Introduction

Newtown Linford situated in the heart of Charnwood Forest, seven miles north-west of Leicester and seven miles from Loughborough, is a largely linear development settlement in the valley of the River Lyn.

The Village, together with Bradgate Park was part of the Manor of Groby owned by the Grey family for nearly 500 years from the 15th to the 20th centuries. Newtown Linford is the host village to the ancient deer park of Bradgate, the childhood home of Lady Jane Grey, "nine days Queen of England".

The Park was bought in 1928 by Charles Bennion, a Leicester businessman and philanthropist,a nd given to the people of Leicester and Leicestershire "for their quiet enjoyment". The Park has a dominant influence on the village and about 1.3 million visitors a year enjoy its natural beauty. It is now a registered charity, classified as a Countryside Park managed by a Board of Trustees which includes City and County Councillors and National Trust representatives, but none from the village.

Newtown Linford is a Conservation village with many old stone built cottages with thatched or slate roofs, but also has a significant number of more modern or redeveloped properties. The village has a Church, a school, a vilage hall, a public house and a social club, a Post Office and shop, together with a number of other businesses, all of which ensure a lively Village Community.

Village Appraisal

The village appriasal process started in the Spring of 2000, when the Parish Council arranged an open meeting in the Village Hall to discuss the possible benefits of carrying out a review of the vilage, and asking for volunteers to carry this process forward. A committee was formed with 27 members initially, ant it is due to the enthusiasm of this group that the project has now been carried to conclusion.

The aim of the appriasal process was identified as:

- To take stock of the existing environment, population, facilities, services and activities.
- To identify future needs in the village in the long and short term.
- To generate and focus community spirit and to encourage increased participation in village affairs.

Right at the start if the process, we distributed a circular to all households, explaining what was taking place, and asking for suggestions of problems and issues which should be covered in the study. We had a lot of helpful suggestions from this,and many of the issues were included in the survey.

In April 2001 a detailed questionnaire was circulated to all households in the Parish,and a seperate Youth Questionnaire was distributed to all young people under the age of 18.

From a total of 416 households in the parish, 300 returned their questionnaires and 80 youth questionnaires were completed.

The purpose of this report is to provide a summart of the results obtained in the Village Appraisal. We hope that it will show a picture of the needs, problems, and opportunities within the Parish. As far as possible we have recommended actions to be taken and the bodies or group responsible. We hope that in many cases, steps will be taken in response to these.

Parish Council Note

In addition to the original text of the Appraisal itself links are provided on each page to the Action plan that resulted from the Appraisal to permit you to see what results have been gained so far.