An open invitation

I'm not sure how much information you already have, so here is a cross section of information which I hope will help.

Overall we are looking for volunteers who can spare about an evening a week to work on some aspect of the project. It may be to go to a meeting for a couple of hours to discuss the project, or help collect background information, or write some material, or telephone others, or help at events. Its probably about the same level of commitment as an evening class!

The different topics we are looking into are quite varied and there are 4 general areas. We are going to collect facts and information on these as well as get feedback from people on what they think. Eventually we will develop some recommendations and in the process check these with as many people as we can contact in Caterham

On the other hand we are also building an ABC Network of people, who simply would like to be kept in touch via an eMail or two, or visiting the web site. This network could be very helpful when we need a quick comment on ideas that have been generated...a sort of Friends of ABC idea. For those who do not have the time or inclination to work in one of the active teams this would still be of invaluable help to us.

The note below provides some background on what is involved in being a volunteer. Please excuse the length but you may find something that suits your interests and knowledge among them.

There is also a "We need Volunteers" sheet which is intended as a one page summary, which the TVSC has and a copy is here too.

Now for the areas we need help in.

Starting with Environment we are setting up a team to look into options for the Valley Town Centre, from "Cosmetic", through " Specific Site proposals", to " Ideal Regeneration". This might help the debate and encourage schemes to fit within an overall "Vision". The team to look at everything from the basic space, sites, architecture, traffic, shops, pedestrians, open & community spaces, commuters and of course parking....A sort of Blueprint for the future. There are a variety of earlier studies as background and its time to lay out the possibilities once more and ask people a bit later this year for their feedback. In the meantime of course anything could happen, if one or two key developers or the Morrisons site gets a new owner with specific proposals...whether they be seen as good or bad.

The group will probably involve  4 - 8 people, looking at the issues and creating a summary of facts, feedback and potentially some suggestions. Existing volunteers meet about once every 4 weeks as a team and individuals then work by themselves or in groups of a few people on their part of the exercise. It probably comes to about one evening a week in total.

Other volunteer groups within Environment will look at :

Social & Community team is building up now. They are split into seven
areas, including:

As part of reaching all members of the community we intend to launch an exercise with Local schools during Local Democracy week in October. They will be invited to join in the exercise and complete a "Younger" version of the ABC questionnaire at that time.
 
Transport had its first meeting on Monday 7th August and meet again on Sept 4th at 6PM. The main areas are:

Business & economy is yet to start up. An initial briefing is at 8AM on Friday 1st September. They will focus on:

So, in summary, its intended to be a comprehensive look at many aspects of the town and will take 30-40 people to complete and reach a significant cross section of the community. Our objective is to create a forward looking plan focussing on issues and ideas to improve the town. It will then be used to support requests  to SEEDA and others for funding of priority areas. In the case of the Town Centre it is hoped to influence the private sector to bring forward complementary proposals where it is clear there is strong community support.

We are also looking for someone to take on the role of Treasurer, to keep track of our expenses and so on.

Our web site contains other background information and "Stop Press" will be updated about every couple of weeks. If you haven't taken the web survey yet its at:

http://www.caterhamabc.org.uk

I hope this is helpful to lay out what we are up to and perhaps you would like to join in on an active basis? Our objective is to channel the views of local people, so that you have an opportunity to have your say about how to improve Caterham for the future.

Thanks again for your interest

Regards

Chris Windridge

Chair
ABC A Better Caterham
Healthcheck Project