Plans to support the community of Berinsfield approved
A range of projects have been announced that will help support Berinsfield towards becoming a prospering garden village.
South Oxfordshire District Council has pledged more than £550,000 to fund the Berinsfield Delivery Plan.
The various projects focus on community health and wellbeing, sustainability and the environment, regeneration and development, community infrastructure, active travel, and governance and legacy.
The plan will support the progression of improved facilities in the existing village to reflect the communities needs and aspirations, which will also feed into the wider development of Mount Farm.
The plan also goes beyond just buildings. Other projects include a grants scheme and a health and wellbeing project, in partnership with Oxfordshire County Council, other partner agencies and local voluntary and community organisations.
The aim will be to help plan to meet the future needs of the community and to encourage healthy living. This will include improving people’s access to activities, services, and information around wellbeing.
As part of this work, a health and wellbeing survey was launched to help the council and partners better understand the needs of the community. The survey looked at what kind of services, organisations and people in the community support health and wellbeing, as well as looking to identify the biggest barriers to people’s health and wellbeing, and what would help to improve these.
To coincide with the survey, a Berinsfield Stay Well Saturday event was held on Saturday 21 October. The public event included South Oxfordshire District Council’s Community Hub and Garden Communities teams, Berinsfield GP surgery and social prescribers, YouMove and Move Together, Thames Valley Police and many more organisations there to support the local community.
Councillor Robin Bennett, South Oxfordshire District Council’s cabinet member for economic development & regeneration, ward member for Berinsfield and chair of the Berinsfield Steering Group, said: “It’s a really exciting time for Berinsfield, with so much being planned to enhance the village and to make sure that any new developments are well connected to the existing community.
“The delivery plan details some of the exciting projects and proposals, and the benefits they will bring to residents. As well as improvements to leisure facilities in the village, it’s particularly pleasing to see several projects that focus on nature and the environment, such as enhancing our green spaces and exploring opportunities to generate renewable energy locally, as well as a new community arts project celebrating Berinsfield’s heritage and achievements.
“The plan also includes events such as the recent Stay Well Saturday, which are a great way to bring the community together and enable different local organisations to collaborate.”
The Community Delivery plan can be viewed on our Berinsfield Garden Village webpage.
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