£46,000 moves into hands of the community

Volunteers have now been selected to play a ‘pivotal’ role in a project to shape the future of the Sid Valley.

The people chosen for their cross-section of skills will now join a steering committee to lead the creation of a Neighbourhood Plan – which will form a blueprint for the future development of Sidmouth, Sidford, Sidbury and Salcombe Regis.

This marks another step in taking the £46,000 project from the leadership of the town council and putting it into the hands of the community.

Former West End actress and retired businesswomen Deirdre Hounsom was appointed chairman of the Neighbourhood Plan last week and the selected volunteers are invited to the steering committee’s first meeting on Monday – where roles will be discussed.

The town council gave the project the green light in December.

Councillor Michael Earthey, who has been involved since its inception, said: “Clear roles and responsibilities across the areas that will be looked at in the plan will be pivotal to getting the project done.

“The steering group leads will be looking to draw on further support from those with interest, skills and experience in the community, so we hope that the structure will also help volunteers to see what they can offer and to get involved.”

The meeting will be held in Sidmouth Town Council offices on Monday (March 21) at 6.30pm and is open to the public.

Terms of Reference will be discussed and agreed on, and further appointments will be voted on.

One of the first key tasks will be to appoint leads in line with the proposed structure of the steering group.

Once adopted, the final plan will carry legal weight.