Romseynet - Look at Romsey Area Five

Look at Romsey

Town Design Statement for Romsey

Great Woodley

Prepared by a team of volunteers in the area under the auspices of the
Romsey and District Society.

The project started in May 2004 and finished in August 2006. Originally the area included places on each side of Braishfield Road. This did not prove satisfactory and after a lull, the project was re-started in Autumn 2005, with Woodley and Ganger (Area 11) detached to form a separate area leaving that part of Woodley west of Braishfield Road and north of Winchester Road. The Great Woodley Residents Association were co-partners in the project, although Horseshoe Drive is not part of the area that their Association covers.

There area consists of 817 households. Four meetings were held before the area was divided and six afterwards. In all, 20 people participated, apart from walks and exhibition.

2004
Initial step: May 2004
A letter was sent to members of the Romsey and District Society advising them of the intention to initiate the project. In the event, all leafleting was organised and carried out by members of the Great Woodley Residents’ Association. In all 10 people put leaflets through doors.

First public meeting: June 2004:
The first meeting was held in Cupernham Infants School and was attended by 22 people.

Guided walks
Four guided walks were held in August 2004 (two on each side of Braishfield Road and were attended by 19 people. They were advertised by a leaflet put through every door in the area.

Preparation of questionnaire: Autumn 2004:
The draft questionnaire was prepared, and then the project ceased for some months. It was revived after the area had been subdivided and re-started in Autumn 2005, when the questionnaire was finalised. It was prepared by a total of 10 people, principally committee members of the Great Woodley Residents’ Association.

Questionnaire: January 2006:
Copies of the questionnaire were delivered to every household in the area with a request to return them by mid-March. Completed questionnaires were returned to a local shop, Cupernham Infants School or one of three private houses. Some questionnaires were returned direct to the Look at Romsey convenor.

Processing of answers: March 2006:
Every answer to each question was typed into an Access database. 117 replies were received, which is 14.3% of all households.

Preparation for exhibition:
Two meetings were held at which the replies were analysed, and materials were prepared for public exhibition. The whole area was leafleted once again.

Exhibition: 30 March 2006:
An exhibition was held in Cupernham Infants School on a Thursday evening. It was seen by 37 people.

2004-6
As soon as the exhibition was over, work started on the Design Statement. A draft was prepared and was revised at two working parties, after which the pictures were added.

Public consultation June/July 2006:
The draft statements were printed exceptionally using a printer with equipment to collate and staple the sheets. A leaflet was distributed to each household telling residents that copies were available at three locations in Great Woodley and a further three within the town centre. In addition copies of the statement were sent to all Town Councillors, Test Valley Councillors for the four Romsey wards, County Councillors for the two Romsey divisions, the MP and one or two other bodies, such as Testway Housing and the Police.

Reactions to the design statement:
55 copies of the design statement were taken from the outlet points. In addition, people read them at such places as the CAB offices and the library.

Final meeting:
This was held on Wednesday 9th August 2006. The text of the Statement underwent a final review and the text of this document was agreed.

Non-design issues: August 2006
A letter has been sent to councillors and others drawing their attention to the non-design matters that were raised during the course of work on this project.