Parish councils can bring about real change in our community

CHELTENHAM ACTIVISTS’ NETWORK

PARISH councils can create real change. Parish councils cover many rural and urban areas and there are currently five in Cheltenham, including Charlton Kings.

They make up a third tier of local government and are often non-party political, which makes a refreshing change from business as usual.

Much good work is done by volunteers within these councils and they facilitate real change within the community.

An example is Charlton Kings Health Connect. This project arose from concerns about loneliness and isolation in the parish with an increasingly elderly population, many of whom no longer have family living with them.

GP surgeries report that often they see people who don’t need doctors but rather connection and support in the community.

There are many resources in our communities which people don’t know about and the initial challenge was to see what was out there and where the gaps were.

A community development worker was appointed, with a grant from Gloucestershire County Council, and she set about finding out.

She started in January this year and, as you can imagine, was soon derailed by Covid.

But she managed to carry on with ingenious research methods, including individual and group interviews, questionnaires, and continued communication with a core group of professionals in the parish.

She has now finished her research and has identified five key priorities for further development:

» physical health

» mental health (including loneliness and isolation)

» transport and mobility

» communications and digital inclusion

» the need for more research regarding young people and young families.

The result is a comprehensive and exciting Community Support Services/activities Directory which can be a pilot for other areas.

It is being used for two purposes.

The council has gifted it to the Sixways Clinic so that GPS and social prescribers can use it to directly help patients.

Secondly, a digital directory is being developed for the Charlton Kings Parish Council website, with hard copies available – a colourful and easy to use directory for everyone in the parish.