Picture of Place
Creating a picture of place was a way of informing the strategic vision to take forward from Phase One into the formal consultation phase. We wanted to paint a picture which shows our vision for community and what is important to us.
Underpinning the policies that emerge, it’s crucial that we understand the Parish as a unique PLACE and how people feel about the environment they live in – aspects held dear, change may like to see – to inform future development.
Local Artist Cath Dennis has worked with pupils at Portreath Primary School and Portreath Pre School developing art works that explord the children’s relationship with the place they are growing up in. At the other end of the generational spectrum, Cath, supported by Community Artist, Clare Summerson, produced work with the residents of Harbour House. This includes sound recordings of Roma Craze (sister of Gordon Greenslade) who was born and grew up in the Parish this will build into an archive of voices.
The artwork produced with the school and preschool formed a major visual component of the Community World Cafeevent.
The creative activities with our local primary school and older residents of Harbour House produced some beautiful pieces of art; those images define and inform the strategic vision running throughout this project
Community World Café Event
The World Café built on the findings of the Resident Survey.
It was another opportunity to aid the Neighbourhood Development Plan (NDP) Steering Group in determining local priorities. The aim was to ensure that the NDP focused on and explored the areas that residents value, want to protect and transform.
The World Café model (http://www.theworldcafe.com) is built on the assumption that people already have within them the wisdom and creativity to confront even the most difficult challenges; that the answers we need are available to us; and that we are wiser together than we are alone.
It was important to create a hospitable space – one that felt welcoming, safe and inviting. This is because when people feel comfortable to be themselves, they do their most creative thinking, speaking and listening.
There were three questions identified for consideration:
- How do we protect, adapt & transform our housing?
- How do we protect, adapt & transform the quality of our environment?
- How do we protect, adapt & transform our social & community infrastructure?
Full details of the event can be found in the Creating a Vision of Place and Engaging our Community report here (link to report)
Youth Consultation
The NPD Steering Group were aware that previous community engagement methods had resulted in a gap in feedback from the 12 to 20 year olds in the Parish. To seek the opinion of this important cohort a ‘Selfie Competition’ was run with results from the competition shared amongst participants and a wider audience at a social evening in the Hub Cafe.
The Selfie Competition was run and advertised across the Parish using social media, word of mouth and posters, a link to posters of the competition are below.
The Evening itself saw our young people gather at the Hub, eat Pizza and drink Hot Chocolate whilst looking at the findings from the competition. The event afforded the NDP committee members an opportunity to share the findings- views and opinions- gained from the Selfie Competition and also to share the earlier work undertaken in the Parish. This included work at the primary school the survey and World Café Event with supporting materials available on the night for the young people to view and ask questions about. A short survey was distributed for attendees to complete, findings from this are here:
Youth Event survey and survey findings
Prior to The Hub event a number of NDP explanatory visits and consultations took place At the following:
Pool School- NDP Chair, Heather Mullin facilitated Year 7 Assembly with 60 young people attending.
Portreath Youth Group- Terry Reynard and Cath Dennis visited twice with a total of 9 young people consulted. Portreath Surf Club – Terry and Cath met and consulted with 10 young people at the Club, listening to them and encouraging their participation.
Word of mouth combined with leaflet handouts helped to promote the event and interest in the NDP.
The overall aims of the competition and Hub event were twofold:
- To explain the concept and purpose of the NDP to a wide range of young people, both from within the Parish and those who think of the village and its amenities as local to them.
- To gather the Young peoples’ vice and input into the NDP process
A full report of the night can be accessed here
Landscape and Local Landscape Character Assessment
Landscape is about the relationship between people and place, and is the setting for our lives. The Cornish landscape is unique, stunning, diverse, and a major economic asset which provides:
- economic value - often becoming a central factor in attracting business and tourism,
- social and community value as an important part of people's lives, contributing to our sense of identity and well-being, and bringing enjoyment and inspiration
- what elements of the character are important and have value, to help in the decision making process.
Landscape character assessment is a tool to help understand what the landscape is like today, how it has come to be like that, and how it may change in the future. Its role is to help ensure that change and development does not undermine whatever is characteristic or valued about any particular landscape.
The purpose of a
Local Landscape Character Assessment (LLCA) is to provide a robust evidence base, describing the character of the landscape in the Portreath Parish.
Village Character Assessment
One of the key, early priorities recommended by the public was to protect the most important green assets whilst improving and increasing the provision of open space and green links for the existing and future population. Though the
Village Character Assessment, areas of green infrastructure relative to Portreath and Bridge, of value to the community have been identified. There are wider areas within the parish, and more formal areas of space that are also recognised as of value and Local Green Spaces have been put forward for as green areas for the community.
Open and Green Spaces Map
Natural Environment
The built environment and the landscape have been assessed in the VCA and the LLCA respectively. The ‘natural’ environment from the cliffs, with extensive areas of lowland heath, and beach, to the woodland valley beyond is treasured by residents and visitors alike. Several areas have been recognised for their outstanding natural beauty (AONB) and for special ecological/biodiversity value and have been designated as Sites of Special Scientific Interest (SSSI) and County Wildlife Sites.