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Community Planning & Parish Plans
(Community Action Plans)


Community Action Plans are local, action-based plans which address a wide range of problems and opportunities facing rural communities. They can include social, economic and environmental issues and give everyone in the community the chance to be involved.


Some people are doing Parish Plans, some are doing Community Plans and some are doing Town Plans. In the past your parish might even have done a Village Appraisal. The name’s not important, as the process of carrying out an appraisal and producing an action plan at the end of it is still the same.


The term ‘Parish Plan’ emerged from the Countryside Agency’s Vital Village’s Programme in 2001. but more recently the term Community Plan has started to be used; some communities feel that the name ‘parish’ will confuse people and they’ll assume that it’s a church-led project. Others think that the term ‘community’ is more inclusive for parishes that have both rural and urban areas in them. In other cases the plans don’t cover parish boundaries and extend over a number of parishes in a ‘cluster’.


The name ‘Community Action Plan’ and ‘Community Led Plan’ are now starting to be used too. These emphasise that the plan is a starting point for local people to take action to bring about change and to safeguard the things they care about.


VAC is also compiling the Directory of Community Action Plans in Cumbria, a centralised resource enabling every Plan produced to be viewed online. Plans will be uploaded on an ongoing basis as they are made available to VAC. If your Community Action Plan isn't listed here and you have an electronic copy available, please submit it to us. Thank you.


VAC also produces The Gazette: Community Action Plans newsletter, your invaluable guide through the Community Action Planning process. Previous editions can be found in our eLibrary section.


Last updated on: 2008-05-08