Beech Parish Plan

Update – April 2013

Parish Plan action in hand!

Following  endorsement by East Hampshire District Council on 29th January, action is being taken to implement some of its key recommendations.   The Parish Council is tackling speeding along Medstead Road by supporting a ‘speedwatch’ scheme, new facilities for children and young people are being planned and there is ongoing work in relation to broadband speeds (Gordon Sharp).

We will keep this page updated with progress on issues arising from the Plan, which provides evidence upon which to base future planning activity and decision-making,  and sets the agenda for ongoing community development.

You can now download the whole Parish Plan here (974 Kb)

 

 

 

 

How Beech has changed over the past 10 years based on the recently published 2011 Census data

Since the Parish Plan was produced, the 2011 Census data has been published so we can see how Beech has changed over the past 10 years.  Over this period, the number of people living in Beech has fallen by just  3 to 532, and slightly more of us are now male (52%) rather than female (48%).  During this period, Beech villagers have grown older.  The number of children under the age of 16 fell slightly from 16% to 14% (77 in total), and the over 65s have increased from 16% to 26% of the population (140 people). The median age of Beech residents has gone up from 48 years to 52 years in 2011. 

In 2001 Beech had a total of 197 households and in 2011 it had risen to 211, so the numbers of people living in each household has fallen from an average of 2.7 to 2.5.  The number of one-person households rose to 26, but the number who are pensioners living alone stayed the same at 14. The vast majority of villagers are still home-owners, but a slightly larger percentage now live in rented accommodation (6.5%).

Of Beech residents aged 16 to 74, those who are economically active has risen from 64% to 66%, but the number unemployed increased slightly to 1.5%.  Fewer of us (5%) are providing unpaid care to relatives, friends or neighbours than we were in 2001, when it was 12%.

Beech has 20 more cars and vans than it did in 2001 (442 in 2011).  The number of households without access to a car or a van has fallen from 8 to 5, and 161 (76%) have access to at least two.  However, the percentage (71%) of employed villagers who travel to work by car, van or motorcycle has not changed.

More information about Beech can be found at http://www.neighbourhood.statistics.gov.uk Click on ‘more areas’, then ‘Parish’ and type in ‘Beech’.