People living in Whitby urged to have their say on how town can be better
Whitby Community Network is starting a consultation next week
People living in Whitby are being urged to have their say on how the town can be improved.
A consultation's set to begin next week for views on things like anti-social behaviour and everyone's likes, dislikes and what should be protected.
Andy Jefferson is from Whitby Community Network: "It's like where people go about their daily business and say for example there's a paricularly busy road which doesn't have a crossing on it and they have problems getting across. Certain places are dangerous in the road system and we have a lot of traffic.
"We have secondary schools that they're talking of merging which will only increase the traffic. There might be a favourite green space that someone might have which doesn't have any benches, so they can't sit and enjoy it. So it's about what would make life better for residents from the small things to the really big things.
"There are things that you can do to particular problem areas like making them more community based which will deter all of the anti-social behaviour which will relieve it, so it will benefit the more deprived areas particularly.
"It might suggest that certain areas of town need detailed consultations so for example there might be a green space that's been neglected and needs a total revamped, so then we can go into detailed conversation about what people would really like to see there."
On its website, WCN said:
"WCN obtained an amount of funding through one of the Whitby SBC councillors' local grants, and with that have developed a consultation using the CreateStreets online mapping software that has been used by many towns and cities around the country to aid in urban redesign.
"The consultation will run throughout May, and will involve the availability of a Whitby Parish specific "CreateStreets" map. Using this map residents can think about what locations in the town they like or dislike, say why, and suggest what could be improved at that location. What should be protected in the town, and what should be improved.
"Whilst it will clearly be very convenient for people with internet access, there are still many people in the Whitby and District area without such access, particularly given the aging population that we have.
"To tackle this important issue WCN are also making it possible to take part by providing simple input slips at a series of locations where they can also be returned for processing: Whitby Coliseum, Eastside Centre, Green Lane Centre, and St Johns Ambulance Hall (some other community centres may be added); all input slips will be entered into the online system manually so that the end goal for the parish is a relatively complete definition of residents opinions.
"The consultation is open to all residents of Whitby and District (Whitby Parish and the surrounding 16 parishes). The reason for it being not just for Whitby parish residents is that there are significant numbers of people in the District who either work, are educated, or shop here, and so should have a say.
"Posters will be appearing in convenient places around Whitby and District, providing details of how to take part, including QR code for smart device users.
"Submitting an opinion on a single location should take maybe one minute, and is totally anonymous. It is a very quick process, but could have long lasting impact for the future of the town.
"Whether it's some road that is very busy and needs a crossing, a green space that could do with some benches, or better paths, better lighting needed to make some place more usable, more free-to-access sports fields, or some facility that Whitby hasn't got but residents would benefit very much from ... this is the chance for residents to have their say. It also provides a mechanism whereby residents can have their say on the designation of some educational sites, some of which are targetted as being part of an amalgamation."
An overview of the consultation can be found on the WCN website.
Once the consultation has completed, WCN will
- publish all data, in full, on the WCN website, because openness and transparency is something we actually work to and, unlike councils, not just talk about. Resident's views must be visible and respected,
- analyse the input to establish headline conclusions,
- feed the findings to Whitby Town Council and North Yorkshire Council, so that the information can be utilised in future funding bids and define the future direction of the town,
- actively campaign for items where there are common themes amongst the views of residents be they housing, public transport, active travel, education, and so on,
- assess the relative success of the consultation and, dependent on the thoughts of the surrounding Parish Councils and available funding, consider performing a second consultation but this time for the Whitby District (omitting Whitby Parish).