THE people of Alton are being urged to Òhave their sayÓ in a community-run project aimed at producing a clearly defined Òvision for the futureÓ.

The object of the exercise is to draw up an Alton Town Plan which will act as a blueprint, setting out how local residents would like to see Alton develop to the year 2020.

Similar to a village appraisal, the process will follow the Market Town Health Check scheme developed by the Countryside Agency for small towns located within rural catchment areas.

The town plan concept comes from a recent government white paper and should focus on a shared vision, produced by the whole community, which will look at the townÕs future development to ensure the needs of the people who live and work there are clearly identified.

In AltonÕs case the project will take the form of a broad-based consultation exercise, carried out Òby the people for the peopleÓ, which will be led by a steering group drawn from all sectors of the community.

At a meeting last week to launch the project, Alton town clerk Steve Parkinson explained the idea was to look first at identifying where the town is now in terms, for example, of housing, transport, economy, community facilities, local services and the environment.

The next stage will be to involve as many people as possible, by means of public consultation, in finding out how they would like the town to be in 20 years time, and then to drawn up an action plan to achieve this.

ÒThe long-term aim is to achieve a better place in which to live and work,Ó said Mr Parkinson. ÒBut we have got to get people pulling together in order to achieve this.Ó

While a wide range of public involvement will help to ensure that local views are fed into the community strategies at both district and county level, it is hoped also that elements of a completed town plan may be adopted as supplementary planning guidance helping to ensure that new development occurs as part of an integrated process.

Mr Parkinson was heartened by the response to the launch which, he felt, had provided a good starting point with representatives from some of the 70 organisations invited experiencing a flavour of the work ahead.

Initial workshop debates revealed, among other things, Alton as a good location from both a business and residential point of view. However, the knock-on effect was that housing was expensive and young people were having to move away.

A need was highlighted to retain young people and thereby a workforce for local business by the provision of more affordable housing and starter homes, which should remain as such.

Another topic thrown into the melting pot was for improved facilities at the Anstey/Holybourne end of the town.

The meeting had been opened by Alton Town Mayor David Willoughby who said that ever since he had been a councillor he had advocated the need to be more forward thinking. ÒAlton needs more strategic direction,Ó said Mr Willoughby who feels the Alton Town Plan should encourage residents to think about where they want their town to gain in the years to come.

ÒWill we, for example, need a Western by-pass, does the sports centre need replacing, and what type of housing development should we be encouraging and where?Ó

He was keen to push the partnership approach to the exercise. ÒThis will be your opportunity to have your say on what you think the town should look like in 20 years time and we want to hear those views,Ó he said.

According to Alton Town Council leader Dave Crocker, the aim is to complete the exercise within the next nine months.