VCS Consultation Panel
Have your say on rural issues affecting the West Midlands
The West Midlands Rural Community Council Network exists to ensure that rural needs and issues are represented to regional agencies in a co-ordinated way, and that rural community groups receive the information they need about regional policy. In order to assist the rural voluntary sector to understand and feed into the regional agenda, the Network proposes to establish a Voluntary and Community Sector Consultation Panel, to be used to canvass opinions on rural policy and strategy.Panel members will receive occasional emails asking their views on key strategic documents and issues. This is a useful opportunity to keep up to date with the latest regional strategic developments, and contribute to policy formation and development on key rural issues. Participation in any consultation will be entirely voluntary, and you can participate in as few or as many consultations as you wish.
The Network also plans to establish e-forums grouped by themes (e.g. housing, environment, transport) where interested individuals can take part in consultations and share information and good practice.
If you would like to know more about the panel, contact Lorna Pearcey on lornap@comfirst.org.uk
The panel was recently consulted on the West Midlands Regional Spatial Strategy (WMRSS) Phase Three Revision. WMRSS' deadline for responses to the consultation was the 14th August 2009.
Issues considered in the RSS Phase Three Revision were:
- Rural Services: Identification and provision of services that are critical to the sustainability of rural communities
- Housing: Provision of pitches and plots for Gypsies, Travellers and Travelling Showpeople
- Culture, Sport and Tourism: Strengthen RSS policies to support cultural, sport and tourism needs of the Region
- Environment: Update existing Quality of Environment policies in the RSS and consider need for new policies related to flood risk, renewable energy and Green Belt
- Minerals: Safeguarding minerals and examining future supply of aggregates
The two documents submitted by WMRCAN in response to the consultation can be found below: