Melksham Community - Annual Report / MCAP
Archive - Originally posted on "The Horse's Mouth" - 2013-02-26 23:22:57 - Graham EllisThis evening's MCAP (Melksham Community Area Partnership) AGM was well attended - good to see a couple of new faces - sad that there weren't certain groups (youth, traders) represented there (as far as I could tell), as there's so much that MCAP could do for them, and so much they could do for the town.
It's quite amazing what's happened in the year. The safety group's working with the police to inform on public priorities, with reestablishing neighbourhood watch, with MITA and shopwatch, with the town's CCTV and with "slow down" stickers for people's bins. The transport group's crossworking with other areas to look at recasting bus services to give better use of resources, encouraged by a receptive council, and indeed there are already successes such as having the Bath bus truely half-hourly now. Rail service imrovements, and station access improvements are there too, and bus information and maps are coming along. The environment and energy group is looking to maximise hydro power from the Avon when the canal comes through, encouraging and helping a local school move to biomass fuel for heating, and supporting apple pressing and see swapping day amongst other activities. On community engagement, there was a major town centre survey last summer, and more data collection at the festival of food and drink, in Foundry Close, and at other places.
All this lot comes together - both to inform the community, and to provide research and factuak input to the Neighbourhood plan, the joint strategic assessment, the community budget and the community action plan - each of which helps set a strategy going forward for the overall balanced benefit of the community.
Good to have the chair, vice chair and secratary continuing on, and at least one new member of the steering group. And more would be welcomed. It's all too easy (and common in some quarters) to complain about things but not to take an active role in constructive solution provision. A lot's been achieved already by the community in the last few years, and more can be achieved too ... and the beauty is that if you get involved early, you can help set the strategy and have a big influence, so that when it comes down to individual steps and decisions they're obvious, and easy to make for the town.