It is still early to identify specific trends and needs and compare them with potential space that might become available but this is now ongoing and further reports will keep you informed. It may be enough to say that the interests of current users of Enterprise Park are incorporated as well as current business and community functions in the Parish as a whole. It has been noted that there is a demonstrable need for new small business units within the villages to allow small firms and workshops to develop and provide future employment and to provide for a wider range of community activities.

Progress in this area has been cut short by the loss of several members involved who, for reasons quite unrelated, are unable to help us forward. As a result we have been in touch with several other residents to see if their experience and knowledge of community needs, new business opportunities, workshop and office space for local employment can take us forward in this important area. While we are shorthanded in this area, we shall ensure this important aspect is not forgotten in considering other areas of focus where progress is now more detailed.

We have carried out a survey of village businesses, leisure and tourism activities and an assessment of the companies and their work at the Piddlehinton Enterprise Park. The ongoing tenor of opinion we have gathered from the community suggests a range of objectives that need to be addressed :

• small business units and live/work dwellings to enable young local people to set up here in the Valley
• some additional holiday cottage units for growing tourism needs
• a survey of disused or underused workshop and industrial buildings and redundant farm buildings which can be converted, upgraded or replaced to provide accommodation for future workplaces or homes
• a large, covered area, central to the Valley villages to provide a much needed multi-purpose resource for community use, preferably with a green open space and parking nearby to help avoid some of the current expense of marquee hire, eg fetes and craft fairs, Garden Club shows, concerts, film nights, drama productions, dance, art exhibitions, farmers' market, Scouts, Guides, Brownies, dog shows, fitness classes, indoor sports and hiring out for revenue
• complementing the above, a secondary meeting space in each village for smaller groups to assemble such as a parish room

This is a focus group which still needs more help from interested residents, particularly in the next few months, so if you feel able to contribute some time, this will be much appreciated by the rest of the team. Please contact John Browning on 01300 348981.

We have been collecting information about the present situation in the Valley and we have run a survey in Piddlehinton, Piddletrenthide, Alton Pancras and Plush comparing the present activity with that of 20 years ago.

We found 20 years ago:

• there were double the number of shops
• more farms
• more small businesses
• more pubs

But we found NOW:

• there are more Bed and Breakfasts
• more second homes (20 years ago there were none)
• more leisure activities

We have also been looking at the present situation in the Enterprise Park to see how it can be improved for the benefit of those living in the Valley. Our work will now focus on the future and some of our ideas are:

• finding a suitable place for small business work units largely to encourage young local people to set up here
• exploring disused buildings which could be converted for the use of work units, or a covered space for village events such as farmer's markets, garden shows, craft fairs, art exhibitions, dances, dog shows, and for use by young people in the village etc.