Vision for Shaftesbury is a project that asks the question: ‘What does this community want for Shaftesbury in 20 years’ time?’. The project will be enabled by a community group which is recruiting members and developing its capacity as it prepares to engage the community.
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Taking views from people from across the Shaftesbury area, the group will discover and champion the community's vision, finding out about aspirations for the town and its hinterland in 20 years' time whilst taking account of challenges likely to be faced over that period. The group will launch the project when we have the capacity to support it, confidence that the process we'll use can be inclusive and unprejudiced, and the connections needed to make sure that the vision will be influential.
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Scroll down to find more about the project and below that, links to documents generated during our preparatory work.
About 'Vision for Shaftesbury'
The information here is subject to change as the work proceeds. Scroll down to see updates on progress as well as links to sources of inspiration during this introductory stage of the project.
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Why is this project worth doing?
Shaftesbury community's own vision for the future could become a point of reference for the town and for those involved in the town's development and facilities. The process of producing an inclusive vision may bring additional benefits by reinforcing cross-community links.
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What geographical area is to be covered by the vision?
The SP7 postcode area is suggested. This takes in the town of Shaftesbury, the area within 3 miles of the town where residents are eligible for Shaftesbury allotments or to stand for election to the town council, and beyond that the villages and rural areas of the town's hinterland. SP7 crosses the Dorset/Wiltshire boundary, so our vision will be relevant to local government and other agencies and community groups in both Dorset and Wiltshire as well as to Shaftesbury Town Council. The area is approximately 10 miles from E to W at its widest point, and 8.5 miles from N to S. (Map here)
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Whose views will shape the vision?
Everyone who responds to surveys carried out during Phase 1 of the project will help the enabling group to identify key questions for Shaftesbury's future. This is an essential part of the process and we want as many people to join in as possible. However, we know that the people who respond to surveys are often not a representative cross-section of the local population. Surveys can therefore give biased results - often leaning towards the views of those who are older and with more years in education than the average.
Phase 2 of this project aims to avoid this bias by using an inclusive participatory process in which a group, representative of our area's population, will decide on a balanced set of recommendations for the future of Shaftesbury. Initially, prior to scrutiny by a wider steering group and external experts, this group is being referred to as Shaftesbury 'People's Panel'. In order to make it possible for the Panel to be inclusive, participants will be paid (national living wage) for their time in Panel sessions. There will also be independent support on hand to facilitate and record the Panel's deliberations. The opportunity to volunteer for selection for the Panel will be open to all over-16s in SP7 and will be widely advertised.
Note: We hope to be able to use 2021 census information to make sure we're reaching all sections of the community and that our Panel is representative. The necessary census statistics are expected to be released in winter 2023. In the 2011 census the population of the SP7 postcode area was 13,780 people (in 5,752 households), of whom 7,314 were in Shaftesbury (3,235 households).
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What aspects of this community's life will be included?
The aim is to make the vision comprehensive so that it can be widely used, not restricted to, say, planning for new housing or for the transition away from fossil-fuels. By learning from related projects elsewhere, we'll be able to set up useful initial surveys, but later surveys and then the Panel sessions must reflect Shaftesbury community's own concerns as made evident in Phase 1. See more about surveys and themes on the 'Discovery' page.
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When will the work be done?
From 2023, the voluntary group will gather support and then build the necessary capacity for the project work. An ambitious aim would be to have the work completed within two years. The project depends on funding and on volunteer effort becoming available.
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