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Colgate Parish Action Plan
Contents
Introduction Page 1
Map showing Colgate Parish boundary Page 3
Brief history of the Parish of Colgate Page 4
Analysis of the 2004 survey results: A sample Page 7
Action Plan
Lifelong Learning / Communication Page 10
Local Businesses Page 10
Law and Order Page 11
Leisure & Cultural Activities Page 11
Facilities & Services for Older People Page 12
Health Page 12
Transport Page 13
Future Development Page 14
Facilities & Services for Young People Page 14
Environment Page 15
What happens next? Page 16
Acknowledgements Page 17
Colgate Parish Action Plan 2010 Page 1
Introduction
‘Community Led Planning’ is regarded by government as an effective way of
enabling communities to make their collective thoughts heard and to influence the
changes that may affect them. Parish or Village Action Plans set out a shared vision
for the community and contain a proposed course of actions for achieving these
goals. Although many of the actions within the plans will be implemented by the
communities themselves there will be some actions that require support and input
from other bodies such as the Local Authority or other Service Providers. As such it is
important to produce a quality plan that external agencies will take notice of.
The Colgate Parish Action Plan endeavours to provide an effective way of enabling
our community to make its collective thoughts heard and to influence the changes
that may affect this Parish. The Action Plan has evolved by consulting with the entire
community by way of questionnaires and discussion.
The Action Plan reflects issues of concern to the local community and presents to
local councils both at parish and district levels topics which are considered to be
important to residents. For example, if the majority of residents would like to see the
Parish Council have a website, as part of the Action Plan this would be followed
through with the Parish Council. With a completed Action Plan in place funding for
projects may be more forthcoming and also gain higher visibility and support from
the appropriate local authority.
It is also vital that with all the various community plans being produced, which could
have significant effects on our parish for the next 20 years, we have an effective
method of showing the many agencies involved the thoughts and feelings of our
Community.
Colgate Parish Action Plan 2010 Page 2
The Action Plan will help us to influence the following points with all the appropriate
agencies to take the appropriate measures to ensure necessary actions are
undertaken.
• Enhance community spirit • Improve communication • Fully utilise the skills and expertise of residents • Influence people making decisions on behalf of the community • Improve the safety of the roads • Reduce lawlessness and petty crime within the parish • Establish links with local business • Work with agencies that can supply funding and support
This Action Plan is the product of a questionnaire sent in 2004 to every household in
the parish, 400 in total and which resulted in 152 adult questionnaires (a response
rate of 38%) and 26 young persons' questionnaires being completed and returned.
All the responses were analysed in detail to form the basis of the actions priorities
and timescales set out in the plan. Volunteers prepared a draft version of the Action
Plan which was sent to very household in the parish in 2009 and a meeting was held,
providing the whole community with a further opportunity to comment prior to the
publication of the Action Plan in its current form. From the 413 households
contacted, 65 feedback forms were returned (a response rate of 16%) all but one of
which were supportive of the actions prioritised in the plan.
It has been a very long drawn out process but we are indebted to Action in rural
Sussex for all the assistance and encouragement we received during the
preparation of the plan.
Colgate Parish Action Plan 2010 Page 4
Brief History of the Parish of Colgate
The villages of Colgate and Faygate are situated in the high weald of Sussex, some
4 miles north-east of Horsham and in the midst of St. Leonards Forest. The parish
covers an area of some 2,243 hectares. In 1874 the population of the parish was
recorded as 449, but by the census of 2001 this had risen to 1,119 with 336
households. It is designated as an Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty and the
whole area is steeped in history.
Forest Road, which runs the full width of the parish through Colgate, follows the route
of a prehistoric ridgeway track which would have once connected Ashdown Forest
with the coast, via the Adur valley gap. There are several sites within the parish
where flint implements from the Middle Stone Age have been found, dating from
around 8,000 to 4,000 BC when the Mesolithic people had local hunting sites here.
These people were hunter – gatherers and were most likely the very first residents of
our parish!
Many possibilities exist for the origin of the Colgate village name (and none of them
are connected in any way with toothpaste!) The most likely for Col is a reference to
the charcoal burners and the Wealden iron industry which had flourished in the area
from pre Roman times. A direct connection may even have been from Godelene
de la Collegate who was recorded to live in the area in 1276, from the local
Horsham tax roll of that date. The family name means 'the charcoal dweller that
lives by the gate', the ‘gate’ as with Faygate, being one of the many forest gates
that would have protected access through the medieval deer parks which once
existed at Roughey (Roffey), Beaubush (Bewbush) and at Shelley to the north. The
plentiful supply of natural ironstone, along with the timber to supply the necessary
heat for both the furnace and the forge made this area ideal for ironworking; hence
the many beautiful furnace and hammer ponds that now grace our forest valleys.
St. Leonards Forest was a popular haunt and hiding place for smugglers during the
17th and 18th centuries. A story which was published in the London papers of 1614
reported that a fearsome serpent or dragon lived in the forest near Faygate. This
tale could well have been circulated to keep strangers away from the sensitive
areas of the forest which were frequented by the smugglers. The name of the
Colgate public house, The Dragon, reminds us of this famous legend. Opened in
1869 it was originally called the Colgate Inn. Faygate village still boasts two public
houses, The Cherry Tree, which in part dates from the 16th Century and next to the
station, The Holmbush Inn.
The railway station was built at Faygate as the new goods station for Rusper, when
the Crawley to Horsham railway branch line was opened in 1848.
In the 19th century both villages had their own village shops and Post Offices, but the
last of these to close was the Colgate shop which was converted into a private
house in the 1960’s. Faygate however, still has its own garage, built on the site of
Colgate Parish Action Plan 2010 Page 5
the old Blacksmiths forge and also a popular roadside café, at the roundabout on
the A264 Crawley to Horsham road.
One of the oldest surviving buildings in Colgate is undoubtedly Stone Cottage,
situated opposite the church in Forest Road which dates from the 17th century and
is believed to have been the tollgate keeper’s cottage. The toll gate is shown here
on Budgen’s map of Sussex of 1796. Beedingwood Lodge is also shown on this map,
but most of the other houses in the village date from the Victorian period and many
were built for workers from the nearby Holmbush estate. The mansion at Holmbush
was built by Thomas Broadwood in 1823. By 1845 Broadwood was advertising as a
brickmaker at a site to the east of Hopper Farm. The brickyard went through the
hands of many owners and was known as the Holmbush Pottery Works when it finally
closed in 1959. The site is still used by a builder’s merchant and many other small
businesses. It is nice to think that so many of the local houses would have originally
been built using bricks made from locally dug clay.
In 1857 Thomas Broadwood had a tower
built at the high point on which is now called
Tower Road. This was a typical Victorian folly
and 106 feet high, which made it some 570
feet above sea level. Over the years
Holmbush Tower was a considerable tourist
attraction for the district but after use as an
observation post by the Home Guard during
the Second World War and falling into
disrepair it was eventually pulled down.
The parish church of Colgate is St. Saviours and was built in 1871 assisted by
donations from local landowners, William Hubbard of Leonardslee and Col. James
Clifton-Brown of Holmbush. Around the same time a village school was built on land
opposite, which remained in use until the opening of the new County School in
Blackhouse Road in 1915. After that time the old school continued in use as the
village hall, until one tragic day in 1940 when a German aircraft mistook it for a
munitions factory and dropped three bombs, killing 5 local people. The residents of
Colgate were however not to be deterred and after the war built themselves a new
village hall on the site, opening on June 3rd 1953 and which is still very much in use
today. The Memorial Hall, named in memory of those who lost their lives in the
bombing, is regularly used by the Pre-School Group and for Bingo, Whist and many
Colgate Parish Action Plan 2010 Page 6
other local functions such as jumble sales. The annual village fete is also held here,
which is a major community event, especially for the children.
Faygate’s village hall is a fine brick building which is used by the residents for similar
functions such as Bingo and Jumble sales etc. Colgate also had a Methodist Chapel
built at the end of the 19th century on land between Mars Hill Villa and the present
County Primary School. A Methodist Chapel was also built in Faygate and opened
in 1893. This continued in use until 1966 when it was bought by the Church of
England and consecrated in 1966 as the Church of St. Francis. Eventually it was sold
in 1981 and converted into a private house.
Even though things have changed beyond comprehension in the past centuries,
especially with transport and communications, our parish still continues as a
flourishing community. The one thing that continues to bind us together is our
appreciation of the beautiful countryside in which we live and our desire to maintain
this for future generations to come.
Colgate Parish Action Plan 2010 Page 7
Analysis of the 2004 Survey Results: A Sample
Colgate Parish encompasses both Colgate and Faygate Villages giving a broad
area layout with varying housing stock. The 2 village centres accounted for 70 of the
responses (46%) with the remaining 82 (54%) replying from further afield. Thus our
survey can be demonstrated to be representative of the entire parish area.
In which area of the Parish do you live?
0 10 20 30 40 50
Colgate Village
Faygate Village
Forest Road
Grouse Road/Springfield Lane
Along the A264
North of the railway line
Elsewhere in the Parish
No of Respondents
The households responding to the survey also showed a broad representation of the
various age groups as demonstrated in the chart (below, left).
Age Range of Residents in
the Parish
0 50 100 150
0-4
5-12
13-18
19-29
30-45
46-60
60+
No ofResidents
Car ownership is very important in this largely rural area. Over 50% of households had
two cars, 14% had 3 and 8% of households had more than three cars. Less than 1%
did not own a car or a van.
Colgate Parish Action Plan 2010 Page 8
The number of residents per household ranged from the majority of 50% being two
persons per household to 1, 3 or 4 residents being of nearly equal proportion. Only
one household had more than five residents.
How many people including
children under 18 years normally
live in your household?
13%
50%
13%
16%
7%1%
One
Two
Three
Four
Five
More thanFive
The playgroup and pre-school facility within the Parish was well supported as was Colgate Primary School. As expected, 22 secondary school age children (31%) attended a school outside the Parish as did another 11 (15%) at sixth form college or university/higher education.
It was clear from the survey results that the majority of adults believed that more could be done both to promote opportunities and activities for young people and to involve them in community decisions. Similar responses were given in the Young Persons Survey.
Are current opportunities and activities
for young people at the present
promoted properly?
25%
75%
Yes
No
Would you like to see a youth council
as part of the Parish Council
72%
28%
Yes
No
Colgate Parish Action Plan 2010 Page 9
Colgate Parish is fortunate in having a magazine that is delivered free to most residents. 123 respondents (nearly 93%) used the magazine to get information about events taking place locally. Colgate and Faygate notice boards and local papers were the next most popular source of information.
Where do you get information about Parish
Events?
0 20 40 60 80 100 120 140
Notice Boards
Parish Magazine
Local Papers
Library
Other
No of respondents
No
Yes
The responses received showed that only 30% of householders were satisfied with
how the Parish Council raises and spends money. It would seem from the survey that
over half the respondents did not know how the process works, suggesting that the
Parish Council could perhaps do more to improve local awareness of he financial
processes involved.
Colgate Parish Action Plan 2010 Page 10
Action Plan
Following the analysis of all the responses to the questionnaire, the volunteers of the Action Plan Steering Group identified the main issues arising and grouped them under category headings as a table of actions with priorities allocated as follows:
High: ongoing/tackle within 1 year Medium: 1-2 years Low: 2-5 years
Lifelong Learning / Communication
Issue Action Priority By Whom
Lack of awareness of the
running of the Parish
Council.
Encourage attendance of
Parish Council meetings &
research alternative methods
of communication from the
Parish Council e.g. ½ yearly
newsletter
High Action Plan team
Parish Council
Requirement to increase
awareness of village
events
Encourage Parish Council to
set up a Parish Website.
High Action Plan team
Local Magazine
Local Businesses
Issue Action Priority By Whom
Only 28% of villagers
surveyed are employed
within the community
Encourage local businesses to
advertise opportunities locally
i.e. Parish Magazine, Notice
board, proposed Parish
website.
Low/
Medium
Action Plan team
Local Chamber
of Commerce
HDC
Colgate Parish Action Plan 2010 Page 11
Law and Order
Issue Action Priority By Whom
Lack of awareness of
Community Police
Officer
Improve links with the
Community Police Officer and
villagers
Medium Action Plan team
PCSO
Panel Meetings
High Level of concern
with regards to burglary
Strengthen Neighbourhood
Watch Network and give
updated bulletins on the
proposed website
High Action Plan team
Neighbourhood
Watch team
PCSO
Leisure & Cultural Activities
Issue Action Priority By Whom
Lack of awareness of
current clubs/activities.
Encourage existing
clubs/activities to advertise
events in the Parish Magazine
and proposed new website.
Medium Action Plan
Leisure Team
Lack of inclusion of young
people.
Propose a Youth Council as
part of the Parish Council.
Medium Action Plan
Leisure Team
Requirement to improve
sports facilities.
Investigate use of Colgate
School playing field for village
team events. Better
promotion of existing sports
clubs and to encourage new
clubs.
Low Action Plan
Leisure Team
Lack of new clubs/events. Encourage new clubs/events
by using the Parish Magazine
Low Action Plan
Leisure Team
Colgate Parish Action Plan 2010 Page 12
Facilities & Services for Older People
Issue Action Priority By Whom
Dependence on use of
car to access facilities
and services is a major
concern
Set up meetings with the
appropriate public transport
operators to check if anything
can be improved.
Medium Action Plan team
HDC
Local Transport
Operators
Lack of awareness of
current local government
initiatives to improve
access to facilities and
services
Investigate methods of
improving awareness
Medium Action Plan team
HDC
Health
Issue Action Priority By Whom
Need better Hospital and
A&E facilities to serve
Crawley and Horsham.
Continue to lobby for a new
local Hospital
High Action Plan team
Local MP
Parish Council
Better help for the elderly
to get to local health
facilities.
Improve local transportation,
investigate alternative options
maybe a visiting clinic to one
of the village halls once a
fortnight!
Medium Action Plan team
HDC
Local Transport
Operators
Colgate Parish Action Plan 2010 Page 13
Transport
Issue Action Priority By Whom
Excessive traffic speed in
both Colgate and
Faygate.
Ensure SID is used more
frequently, also request more
Police speed checks.
High Action Plan team
PCSO
Parish Council
Pedestrian crossing of the
A264 at Faygate
roundabout
Is a footbridge feasible, could
the money be found from the
S106 fund or perhaps push
button traffic lights?
High Action Plan team
Parish Council
HDC
WSCC
Traffic calming in
Colgate.
Need some form of additional
calming measures through the
village.
High Action Plan team
Parish Council
WSCC
Infrequent and untimely
bus services to the Parish
Set up meetings with the
appropriate operators to
check if anything can be
improved.
High Action Plan team
Local Bus
Operators
Parish Council
Colgate Parish Action Plan 2010 Page 14
Future Development
Issue Action Priority By Whom
Preservation of Horsham/
Crawley strategic gap
Resist any future erosion of the
strategic gap High Parish Council
HDC
Traveller site option at
Tower Road location
Strengthen opposition group
and continue to oppose High CaFAG
Parish Council
Facilities & Services for Young People
Issue Action Priority By Whom
Lack of involvement in
community decisions
Include a youth section in
local newsletter & proposed
website; investigate support
for setting up youth council
and/or youth club(s);
encourage involvement with
the parish plan
High Action Plan
Facilities Team
Parish Council
HDC
Lack of independent,
accessible or affordable
transport
Work with local authorities
and transport providers to
ensure safe, affordable &
independent transport is more
accessible for all our young
people for leisure, education
and work activities
High Action Plan
Facilities Team
Parish Council
HDC
Develop high class
activities for all and
improve access to
currently available
activities (both locally
and further afield)
Campaign for better public
transport; increase awareness
of available activities by
means of e.g. local newsletter
and proposed parish website;
investigate use of Colgate
School Playing Field and other
venues for formal or informal
social interaction
Medium Action Plan
Facilities Team
Parish Council
HDC
Colgate Parish Action Plan 2010 Page 15
Environment
Issue Action Priority By Whom
Impact of development
plans on biodiversity and
on enjoyment by
residents of rural area
Monitor (and resist where
appropriate) all development
threats especially in areas not
safeguarded by AONB or
‘strategic gap’ status.
High Action Plan team
Parish Council
HDC
Impact of increase in
quantity, noise & speed
of traffic in local area
Provide effective alternatives
to car traffic and speed
reductions where
appropriate; ensure less
fragmentation of
footpath/bridleway network
High Action Plan team
Parish Council
WSCC
Lack (or lack of
awareness) of accessible
recycling facilities
Provide further recycling
facilities;
Publicise current or updated
facilities (e.g. via local
newsletters & website)
High Action Plan team
Parish Council
HDC
Fly tipping, litter and
“mess”
Appoint more local “litter
wardens”; work with local
authorities to prevent/deal
with this
High Action Plan team
Parish Council
Litter Wardens
PCSO
Climate change Research local support for
involvement with “The
Greening Campaign”
Medium Action Plan team
Parish Council
Colgate Parish Action Plan 2010 Page 16
What Happens Next?
All residents of Colgate and Faygate have now been consulted about what they
like or dislike about living in the parish, what actions could be taken to improve the
quality of life for all and how these actions should be prioritised. The Action Plan is
not an end in itself but the beginning of a more inclusive process for resolving issues
of concern to local people. The Action Plan will continue to be updated to take
account of ongoing changes in the local area, the most significant being proposals
for large scale increases in development in the Horsham and Crawley area.
With the backing of our Parish Council and input from as many local people as
possible the aim is now to implement the actions prioritised in the plan.
Following adoption of the Plan by the Parish Council a new Action Plan Steering
Committee should be formed, with appointed officers and a constitution. The
Committee is necessary for the management of any funds required.
The Steering Committee will establish Action Plan Teams with specified terms of
reference to focus on category areas within the Plan. The Action Plan Teams will
research and investigate the best way forward per category area. They will identify
and work with key service providers or partners. They will identify any funding
implications and make applications for funding where required. They will identify
and implement any other actions needed to be taken within the given category
area. The Teams will work with and report back to the Steering Committee on a
regular basis.
The Steering Committee will monitor progress and report to the Parish Council at the
bimonthly Parish Council meetings. The first formal progress report will be made to
the Annual Parish Meeting in March 2011.Until we have a local website, progress
updates will be publicised in the “Colgate and Faygate Parish News”. Local
Authorities, Service Providers and members of the public will also be able to view our
Action Plan together with those of other parishes in the SE region, monitor progress
and in some cases extract reports by accessing the Community Led Plans Database
which is available at www.clp-se.org.uk
For further information and to register an interest in volunteering to help implement
the Action Plan, please apply to any of the contacts listed on page 17. Whatever
skills or time you have to offer, don’t delay - your community needs you now! It is
only people who can shift the Plan from paper to reality!
Colgate Parish Action Plan 2010 Page 17
ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS
The Colgate Parish Action Plan has been led and produced since the preliminary
meetings in 2001 to date by the following volunteers:
Christine Crosdil
Kevin Dugdale
Ken Johnson
Brian Knight
Elizabeth Rice
In addition many thanks go to:
Dave Elder for supplying the history of the parish
Guy Parkes and Robin Edwards who contributed photos
Mark and Alasdair Rice for IT support
Action in rural Sussex - Faustina Bayo for much encouragement and guidance with
procedures for producing the plan
Colgate Parish Council - Margaret Dunsbee for collating feedback resulting from the
draft Action Plan and John Sired for making Colgate Village Hall available for
meetings
Horsham District Council - Bruce Milton, Julian Carrington, Natasha Robinson for
technical and financial support with production and mailing of the Action Plan
Last but not least – the people of all generations in Colgate and Faygate who
attended meetings, completed questionnaires in 2004 or who returned feedback in
2009. A very big thank you goes to all those who so far have volunteered to help
implement the actions prioritised in our Action Plan (or will do so in the future!)
If any acknowledgements have been omitted we can only apologise for now and
include you in later updates of the Action Plan if you let us know.
Contacts
If you have any comments, would like more information or wish to become involved
with any of the Action Plan Teams, please contact:
Brian Knight Tel: 01293 851470 email: [email protected]
Elizabeth Rice Tel: 01293 851981 email: [email protected]