Sanday Development Trust

As mentioned in the Trust Times, I would like to draw your attention to an open meeting to discuss the initial steps for the next version of the Sanday Plan on Monday 6th May 2024 at the Community Centre starting at 19:30.

This is the initial meeting referred to at the AGM.Everyone is invited to the meeting and we hope to have representatives of all interested organisations.

This is a Sanday Plan; a plan for the entire island and as such it is important that we gather ideas and requests from all in Sanday. The Development Trust traditionally coordinates the plan simply because it has the resources to do so, but all interested parties and groups on the island should participate to make sure that their views and requests are included in the process.

The aim of this initial meeting is to discuss and agree a process for public consultation, a housing needs analysis and assessing where we are with respect to the previous Sanday plan. We will have present a guest who has worked on this type of plan on other islands and will act as an advisor.

For the avoidance of any confusion, this meeting will not look at detailed options for any issue (including key worker accommodation) but will focus more upon the broader issues that folk would like to see addressed as part of the next plan. This is to ensure that we cover all bases and that everyone is able to have a voice at the very start of this process.

We do understand that there will be questions relating solely to the proposed purchase of a property for the purpose of housing construction workers on a long-term basis; the duration of the C4S project. We will be giving time to answer as many questions as we can. However, please bear in mind we are only in the early stages of this process and therefore may not be able to answer anything in specific detail. As part of the public consultation, we will be listening to, and noting, all of your comments and concerns and these will form the basis of the housing needs assessment.

As the various consultations are completed we will have further open sessions to review the results, agree on priorities and consider how these might be allocated.It’s important to have as much representation as possible at these meetings, especially as we get nearer to finalising the plan, so please make every effort to attend if you feel that you can contribute.