BELMONT RURAL
PARISH PLAN

Communications

Present position

Belmont Rural PC has five methods of communicating with residents:

• Parish meetings (annual) and Parish Council meetings (every six weeks). Open to anyone.

• Noticeboards. On Northolme, Westholme and Abbotsmead roads, and near the Eastholme Community Centre.

• Belmont Voice. Supported by the PC, but independently edited.

• Website (www.belmontrural.co.uk). Free access, for those without computers, at Belmont library

• Leaflets. Used to publicise special events.

Problems

• The Parish and PC meetings are poorly supported by the public despite being advertised on the noticeboards. Belmont Voice carries an edited selection of the minutes; the full minutes are available on the website and can also be seen, by prior arrangement, by contacting the Parish clerk.

• The noticeboards have been vandalised from time to time, but have been quickly repaired.

• Belmont Voice is mainly a one-man band. This somewhat undermines its front-page slogan (“More than an estate - a community”) and it would help if residents would contribute material bearing directly on the affairs of the estate.

• Website. A new venture which needs time to develop.

• Leaflets. Useful, but they typically cost £200 to print and distribute. Should be limited to special events or when there is an unusual, time-sensitive need to inform residents. Response to door-to-door surveys and petitions (with subsequent collection) is good but visiting 1650 houses is very hard work, even with many volunteers.

Issues

According to the survey, residents are satisfied with the amount of communication they receive. The Parish

Council would welcome more feedback but realistically acknowledges that this is not something that can be forced.

Policy

Maintain present levels of communication using present channels. The PC’s cash allocation, supporting the printing and distribution of Belmont Voice, was based on a fourteen-page magazine. Revenue from advertisements has been used to add extra pages and to improve paper quality.

NOTE: Voice’s present editor will resign the post after the publication of the December 2003 issue. The PC intends to continue supporting the magazine if another editor can be found. Otherwise, there are plans to communicate via a less ambitious newsletter.

Partners

Belmont Rural PC
Belmont Voice editor
Belmont website manager
Volunteers to deliver/collect surveys, etc