Village Action Projects

Village Action is a voluntary group whose aim is to achieve improvements in all aspects of village life through working in partnership with residents and local agencies. It was formed in January 2008 following a Village Open Day which resulted in a large number of constructive ideas for improving life in the villages and offers of help from a number of residents. Village Action is not associated with any political parties and consists entirely of people wishing to improve various aspects of life in their community.

Our objectives are:

to help to improve local facilities, local environment and quality of life for all.
to provide opportunities to increase community spirit and provide information about local events, activities and facilities.
to provide a channel for informing South Gloucestershire Council, the Parish Council and other agencies of residents’ ideas and opinions.
to enable residents to gain increased influence on local decisions.
to attract funding for projects suggested by residents.

Since being formed, Village Action has carried out a number of projects. These have included the distribution and analysis of a comprehensive questionnaire seeking the opinions of households in the village on many aspects of village life. The results of the questionnaire have now been adopted by the Parish Council as the Frampton Cotterell Parish Plan.

All residents of Frampton Cotterell and Coalpit Heath are welcome to join Village Action or to put forward ideas for improving our community. Please contact us whether you have just 30 minutes to spare occasionally or have more time or specific skills to offer.

Current Projects

1. Litter Picking A team of volunteers meets at 10.00am on the last Wednesday of every month for a couple of hours litter picking around the village. It's good fun and healthy exercise, so please get in touch if you would like to join us. Following queries we've received about locations of litter bins in the village we have created a map of their locations
2. Village Walks. Frampton Cotterell is fortunate to be surrounded by beautiful countryside and there is a network of footpaths and quiet lanes which enable walkers to complete circular walks of varying lengths to suit different levels of ability. The Parish Plan indicated that many people valued access to the countryside so we have provided descriptions of local walks to encourage people to explore and enjoy the area.
3. Tackling invasive Weeds. Himalayan Balsam is an invasive, non-native species which spreads rapidly along our rivers, including the Frome. During the summer months, Village Action organises working parties to clear Himalayan Balsam to prevent it forming large clumps along the river bank.
4. Good Neighbours Scheme. For a number of years, Village Action ran a voluntary Good Neighbours Scheme in the village. Under this scheme, people in the community able to ask for help or support from a team of registered volunteers. Due to declining requests for help and declining volunteer numbers, the scheme has now been wound down.
5. Neighbourhood Watch. Village Action continues to offer information and encouragement to set up Neighbourhood Watch schemes in those streets that do not have them.

For a full description of projects completed by Village Action see Completed Projects.