Shaping and Developing Porlock Vale

Dear Resident of Porlock Vale,

This email is a request from the Steering Committee of the Porlock Parish Council Coastal Communities Team.   The team needs your opinion about shaping and developing Porlock Vale. 

Please Click here to the complete questionnaire and have your say!  Below is some background information and detail about obtaining a paper questionnaire should you need one.

The COVID-19 pandemic has caused changes in our lives on personal, social and economic levels.  Things may not go back to normal when things settle, and we might need to adjust to new ways of living.  In 2008 The Porlock Vale Parish Plan, ‘Shaping our Future’, was published and in July 2019, after an extensive review, an updated version was published by the Porlock Vale Coastal Community Team, with three key findings:

1. Tourism is the main economy of Porlock Vale with many strengths, but also scope for improvement.
2. There is concern that opportunities for the next generation do not sufficiently encourage or enable them to stay in the Vale.
3. There is a need to improve the infrastructure of the area due to local authority cuts and the inability to rely on them or the market to support these vital requirements.

The Plan detailed 20 actions that could be implemented to address these findings.  In view of the pandemic and other trends, a Steering Committee is reviewing this Plan to see if it needs to be re-visited and we have crafted a questionnaire to seek your input.

This questionnaire assumes tourism will continue to play an important role in our economic life. However, visitor numbers may be lower unless we offer inspiring ways to attract more people. Therefore, the Vale will probably need to diversify its economy.

We need your input on a few important subjects:
Life in the Vale could be different after lockdown: how we shop and socialise may change, some businesses will thrive while others could struggle or have to operate differently.

Some good things have come out of lockdown too, which we might want to maintain. For example, there is an even stronger sense of community spirit as people have come together to help out with important activities such as shopping and collecting medication, or just calling for a chat.

Finally, our economy could be affected by how willing tourists are to return for day trips, weekends and holidays, and by how we feel about welcoming them back. We might need to diversify our range of business activities and attract a wider range of visitors. Climate change and other environmental pressures may also affect our community’s resilience and influence future trends in tourism.

What do you need to do?
We have developed a questionnaire that can be either completed on-line or downloaded as a printable document; it can be found at https://tinyurl.com/PVCCTSurvey
Hard copies, for those that prefer it, can be picked up at the following locations:

• The Post Office (Allerford)
• Porlock Visitor Centre
• Porlock Fayre (Spar)
• Porlock Home & Hardware
• Porlock Pharmacy
• Porlock Library
• The Villagers’ Store (Wootton Courtenay)
• Periwinkle Cottage Tea Room, (Selworthy Green)

Please complete the questionnaire and encourage your friends and neighbours to do the same. The more responses we get, the better we can make our community-led plan deliver the future you and our community deserves, and ensure we have a resilient community with a secure economic base.

If you have any questions please contact us using porlock.vale.cct@gmail.com.   Thank you. 

With hope for the future,
The Steering Group:

Stephen Colson, Richard Maw,
Max Lawrence, Duncan McCanlis,
Rob Schmidt, Ruth Walker,
John Ware, Chris Wood (Chair).