Young people had the chance to have their say at events about the future development of their villages and what they would like to see in their community.
86 young people aged between seven and 16 attended the ‘Vision of the Future’ drop-in sessions organised by a steering group which is developing Wootton and St Helen Without Neighbourhood Plan (WSHWNP).
The events took place at Dalton Barracks Community Centre in Shippon on Wednesday (14 February) and yesterday (Thursday 15 February) at Wootton Community Centre and were supported by Vale of White Horse District Council.
There were games, activities, a climbing wall and the chance to take part in arts and crafts with professional artist, Emily Cooling, as young people gathered to tell organisers about their wish list for the villages’ future. Food and Drinks were generously donated by Wootton Co-op, Costcutter, Waitrose, Domino's Pizza, Pizza Hut and Papa John's Pizza.
The young participants’ ideas will all be fed into the Neighbourhood Plan, which once completed will help to shape how their community develops over the coming years.
One of the organisers Richard Bahu, of the Neighbourhood Plan Steering Group, said: “We really want young people to get involved and have their say. It was great to have so many of them giving their views and ideas. This is invaluable in helping us to shape our plan and we’re very grateful to them all for coming along. We appreciated the support from the team at Vale of White Horse District Council, the Damascus Youth Project and Oxfordshire Play Association in setting up the events. We were very grateful to My Community (Locality) which gave us a grant. ”
Cllr Roger Cox, Cabinet Member for Planning, said: “It’s great to see the steering group in Wootton and St Helen Without leading the way and involving the whole community in developing their Neighbourhood Plan. We very much encourage all communities to have a Plan in place and are here to help support them with this.”
Alisha from Dalton Barracks, said: “It was a really fun day and I feel like my voice was listened to.”
Wootton and St Helen Without started work on their Neighbourhood Plan in March last year and expect to complete it later this year. Visit the steering group’s website for more information: www.wshwnp.org.uk.
For more details on Neighbourhood Plans, see www.whitehorsedc.gov.uk/neighbourhoodplans
