Shotley Communications Strategy

• What is Shotley Parish Council?

Shotley Parish Council (SPC) is the first tier in the local government structure for the 2,300 people living in Shotley & Shotley Gate. The second tier is Babergh District Council and the highest, Suffolk County Council.

Nine Parish Councillors are elected every four years, the next election due in May 2007. They are voluntary and unpaid. The Council employs a part time Clerk who has responsibility for managing the meetings and overseeing all matters. There are three other part time posts – a finance officer and two litter wardens.

There are a wide range of powers at the Parish Council's disposal, including giving grants to local organisations, cleaning public places and providing allotments. The most important role is as a statutory consultee on planning matters.

• Why do we need a communication strategy?

There is immense development pressure on the village. Three key developments will have a very significant impact on the community in the coming years. A development has been granted for 150 housing units at Shotley Marina, a government decision is awaited on the 325 dwellings on the former HMS Ganges site in the village, and work will commence in the coming years on Bathside Bay which, together with the existing Felixstowe and Harwich facilities, will create the largest concentration of port and dock facilities in the country. The two housing developments may well double the population of the village, placing a huge strain on the existing social, transport and economic infrastructure and of course environmental sites of international significance.

The Parish Council has recently adopted a Parish Plan, which reflects the views and needs of the local population following the most in depth and extensive consultation exercise ever undertaken with them. The Plan presents an ambitious set of actions to address the problems and opportunities faced by Shotley, and these are now being taken forward by the Parish Plan Implementation Board.

The ‘Quality Parish and Town Council' scheme is designed to provide benchmark minimum standards for councils and enable them to better represent the communities they serve. The scheme also aims to enhance relationships between local councils, principal authorities and community and voluntary sector organisations. To be eligible, a parish council must be able to demonstrate that it is effectively communicating and actively engaging the community it represents. Currently Shotley is not quite meeting all of the mandatory requirements or a sufficient number of those which are discretionary in order to meet the Quality criteria. Implementation of this strategy remedies that.

Shotley already attracts visitors and tourists, but has the potential to attract many more. This can bring money into local business and is therefore in the interests of the Parish Council. There is a power under the Local Government Act 1972 (s144).

All of this reinforces the need to communicate effectively with stakeholders (a power given to parish councils by sections 137 and 142 of the Local Government Act 1972) . This document outlines the approach that SPC will take to communication, aiming to make sure that everyone is included, involved and informed about our work.

Communicating in this way is the responsibility of the Parish Council, its individual members and the Clerk, as it helps us demonstrate accountability, consistency, and openness. It also helps us to develop strong working relationships with our stakeholders.

Above all, we need to articulate the needs and wishes of our community.

[This strategy will need to be amended to ensure it reflects the Parish Council's objectives once they are agreed]

• What are the key messages?

We need to make sure that all of our audiences have a clear understanding about:

• who we are
• what we are here to do (key objectives)
• our values
• what we are contributing to, and achieving on behalf of, our community

• What are our values?

The way we communicate clearly demonstrates that we are:

• responsive to the needs of our community
• transparent about our decision making
• always ensuring that the population of Shotley are potentially the first to hear news generated or influenced by the Parish Council.

• How will we monitor and review the strategy?

This strategy will apply to all the Parish Council and related community activities, and be reviewed by the Parish Council on an annual basis. Where possible, there will be an attempt to measure and demonstrate performance against the objectives, and show progress of actions.

• Who do we communicate with and how should this be done?

A simple stakeholder analysis is given below highlighting our key audiences, and what we should seek to achieve through effective communication. It also indicates the communication methods we use or should use.

This is followed by a schedule describing each main communication method, and proposes some additions or developments. These changes feature:

• publication of an information directory
• introduction of Councillors Surgeries
• developments of the Noticeboard (newsletter) and MyShotley.com
• improvements to transparency of PC decision making
• establishment of a public information access point
• provision of additional noticeboards
• the purchase of a projector
• publication of a leaflet and annual report
• a digest of key messages from each PC meeting
• complaints procedure and compliance with Freedom of Information Act

• Click here for the Stakeholder analysis and communications methods

• Contact us about communications in Shotley
• Find out more here about the Parish Council, or contact the Clerk.
• More News about Shotley, and What's On.