\ KENT COUNCIL OF SOCIAL SERVICE VILLAGE I INTRODUCTION APPRAISALS How has life in your village changed over the last 20 years? What is it like now? Information of this kind ca Amenity Societies when commentin proposals; ' It enables each pro overall village plan and not mer judged on its own merits irrespe of the village. \\. n be invaluable to Parish Councils and g on local planning applications and posal to be considered as part of an ely as an isolated proposal to be ctive of the present and future needs Ideally, as many people as possible should be involved in that appraisal, both in the preliminary survey Work and later in the implementation of the resulting recommendations. best be achieved by setting up a resentativessfrom all the various organisations in e.g. Parish Council, Amenity Society, Youth Club, etc. This can perhaps made up of rep- the village, Women's Institute, School, special committee There should be something for everybody to do. 55‘) ~ Of course, no two villages are the sam§‘5 each has its own _'fi " particular problems and each will therefore wish to concentrate its efforts and resources in different-ways. The tepics listed in Section II belcw, although by no means exhaustive, need not necessarily all be studied. The list has been drawn up simply to illustrate the sorts of topics which fall within the scope of a village appraisal. It is up to each village to select those topics which are particularly relevant to local circumstances and to the objectives of the appraisal they wish to_undertake. Nevertheless, there is no doubt that the‘ more effort and information that goes into the project, the more '»\,valuable will be the conclusions and recommendations drawn from the results. II EQ§§l§LE_$Q£l9§_§E@;§Q§§lQ§3é$lQH p _W'\¢§$§\xg;ALc5€l~ * 1g5GENERAL FEATURES \”“' d ( (i) Geoggaphical Location of the village in relation to other villages, ' towns, roads, railways, etc. , %(ii) History - the growth and development of the village. (iii) Formoofthe village e.g. cross-roads round a green, linear with a wide or narrow main street, compact or dispersed., f V Is there a focal point? ‘x What is the relationship between open space and buildings? ;(iv) Landscape and Geology — is the village a prominent feature on i the landscape? _ ‘:, To what extent is the character of the village influenced by the “ surrounding topography and geology? (e.g. hills, valleys, woodland, rivers, agriculture, etc.). (V) Character — what is the overall character of the village community, both visually and socially? How has this changed over the years? '\ \ /cr\. 2. ‘ OPULATION (1) What is the total population in the Village? Is the total population increasing or decreasing? (ii) What is the age distribution within the population? xx} flU_Ci,% What effect is this having on the village? ‘ A kiifl§EE§éIlQH 1/’— ” (i) What facilities are there for nursery, primary and secondary school education? Are these sufficient both now and for the future? (ii) What facilities are there foredult education and how do these /‘ . meet the requirements oékthe community? ‘D i {L "6o\PUBLIC TRANSPORT . p. égjwv , (i) What public transport services are provided in the village? (ii) To what extent are the inhabitants dependent on public transport? How many people have their own cars? (iii) Are the services provided adequate? (iv) How could they be improved? (:77>AMENITIES AND SERVICES (i) Shops, health services, playggoups, old people's welfare, places of worship, libraries, a otments, etc. ‘ I Sewerage, water, electricity, gas, telephone and postal services," etc. (ii) Are these services and facilities satisfactory? HOW could they be improved? /9 \. {q§£§RECREATION AND LEISURE (i) What societies and leisure activities are there in the village? (ii) Are there tuitable meeting places and facilities for these /, activities? e.g. a village hall, a football pitch, tennis courts, etc. (iii) Where is the nearest theatre, cinema, bingo hall, swimming pool etc? ,o’ §§?mr§C; k,kJAiK?o' (:gJ,L4;§ke<;* 9. ENVIRONMENT (i) Buildings — what are their characteristics? Note features such as scale, materials, fenestration, roofing, chimneys, etc. Are any of the buildings of special architectural or historic value? If so, are they listed? What condition are they in? Are there any designated conservation areas in the village? To what purpose could disused buildings be put? (ii) Trees — how many trees are there in the village? Are any of them in need of care or replacement? Should any of them be protected by a Tree Preservation Order? Where could further tree planting be carried out? (iii) Public Rights of Way — are all the footpaths and bridleways properly waymarked and maintained? (iv) Treasures and Eyesores — are there any special features in the village which should be preserved and enhanced? e.g. An ancient monument, a nature reserve, the village pond, etc. Are there any eyesores which should be removed or screened? e.g. A rubbish dump, unnecessary advertisements, etc. (V) Street Furniture - bus stops and shelters, seats, litter bins, road signs, street lighting, overhead wires, etc. Is there scope for improvement? e.g. Are all the road signs essential? Could the overhead wires be put underground? (vi) Traffic — could and should through traffic be diverted? Are there problems with heavy lorries? Should road widening be resisted in order to keep down speeds? (vii) Car Parking — are car parking facilities satisfactory? Are car parks properly screened? ’viii) Tourism — is the village popular with tourists? What are the, \wi effects of this? (ix) Land Use — is there any land available in the village? To what use could this best be put — housing, rural industry, car parking, open space, nature reserve, etc.? III RESULTS AND CONCLUSIONS i ______________.._____ Ideally, the findings report, It is also useful to draw up an ’ several years if necessary, indicating tasks to be carried out and who should be responsible for doing them. , Kent Council of Social Service