New Guide Helps Local People Get To Grips With District Plans (published 27.01.12)
Local people now have an even easier way to get to grips with long term plans for the Teignbridge area thanks to a new quick-guide published this week.
Plan Teignbridge is Teignbridge District Council's 20-year draft plan for the area, setting out how jobs, town centres, schools, healthcare facilities, green spaces, homes and more will be provided to meet local needs in years to come.
Aside from identifying places where workplaces, facilities and homes might go, it will help achieve many tangible outcomes affecting the everyday lives of people in the area, for example by aiming to provide enough jobs to match the number of working age people in Teignbridge.
This week the new Plan Teignbridge overview was published online atwww.teignbridge.gov.uk/planteignbridge summarising the real-life benefits of the plan for people in the district. Copies of the new guide will be available at public drop-ins and in all places where hard copies of the plan are available, including information centres, libraries, council offices and leisure centres.
Among those affected by the plan are many ordinary working families. Families of all shapes and sizes make up about 35% (16,500) of Teignbridge's household population. Among them are fire fighter Dan Taylor, 27, and trainee child-health nurse Faye Drinkwater, 23. The couple have a shared-ownership property in Teignmouth, found after great difficulty getting on the housing ladder. Dan works out of Truro as it was the nearest place he could find a suitable job in his service, forcing him to rent a shared bedsit to reduce expensive and time consuming commuting and be available when on-call. Back in Teignmouth he volunteers as a retained fire fighter, doing his bit for the local community. Faye is studying in Plymouth meaning she needs to be within reach of the university. Part of Faye's studying includes traveling to Torbay and Exeter for practical placements.
It took the couple two and a half years to find the right home at an affordable price, and this week they spoke about the challenge facing working families and couples.
Dan Taylor said:
"The fact is we all live in a really nice, but really expensive area. There aren't always local jobs around, money is tight everywhere anyway, and the banks won't help with mortgages without a huge deposit. Five or 10 per cent might not sound all that much to older, better off people who bought their homes a while ago, but to a young working couple with public sector jobs and many bills to pay it's just not possible.
"Faye and I were really lucky to eventually get our place in Teignmouth, but there are thousands of people on housing waiting lists and lots of people looking for schemes like shared ownership as well.
"I think it's a good thing that the council is thinking about the long term and are trying to make more homes available locally, and as well as giving more people a crack at lower-cost homes.
"It's a big issue, but I know first-hand what it's like to try and get a decent home which you can afford, and it's not much fun. The more that is done to create more jobs, stops people having to commute huge distances and helps working families in to homes the better."
Cllr Philip Vogel, Teignbridge Executive Spokesperson for Housing and Planning said:
"We're doing a lot to help make affordable homes available and encourage more local employment, and looking forwards Plan Teignbridge will be vital in this. It's about planning for change rather than letting change be forced on us, while remembering the real people and the real affect had by the plan we make - or worse, don't make.
"Working families are one of these big groups who we think will benefit from Plan Teignbridge, and Dan and Faye's story is a great reminder of why we're doing this work and who we're doing it for. Of course that includes all Teignbridge residents, and our new guide looks at all sorts of social groups and how the suggestions in Plan Teignbridge affect them.
"We're hoping the guide will help more people get to grips with the big picture of Teignbridge's future, helping us have better conversations with them as we continue to seek local views on the plan."
What sort of challenges are working families currently facing?
· High house prices and the limited availability of larger houses
· There aren't enough jobs to suit all skill levels and working patterns
· Many need safe places for children to play and safe routes to be able to walk to school
· Along with many other people, they need accessible leisure and community facilities like schools, doctors and community buildings
· They want better quality town centres and retail
Plan Teignbridge tries to help ordinary working families by...
· Making provision for more homes of all types, mostly in the towns. It makes sure that developments have proper facilities like schools, doctors and shops needed to support them. This will be particularly good for families who need convenient access to facilities to fit in with their busy lives
· Making sure that new development will be supported by a good range of footpaths, cycleways and green spaces. This is great for families as it will provide safer routes for children to get to school and outdoor spaces to play
· Ensuring that there will be more affordable housing. This means young people still living at home with parents will have more chance of being able to afford a home of their own
· Giving families access to different sorts of jobs. The ideas in the Plan will mean that there is space for new businesses and for existing businesses to grow. This should mean that more jobs, at all skill levels, become available, a range of full and part-time jobs should be created, and local people will be able to work closer to home, which will save them time and money
· Making shopping and leisure even better. Whilst most people enjoy shopping in the big cities from time to time, local families want to be able to get everyday shopping easily and have access to leisure facilities. Plan Teignbridge contains ideas for town centre developments in urban areas that have mostly been suggested by the people who live in those towns. Adopting Plan Teignbridge means that these ideas can come to life
· Putting in place really strong protection for nature. That means that there will still be really easy access for families to enjoy the countryside together.
More on Plan Teignbridge and how it helps various groups is available online now atwww.teignbridge.gov.uk/planteignbridge. At this website people can also view the complete plan, find local drop-in events and give their views on the plan. Copies of the new guide will be available at public drop-ins and in all places where hard copies of the plan are available, including information centres, libraries, council offices and leisure centres. People can also join the conversation online at www.facebook.com/planteignbridge or on Twitter @PlanTeignbridge, #planteignbridge.
ENDS
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