LOCAL residents are being urged to Òhave their sayÓ this Thursday (October 3) in a community-run project aimed at producing a clearly defined ÒVision for AltonÓ.

Launched in May this year at a meeting attended by representatives from county level to small local voluntary organisations, the aim of the exercise is three fold:

r to produce an Alton Town Plan which can be used to increase local influence in community strategies prepared at district and county level and in the Local Plan

r to encourage local residents to become involved in forming an action plan and assume ownership of the town

r to improve and maintain local services.

Alton town clerk Steve Parkinson said: ÒIf district planners take notice of design statements produced by surrounding villages but feel that we, as a town, have nothing to say, Alton could be in danger of losing out.Ó

The steering committee is made up of two town councillors - Dave Crocker and David Willoughby, who are there to guide the process, alongside representatives of such organisations as the Alton Society, Alton Friends of the Earth, Alton & District Sports Council and Alton Chamber of Trade and Industry.

ÒWe are somewhat under represented on the business side and would welcome more involvement from that sector in particular,Ó said Mr Parkinson who is keen to let people know that it is not too late to get involved.

ÒIf others want to become involved thereÕs still plenty of scope,Ó he added.

The committee has been involved since May in carrying out a ÔMarket Town Health CheckÕ. Using a range of questions based on a national model drawn up by the Countryside Agency which is acting as a benchmark for towns with populations of between 10,000 to 25,000 (Alton has just over 17,000) the process has endeavoured to establish the vitality of the town.

While in general terms Alton has come out Òreasonably wellÓ, the Health Check has thrown up concerns over emergency services and health care provision - both of which are said to be overstretched, and about public transport - particularly from young people who are dependent on buses which they describe as Òinfrequent and expensiveÓ, and from older people concerned about the inaccessibility of the areaÕs main hospitals.

There was concern also over the high proportion of retired people and retirement homes located in Alton, all of which will need to be taken into account in the design and delivery of services.

While the richness of AltonÕs history, the surrounding countryside and the use of open space for recreational activity came out as a strong positive in the Health Check, along with the active involvement of a large percent of the population in community activities, there was a strong feeling that community and sports facilities have been caught in a time warp.

ÒWe have some very good facilities but there does not seem to be much support for developing or expanding these facilities,Ó said Mr Parkinson.

Young people also expressed a wish for improved sporting facilities such as additional skate parks and provision of an artificial turf pitch.

Running alongside the Health Check has been a questionnaire, sent out in the spring edition of The Altonian magazine which attracted a larger than normal response.

Taking a three-pronged approach, it invited residents to list the three best things they liked about Alton, the three things they would most like to change, and the big issues they felt the town would have to face within the next ten years.

In equal first place on the list of Ôbest thingsÕ were the surrounding countryside and the townÕs facilities - appreciated most, it appeared, by the over 60s. Second were the townÕs people, third the shopping, with the Public Gardens coming a close fourth.

While people - and in particular the young and the elderly valued Alton as a good place to shop, it was they too who pushed shopping into number one spot on the Ôthings to changeÕ list. This was closely followed by the quality of the roads and pavements and cleanliness.

Way ahead on the list of issues to be addressed by the town over the next ten years was overdevelopment, with traffic congestion and the need for a Western by-pass coming second, and better quality shopping third.

r Anyone concerned about any of these issues, or wishing to make other points for the future of the town which can then be used, with the Health Check results is invited to attend one of two public sessions to be held at Alton Assembly Rooms on Thursday, October 3. Starting at 10 am and 6-30 pm the meetings will take the form of a public debate.