Summary Conclusion on Method of Approach
To help create a greater level of public understanding and awareness of issues affecting the landscape and those aspects that create the landscape character.
This was a most productive and rewarding aspect of the study. Although, by the workshop stage only a relatively small number of people were involved, they expressed an improvement in their understanding and awareness of the inter-relationships within the landscape, generated by both the information they had been given and their on-going dialogue in a new way of appraising their landscape.
Participants found that the process had helped them to appreciate differences between areas and given them a wider vocabulary to describe these differences. Some residents used the word ‘empowered’ to describe how they had gained from the process. Participants said that they had obtained a better knowledge of other parts of the Borough and the influence that farmers had on the landscape form of the countryside. The initial focus groups acted as a control or baseline, where we were able to record the perceptions and values of people who had previously had no reason to give a great deal of thought to defining landscape character and landscape issues. The workshop went onto develop an understanding and awareness of the issues involved in characterisation of the landscape.
The participants found it relatively easy to understand the concept of landscape types, although they were unable to distinguish subtle differences such as ‘small’ or ‘medium scale mixed farmland and woodland or ‘enclosed’ or ‘semi-enclosed’ landscapes. The sub division of the types into specific character areas was also grasped easily and related well to the participants’ sense of belonging to a particular area. The Key Characteristics were readily understood, but Issues were more difficult to grasp. In general there was a greater awareness of some issues than others, often resulting from a lack of interest in issues that did not affect them directly.
The process had also encouraged debate within some participants’ families and friends. Particularly encouraging were the suggestions from the participants of other ways of involving the wider community in the discussions such as through school projects, parish involvement, using local records and illustrative material. Many participants expressed an interest in a continuing involvement in the landscape character assessment process.
Views on Community Involvement
The following are extracted from the ‘wash-up’ session.
On the Focus Groups: ‘I found the first one (the Focus Group meeting) very interesting and useful. I went not knowing what to expect and I was really able to contribute and say, put our views across…….This time (the Workshop) we were just going through really a check list. There wasn’t a lot of time to say why this happened.’ ‘I personally liked the first session more so than today. There have been aspects of today that have been quite interesting but the pathway seems to have really led to confirmation rather than change I think.’
On empowerment: ‘I suppose I am scared as to whether lots of discussion will make any difference if you like.’ ‘I hope that we make some difference that is all.’ ‘I might take this information into the school where I work and hopefully I will be able to affect some young people who live in the community as well.’ ‘It has made us all think about what is happening. The first one woke me up and made me realise I had views about the thing that I would never of had the opportunity to voice or think about to a great extent. So it made us think a lot more about what is happening.’
‘I don’t know if we will get a copy of the amended draft.’ ‘Then we would know that, if you ever came back to us for another opinion or we ever did one of these again, we would know it was worthwhile. We would know that we hadn’t given a day and an evening of our time for nothing.’
On the Workshop: ‘This time round we were able to delve into the reasons for the structural changes that happen in agriculture, farming and villages and rural life. Which really gave the answers of why we were having to look at the environment. It is much deeper than just a physical change.’ ‘I think I learnt a lot from everybody not just the survey, from other people’s input as well.’ ‘We rubbed a few cobwebs away today but we were kept in the dark very much at the first meeting.’
On who to involve: ‘You want someone who is just a villager, who lives in a village and has an opinion and who, I class, is just a run of the mill person and not a member of the council and haven’t got a particular agenda they want to back.’ ‘I think if perhaps you could take some of this to schools, I think that is when we are really going to hit home.’ ‘They are not all yobs, most of them have some good opinions. It is their countryside. It will be theirs and not ours.’