We had a good turnout for the public meetings at the end of November, where I presented a slide show of information about our Neighbourhood Development Plan. We then had a good discussion followed by the opportunity for everyone to leave comments on Post-Its stuck on flip charts headed by different issues. These comments will be invaluable to the Working Group in creating a survey which we will all receive so that our democratic opinion on parish issues can form the plan we all get to vote on in a referendum. If we pass it, this plan will then have legal standing that can't be ignored by the local planning authority.
A few of the comments related to forming a community energy company that would generate and sell electricity locally and cheaper. I could get really enthusiastic about this idea. There is a similar organisation at Wadebridge called WREN. They also concentrate on helping the community save energy by good insulation and other measures.
The plan for photovoltaic panels of Millennium House looks like it will go ahead. The electricity generated will provide income and savings that can pay off the loan after five years. From then on we generate massive savings which should mean a reduction in our community charge.
I'm still working on the parish website st-ive-parishcouncil.gov.uk adding council meeting agendas and minutes; also downloadable copies of the Parish Pump. For those of you who do Facebook, our St Ive Parish Council page is still being updated with parish news.
Last but not least, several of us are working on turning Pensilva Youth Project into a properly constituted charity so that we can expand what it does. I also want to involve young people in managing the project as full trustees. This has recently become possible since the minimum age for trustees has been changed from 18 to 16.
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