About Us
You can access all of our principal documents by clicking on Meeting Notes on the right. Click right here to see our terms of reference (constitution).
First - about MCTI generally. The aim of MCTI is to create vibrant, healthy and sustainable market and coastal towns in the South West by helping local communities and their partners to:
- Prepare Community Strategic Plans, balancing the economic, social and environment aspects of community life in their towns and surrounding rural areas
- Develop the skills, strengths and knowledge needed to be effective partners
- Share good ideas and learn from local, regional, national and international experience
- Secure the funding and professional assistance to turn these plans into reality.
The initiative has helped Market and Coastal towns and their surrounding communities to identify priorities for the future of their area, to gain the skills necessary to take action, and then to implement their plans. It has helped co-ordinate activity of local and regional agencies and provide. See the South West Market & Coastal Towns Network web site at http://www.swmctn.com/
Please now read on to learn more about the Axminster contribution.
1. WHAT IS AND WHO ARE AXMINSTER COMMUNITY ENTERPRISE?
ACE for short. A community organisation composed of volunteers drawn mainly from local councils and businesses, plus the Community College, Churches Together and concerned individuals. Andrew Moulding chairs the Steering Group and Thelma Collier is vice-chair.
ACE was set up by the Town Council to apply to join the Market & Coastal Towns Initiative (MCTI) sponsored by the South West of England Regional Development Agency (SWERDA). The application was successful, and ACE have received from SWERDA a grant of £20,000 through the Town Council to consult the community and draw up a community strategic plan.
2. WHAT ARE OUR AIMS ?
To set out a 20+ year vision of how the community want to see the town progressing over the long term. A plan that reflects the wishes of the community, and is driven by the community. In the jargon, bottom-up rather than top-down. Rather than be caught out by having change imposed upon us, let’s influence the shape of the future and get used to preparing for change and managing it as far as possible within the community. Even if not all of the ideas come to fruition in the timeframe up to year 2030, they indicate the preferred ‘direction of travel.’
3. WHAT HAVE WE DONE SO FAR?
Held two principal public consultation events in 2007 – we had a marquee at the Festival of Gardening and Crafts in June 2007; after which we published a provisional vision; and then we held a large public meeting and discussion sessions at the Community College in October 2007. After that, we formed theme groups on particular subjects, which each met a few times and worked on the ideas thrown up at the two consultation events and other feedback; and we also developed new ideas and strategies. We’ve operated a web site since summer 2007.
In 2008 our main consultation initiatives were as follows. In March 2008, our Community Agent gave a speech at the Annual Parish Meeting for Axminster electors, and answered questions. A Draft Plan was put on the web site from early March 2008 and was publicised in the local press.
Apart from consultation through the web site and general press publicity, we placed a full page advertisement in widely-circulating local newspapers, summarising the main features of the proposed plan and offering space for feedback. The advert also invited local people to two drop-in consultation sessions in April, one in the daytime and one in the evening.
The full Steering Group has met on average every four or five weeks and made critical decisions to move the initiative forward. We’ve had a fair amount of coverage every few weeks in the local press, and progress has been reported to the Town Council and other interested organisations.
We finalised the plan in the early summer.
4. WHAT HAPPENS NOW?
Publishing the plan is just the start. The plan will become the basis for discussions and negotiations with various bodies within the town, district, county and region to see how we can best progress the core priorities and the proposals that will be worked up into implementable projects over time.
August 2008
Whatever happens, the support and engagement of the local community will be crucial.
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