‘We want to reflect the special qualities of our neighbourhood’

Children of the Sid Valley will be asked to play an important creative role in designing a logo to represent the future of their community.

The chairman of the Neighbourhood Plan project this week announced the launch of a competition in which primary school-aged pupils will put their artistic skills to the test to create an image that encompasses the key qualities of Sidmouth and its surrounds.

The winning design will be reproduced on all material associated with the £46,000 project, which, once adopted, will form a blueprint for all future development in Sidmouth, Sidford, Sidbury and Salcombe Regis.

Chairman of the Sid Valley Neighbourhood Plan, Deirdre Hounsom, said: “We decided to put the competition out to children from Sidmouth and Sidbury primary schools. The idea is to get all ages involved because the children of today will be the adults in 20 years. We just want lots of different ideas to get people excited and enthusiastic about it.”

Deirdre explained the steering group leading the Neighbourhood Plan forward is seeking a logo that reflects ‘the special qualities of our neighbourhood’ - from sea, green hills and red cliffs, to rivers, streams and historic buildings.

Children will all be given details of the competition today (Friday) and the closing date to return entries to schools is Monday, April 25.

Designs will be judged by a well-known local person and the winner will receive a family ticket to Seaton Jurassic, while there will be book tokens up for grabs for two runners-up.

The Neighbourhood Plan is expected to take around 18 months to complete and, once adopted, will carry legal weight with regards to planning decisions.

Members of the steering group are keen to emphasise the importance of community involvement.

Questionnaires will be distributed to all residents in efforts to determine the most important issues. From there, the steering group will begin to drill down to formulate a plan that represents the views of the community.

The Neighbourhood Plan roadshow will start from Wednesday, June 8, with a full timetable to be confirmed soon, and there will be further information available at public events throughout the year.

The winner of the design a logo competition will be announced in the Herald on Friday, May 6.