Parish Panel
© Phillipa Sheldrake
The Parish Panel was launched in July 2012 to give twenty seven parishes in and around the Cotswold Water Park another voice in future plans for the area.
The Cotswold Water Park Parish Panel has six representatives, elected by the parish councils - two representatives each for a Western, Central and Eastern area. Parish councils as far apart as Buscot, Oaksey, the Ampneys and Highworth are included as well as those parishes at the centre of this unique area of over 150 lakes and rich landscape.
Its main aims are to:
- Influence on issues relating to the Water Park
- Act as a conduit to and from the parishes on these issues
- Lead initiatives relating to the achievement of the objectives of the Cotswold Water Park Master Plan
Its role relates specifically to CWP issues and initiatives – eg access, minerals, tourism, wildlife, sport etc - and not to parish issues – such as schools, buses, highways, housing, health
Robin Rogers
This new body needs a strong group of representatives, who are from the community and passionate about the future of the Water Park. They will take the viewpoints of the residents of the area and translate these into bold initiatives. New ideas could come from both the parishes and from the Panel. A brilliant example of how the parishes could work with the Trust on new ideas was the joint bid in 2011 for Lottery funds to transform access.
