It is nice to think that so many of the local houses would have originally

been built using bricks made from locally dug clay.

In 1857 Thomas Broadwood had a tower

built at the high point on which is now called

Tower Road. This was a typical Victorian folly

and 106 feet high, which made it some 570

feet above sea level. Over the years

Holmbush Tower was a considerable tourist

attraction for the district but after use as an

observation post by the Home Guard during

the Second World War and falling into

disrepair it was eventually pulled down.

The parish church of Colgate is St. Saviours and was built in 1871 assisted by

donations from local landowners, William Hubbard of Leonardslee and Col. James

Clifton-Brown of Holmbush. Around the same time a village school was built on land

opposite, which remained in use until the opening of the new County School in

Blackhouse Road in 1915. After that time the old school continued in use as the

village hall, until one tragic day in 1940 when a German aircraft mistook it for a

munitions factory and dropped three bombs, killing 5 local people. The residents of

Colgate were however not to be deterred and after the war built themselves a new

village hall on the site, opening on June 3rd 1953 and which is still very much in use

today. The Memorial Hall, named in memory of those who lost their lives in the

bombing, is regularly used by the Pre-School Group and for Bingo, Whist and many


other local functions such as jumble sales. The annual village fete is also held here,

which is a major community event, especially for the children.

Faygate’s village hall is a fine brick building which is used by the residents for similar

functions such as Bingo and Jumble sales etc. Colgate also had a Methodist Chapel

built at the end of the 19th century on land between Mars Hill Villa and the present

County Primary School. A Methodist Chapel was also built in Faygate and opened

in 1893. This continued in use until 1966 when it was bought by the Church of

England and consecrated in 1966 as the Church of St. Francis. Eventually it was sold

in 1981 and converted into a private house.

Even though things have changed beyond comprehension in the past centuries,

especially with transport and communications, our parish still continues as a

flourishing community. The one thing that continues to bind us together is our

appreciation of the beautiful countryside in which we live and our desire to maintain

this for future generations to come.


Analysis of the 2004 Survey Results: A Sample

Colgate Parish encompasses both Colgate and Faygate Villages giving a broad

area layout with varying housing stock. The 2 village centres accounted for 70 of the

responses (46%) with the remaining 82 (54%) replying from further afield. Thus our

survey can be demonstrated to be representative of the entire parish area.

In which area of the Parish do you live?

0 10 20 30 40 50

Colgate Village

Faygate Village

Forest Road

Grouse Road/Springfield Lane

Along the A264

North of the railway line

Elsewhere in the Parish

No of Respondents

The households responding to the survey also showed a broad representation of the

various age groups as demonstrated in the chart (below, left).

Age Range of Residents in

the Parish

0 50 100 150

0-4

5-12

13-18

19-29

30-45

46-60

60+

No ofResidents

Car ownership is very important in this largely rural area. Over 50% of households had

two cars, 14% had 3 and 8% of households had more than three cars. Less than 1%

did not own a car or a van.


The number of residents per household ranged from the majority of 50% being two

persons per household to 1, 3 or 4 residents being of nearly equal proportion. Only

one household had more than five residents.

How many people including

children under 18 years normally

live in your household?

13%

50%

13%

16%

7%1%

One

Two

Three

Four

Five

More thanFive

The playgroup and pre-school facility within the Parish was well supported as was Colgate Primary School. As expected, 22 secondary school age children (31%) attended a school outside the Parish as did another 11 (15%) at sixth form college or university/higher education.

It was clear from the survey results that the majority of adults believed that more could be done both to promote opportunities and activities for young people and to involve them in community decisions. Similar responses were given in the Young Persons Survey.

Are current opportunities and activities

for young people at the present

promoted properly?

25%

75%

Yes

No

Would you like to see a youth council

as part of the Parish Council

72%

28%

Yes

No


Colgate Parish is fortunate in having a magazine that is delivered free to most residents. 123 respondents (nearly 93%) used the magazine to get information about events taking place locally. Colgate and Faygate notice boards and local papers were the next most popular source of information.

Where do you get information about Parish

Events?

0 20 40 60 80 100 120 140

Notice Boards

Parish Magazine

Local Papers

Library

Other

No of respondents

No

Yes

The responses received showed that only 30% of householders were satisfied with

how the Parish Council raises and spends money. It would seem from the survey that

over half the respondents did not know how the process works, suggesting that the

Parish Council could perhaps do more to improve local awareness of he financial

processes involved.


Action Plan

Following the analysis of all the responses to the questionnaire, the volunteers of the Action Plan Steering Group identified the main issues arising and grouped them under category headings as a table of actions with priorities allocated as follows:

High: ongoing/tackle within 1 year Medium: 1-2 years Low: 2-5 years

Lifelong Learning / Communication

Issue Action Priority By Whom

Lack of awareness of the

running of the Parish

Council.

Encourage attendance of

Parish Council meetings &

research alternative methods

of communication from the

Parish Council e.g. ½ yearly

newsletter

High Action Plan team

Parish Council

Requirement to increase

awareness of village

events

Encourage Parish Council to

set up a Parish Website.


Local Magazine

Local Businesses


Only 28% of villagers

surveyed are employed

within the community

Encourage local businesses to

advertise opportunities locally

i.e. Parish Magazine, Notice

board, proposed Parish

website.

Low/

Medium

Action Plan team

Local Chamber

of Commerce

HDC


Law and Order


Lack of awareness of

Community Police

Officer

Improve links with the

Community Police Officer and

villagers

Medium Action Plan team

PCSO

Panel Meetings

High Level of concern

with regards to burglary

Strengthen Neighbourhood

Watch Network and give

updated bulletins on the

proposed website


Neighbourhood

Watch team

PCSO

Leisure & Cultural Activities



current clubs/activities.

Encourage existing

clubs/activities to advertise

events in the Parish Magazine

and proposed new website.

Medium Action Plan

Leisure Team

Lack of inclusion of young

people.

Propose a Youth Council as

part of the Parish Council.

Medium Action Plan

Leisure Team

Requirement to improve

sports facilities.

Investigate use of Colgate

School playing field for village

team events. Better

promotion of existing sports

clubs and to encourage new

clubs.

Low Action Plan

Leisure Team

Lack of new clubs/events. Encourage new clubs/events

by using the Parish Magazine

Low Action Plan

Leisure Team


Facilities & Services for Older People


Dependence on use of

car to access facilities

and services is a major

concern

Set up meetings with the

appropriate public transport

operators to check if anything

can be improved.


HDC

Local Transport

Operators


current local government

initiatives to improve

access to facilities and

services

Investigate methods of

improving awareness


HDC

Health


Need better Hospital and

A&E facilities to serve

Crawley and Horsham.

Continue to lobby for a new

local Hospital


Local MP

Parish Council

Better help for the elderly

to get to local health

facilities.

Improve local transportation,

investigate alternative options

maybe a visiting clinic to one

of the village halls once a

fortnight!


HDC

Local Transport

Operators


Transport


Excessive traffic speed in

both Colgate and

Faygate.

Ensure SID is used more

frequently, also request more

Police speed checks.


PCSO

Parish Council

Pedestrian crossing of the

A264 at Faygate

roundabout

Is a footbridge feasible, could

the money be found from the

S106 fund or perhaps push

button traffic lights?


Parish Council

HDC

WSCC

Traffic calming in

Colgate.

Need some form of additional

calming measures through the

village.


Parish Council

WSCC

Infrequent and untimely

bus services to the Parish

Set up meetings with the

appropriate operators to

check if anything can be

improved.


Local Bus

Operators

Parish Council


Future Development


Preservation of Horsham/

Crawley strategic gap

Resist any future erosion of the

strategic gap High Parish Council

HDC

Traveller site option at

Tower Road location

Strengthen opposition group

and continue to oppose High CaFAG

Parish Council

Facilities & Services for Young People


Lack of involvement in

community decisions

Include a youth section in

local newsletter & proposed

website; investigate support

for setting up youth council

and/or youth club(s);

encourage involvement with

the parish plan

High Action Plan

Facilities Team

Parish Council

HDC

Lack of independent,

accessible or affordable

transport

Work with local authorities

and transport providers to

ensure safe, affordable &

independent transport is more

accessible for all our young

people for leisure, education

and work activities

High Action Plan

Facilities Team

Parish Council

HDC

Develop high class

activities for all and

improve access to

currently available

activities (both locally

and further afield)

Campaign for better public

transport; increase awareness

of available activities by

means of e.g. local newsletter

and proposed parish website;

investigate use of Colgate

School Playing Field and other

venues for formal or informal

social interaction

Medium Action Plan

Facilities Team

Parish Council

HDC


Environment


Impact of development

plans on biodiversity and

on enjoyment by

residents of rural area

Monitor (and resist where

appropriate) all development

threats especially in areas not

safeguarded by AONB or

‘strategic gap’ status.


Parish Council

HDC

Impact of increase in

quantity, noise & speed

of traffic in local area

Provide effective alternatives

to car traffic and speed

reductions where

appropriate; ensure less

fragmentation of

footpath/bridleway network


Parish Council

WSCC

Lack (or lack of

awareness) of accessible

recycling facilities

Provide further recycling

facilities;

Publicise current or updated

facilities (e.g. via local

newsletters & website)


Parish Council

HDC

Fly tipping, litter and

“mess”

Appoint more local “litter

wardens”; work with local

authorities to prevent/deal

with this


Parish Council

Litter Wardens

PCSO

Climate change Research local support for

involvement with “The

Greening Campaign”


Parish Council


What Happens Next?

All residents of Colgate and Faygate have now been consulted about what they

like or dislike about living in the parish, what actions could be taken to improve the

quality of life for all and how these actions should be prioritised. The Action Plan is

not an end in itself but the beginning of a more inclusive process for resolving issues

of concern to local people. The Action Plan will continue to be updated to take

account of ongoing changes in the local area, the most significant being proposals

for large scale increases in development in the Horsham and Crawley area.

With the backing of our Parish Council and input from as many local people as

possible the aim is now to implement the actions prioritised in the plan.

Following adoption of the Plan by the Parish Council a new Action Plan Steering

Committee should be formed, with appointed officers and a constitution. The

Committee is necessary for the management of any funds required.

The Steering Committee will establish Action Plan Teams with specified terms of

reference to focus on category areas within the Plan. The Action Plan Teams will

research and investigate the best way forward per category area. They will identify

and work with key service providers or partners. They will identify any funding

implications and make applications for funding where required. They will identify

and implement any other actions needed to be taken within the given category

area. The Teams will work with and report back to the Steering Committee on a

regular basis.

The Steering Committee will monitor progress and report to the Parish Council at the

bimonthly Parish Council meetings. The first formal progress report will be made to

the Annual Parish Meeting in March 2011.Until we have a local website, progress

updates will be publicised in the “Colgate and Faygate Parish News”. Local

Authorities, Service Providers and members of the public will also be able to view our

Action Plan together with those of other parishes in the SE region, monitor progress

and in some cases extract reports by accessing the Community Led Plans Database

which is available at www.clp-se.org.uk

For further information and to register an interest in volunteering to help implement

the Action Plan, please apply to any of the contacts listed on page 17. Whatever

skills or time you have to offer, don’t delay - your community needs you now! It is

only people who can shift the Plan from paper to reality!


ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS

The Colgate Parish Action Plan has been led and produced since the preliminary

meetings in 2001 to date by the following volunteers:

Christine Crosdil

Kevin Dugdale

Ken Johnson

Brian Knight

Elizabeth Rice

In addition many thanks go to:

Dave Elder for supplying the history of the parish

Guy Parkes and Robin Edwards who contributed photos

Mark and Alasdair Rice for IT support

Action in rural Sussex - Faustina Bayo for much encouragement and guidance with

procedures for producing the plan

Colgate Parish Council - Margaret Dunsbee for collating feedback resulting from the

draft Action Plan and John Sired for making Colgate Village Hall available for

meetings

Horsham District Council - Bruce Milton, Julian Carrington, Natasha Robinson for

technical and financial support with production and mailing of the Action Plan

Last but not least – the people of all generations in Colgate and Faygate who

attended meetings, completed questionnaires in 2004 or who returned feedback in

2009. A very big thank you goes to all those who so far have volunteered to help

implement the actions prioritised in our Action Plan (or will do so in the future!)

If any acknowledgements have been omitted we can only apologise for now and

include you in later updates of the Action Plan if you let us know.

Contacts

If you have any comments, would like more information or wish to become involved

with any of the Action Plan Teams, please contact:

Brian Knight Tel: 01293 851470 email: [email protected]

Elizabeth Rice Tel: 01293 851981 email: [email protected]

Colgate Parish Action Plan 2010

Documents

COLGATE PARISH ACTION PLAN 2010 - clp-se.org.uk PARISH ACTION PLAN 2010... · Colgate Parish Action Plan 2010 Page 1 Introduction ‘Community Led Planning’ is regarded by government