Download the Action Plan
This Community Development Action Plan contains economic, environmental and social projects aimed to regenerate the Town of Brading. The projects have been identified through the Market Towns Initiative Healthcheck process which was undertaken between January and May 2003 and by further consultation undertaken between June and Dec 2003. Each project has its own detailed management plan.The Community Development Action Plan forms part of the Brading Town Plan. This is a comprehensive, evolving plan which details all the services, policies, plans and procedures of the Town Council. It also contains details of the various consultation exercises undertaken in Brading. The Brading Town Plan is intended to be a document which is used on a daily basis, it will guide new and existing members and employees of the Town Council in the operation and activities of the Council, be a tool for general use and information by members of the community and outside organisationsThe Plan is presented by Brading Town Council with valued contributions from the following Brading organisations :-
This document provides the contextual background for Brading, the organisational structure, development framework, delivery plan and other management considerations needed to enhance and implement the Action Plan. The final part of the plan outlines how projects will be sustained, monitored and evaluated. The plan will be ongoing, with new projects being introduced as current projects are completed. Completed projects will form a reference section at the end of the plan.
1.1 BradingSituated in the east of the Isle of Wight equidistant from Ryde on the north east coast and Sandown on the south east coast, Brading is an historic town able to date its human settlement back to the last ice age; SOME 10,000 years ago. The town has a long rich history that boasts connections not only with pre-historic settlements, but also with Roman occupation. At that time, the tidal waters reached inland as far as the town, providing a sheltered harbour for ships. For this reason, Brading was a significant Island seaport for the Romans and later, the Normans. During the Middle Ages the Town served as the capital for the Island. In 1285 Edward 1 gave “Ye Kyngs Towne of Brerdyng” a Royal Charter to hold a weekly market and an annual fair,. However , during the 16 th century, Brading lost its value as a seaport and a centre of commerce and local government when the Harbour was lost following reclamation measures taken by prominent local landowners. As a result of its severance from the sea, Brading settled into becoming the centre of a mainly agricultural parish that includes the area of Morton and village of Adgestone and six farms. Brading elected its first Parish Council in 1895 and then became a Town Council in 1974, despite its village size population of just over 2000.
1.2 Current Economic and Social StatusBrading figures 30 th out of 47 Isle of Wight wards for income deprivation. Unemployment stands at 4.4% slightly below the Isle of Wight average of 4.8%, but significantly higher than the national average of 3.4%. With no local employer employing over 100 people, Brading has seen a loss of 23 jobs in locally available employment. Most employment is sought outside the community, the majority, 25% in distribution and catering. Although there have been initiatives for small business start ups, to date, these have failed. i.e. start ups that have taken place have not survived. As most of the local businesses are either family or “ one man” operations, they provide little expectation for expansion to increase employment opportunities.
Many of the once essential small shops located along the High Street, butchers, bakers, grocers, fishmonger and so on, have disappeared and the premises given over to either the tourist trade or private housing. Appendix 2 provides a comprehensive list of current retail provision in Brading. One of the main reasons for decline in community shops is the out-of-town centre Tesco supermarket. The supermarket was built just outside the north boundary of the parish, with a catchment area that includes in addition to Brading, Ryde and the villages of Seaview, Nettlestone, St. Helens and Bembridge. Shopping provision in all of these villages has seen a sharp decline since the arrival of Tesco`s in the early 1980`s and unlike Bembridge, Brading has not been able to diversify its retail providers to accommodate local demand. Indeed as a direct consequence of the Tesco development, Bradings local commercial activity has become centred around the needs of tourists.
The Towns economy has been further damaged by the volume of traffic which travels along the A3055 running through the centre of the Town, along its High Street. The affect has been to make Brading a drive-through town, reducing its social cohesiveness and its opportunities to capitalise on the tourist market. Brading Town Council, after comprehensive consultation with the community and negotiations with the Isle of Wight Council sported the introduction of traffic management measures to reduce the negative impact the through traffic was having on the community, its safety and the physical environment.
1.3 Strengths, weaknesses, Opportunities and Threats. StrengthsBrading can boast two main strengths ; - its landscape setting and physical attractiveness and its heritage - Its Community organisations.
Surrounded by a variety of different landscapes., many of which are Areas of Outstanding Natural Beauty that allow extensive public access, the Town of Brading and farms and communities within Bradings hinterland, have retained their rural character. Nunwell Estate, which lies on the outskirts of the Town has undergone several building programmes under the Oglander family, which has owned it since 1185. The buildings include a manor house, a coach house and farm houses that have architectural features spanning several hundred years. Some of the buildings in Bradings Town Centre date back to the middle ages while others have been built or rebuilt during the last 350 years. The Towns variety of architectural styles, all of which blend together harmoniously, lend it a distinctive charm, The Town Council recognises that the parishes many old buildings and historic sites are resources on which the Town can capitilise, not only to capture tourist spend, but also to enrich the community and raise civic pride.
The parishes other great strength is its leadership. Brading Town Council and other organsiations such as the Brading Community Partnership, Kings Town Association are well placed to take advantage of the opportunities that current levels of funding offer. Forward looking and enthusiastic, the highly skilled, capable and committed members and the trained, experienced Town Clerk and Assistant Town Clerk have a proven track record for initiating and implementing projects that benefit the Town. They have experience with and a clear understanding of, process, public consultation, and how to access funds to support their endeavours. Through public consultations, residents have expressed their confidence in the Town Council and community organisations ability to achieve the towns aspirations for regeneration.
WeaknessesAlthough Brading Town Council recognises it has performed well over the last five years, it also recognises that it needs to review its organisations structure to ensure the structure is sound enough to support the level of regeneration it proposes to undertake. In addition the Town Council will need to ensure it has staffing resources to support regeneration work. The Council and community organisations are well aware of these weakness and have taken steps to address them.
OpportunitiesThe Governments policies to devolve power to the local community level offers great opportunities to communities like Brading, which have the capacity to take full advantage of the incentives on offer for community empowerment. These incentives include a variety of funding schemes and awards. Brading has been quick to realise the polices for self empowerment that can be offered to the parish. In the last few years, the leaders have appreciated that the community can exercise considerable control over such issues as building / housing development, traffic flow, recreational facilities and other social and economic issues with which it has been concerned.
Threats The threats with which Brading is faced are property development and sustainability, The parish and its hinterland offer prime locations for property development, or for developments such as golf courses. Brading Town Council is committed to environmental protection and sustainability and has made vigorous and to date, successful representations against any developments that will have a detrimental impact on either the natural landscape, historical heritage or on architectural integrity of the Town. The Town leaders actively promote public transport and cycling and have introduced a 20pmh speed limit through the main High Street. Their focus is on quality of life for residents and respect for the environment both of which are constantly under threat by the need for more housing and property speculation. The Town leaders would like to develop to their full potential the natural and historic resources that the parish possesses, confident that these will ensure sustainable economic and social regeneration for the parish.
1.4 Key Challenges
The key challenge for Brading isTo build on Bradings historical and cultural heritage to create a sustainable economic and social environment for both residents and visitors to enjoy.Other challenges identified in the Healthcheck project include the following :
Environmental- To upgrade some buildings. Some buildings are in urgent need of upgrading and renovating. Their condition detracts from the visual appeal of the Town , an appeal that is important to attracting visitors and to maintaining civic pride. - To maintain to a high standard the public spaces within the town. Continual maintenance is required of signage, street furniture and general urban landscape, specifically more trees in order to retain the visual appeal of the town. - To create a Town Trail, to include al historic buildings such as the Old Town Hall, Roman Villa in an effort to promote Bradings rich heritage. - To enhance specific historic and nature sites in order to expand the range of experiences /. Activities for residents and visitors. These sites include :- - Bulleys Hill Quarry which would benefit from landscape rehabilitation and nature trails. - Original quay behind the Bugle which needs to be excavated and restored as part of the towns heritage. - To continue resisting major developments which threaten or may harm the historic character and visual distinctiveness of the town and its hinterland. Such developments that have presented themselves to date include the Marsh Farm Golf Course and a housing estate, both of which would infringe on the amenity value that the AONB and SSSI areas in and around Brading provide.
Economy- To work with the relevant organisations in developing and supporting small businesses. - To establish viable work opportunities within the parish so that fewer residents have to commute to work and so that more residents have the opportunity to work. Social and community - To raise IT skills levels by maximising usage of the IT facility that is managed by the Town Council at the Brading Centre. - To provide a second play area for local children in an easily accessible and safe area. - To provide leisure facilities for 7 – 16 year olds based on the results of consultations with the youth of Brading. To date they have indicated an interest in a skateboard Park / BMX park / basket ball area. - To encourage outdoor activities that take full advantage of the areas natural and urban attributes. Such activities, which could include archery, camping etc would improve the quality of life for residents and offer a greater range of activities than currently available for tourists.
Transport and Accessibility• To update the Brading Traffic Plan to a Brading Traffic and Transport Plan. • To secure cycle parking at the Station and in the Town Centre • To improve cycle routes between neighbouring parishes. • To seek provision of dropped kerbs for disabled access where necessary. • To improve access to public transport. • To expand parking spaces for the disabled in Brading • To lobby for the improvement of an integrated public transport system.
2.1 Brading Town Council working with local organisations has successfully completed a number of projects, some of which are listed below :- Repaired and refurbished a redundant building in the centre of the town to supports a variety of community activities, specifically, housing of Town- Council Offices, help and information centre, councillor surgeries, IT learning Centre and Book Swap. - Initiated a project to provide a BMX area for the youth of the town. - Improved Brading Day, an annual community event. - Initiated a project to provide a public amenity area with picnic barbeque sites. - Created a local sculpture trail. - Promoted the area of Brading.
2.2 Brading Action Plan Implementation.The project development and implementation of the Brading Action Plan will be managed at a local level by Brading Town Council working local organsiations. The former Council committee structure has been abolished and each of its eight members now has an area of interest. This system takes advantage of skills already held by members and also allows members to develop skills in their particular area in order to give the Council the best possible advice. The areas of interest are as follows :- Planning and Environment - Traffic and Transport - Community and Social - Economic Development and Tourism - Law and Finance - Health and Safety - Resources - Personnel
The Brading Action Plan has been created after undertaking the Healthcheck process and a considerable amount of consultation brought about by issues raised during that process. Spreadsheets detail the various projects which the Town Council and other organsiations believe are achievable. Projects have been allocated to various local organisations with the Town Council managing environmental projects which will require maintenance when they are completed. Other organisations will manage “ one off” projects and will report back to the organisation to which they are affiliated.
2.3 Healthcheck and reporting backPublic constellation events have been held in Brading for the past four years. A questionnaire is delivered to every household on an annual basis and this is followed up by a consultation day, where residents have the opportunity to see the results of the questionnaire and add any further comments. Whilst this exercise was successful in the first two years, the number of residents returning their questionnaire’s and visiting the consultation day has dropped off in the ensuing years. It is now recognised that other forms of consoling the public need to be explored. A web site forum and a “Peoples Panel” are two ideas that have been suggested.
The Town Council and local organisations work very closely together, the action plan specifies which group is responsible for which projects and so there is no duplication of effort. The Community Partnership represents all local groups and is responsible for collating any grant bids, discussions are then taken between the Town Council and the Partnership before bids are submitted so that the two groups may submit a joint bid if this is preferable.Regular publicity is given on all the local organisations activities in the Connections newsletter and on the three Brading websites. Good relations are held with primary, middle and high schools and members of the Town Council attend the Youth Club to inform the youth of Brading and give them ample opportunity to participate in the decision making process. The creation of a Youth Council is one of the projects identified in the Action Plan.
2.4 Policy FrameworkThe aspirations of the Town Council are in line with the objections outlined in the Governments White Paper, similarly Bradings Action Plan complements strategic plans being developed by Isle of Wight Tourism and the Isle of Wight Council.