At a well attended open meeting on 19^th June 2007 at the Village Hall, called by the Parish Council and addressed by Chris Hobbs of the Rural Community Council for Essex, a majority of those present thought it worthwhile to produce a Design Statement for Great Canfield.

A Workshop, to which all residents were invited, took place on a Saturday in November 2007 to set out the progress made in preparing the draft Design Statement and Questionnaire and to receive everyone's suggestions and comments. It featured a display of photos and maps of the Village old and new, descriptions of village activities and gave people an opportunity to have a coffee or a glass of wine, chat and share their views.

A Questionnaire was distributed to each resident in March 2008 to get views on the form and content of the matters to be covered in the Design Statement. With this community feedback available, the next priority for the Committee was to distil these comments and opinions and derive a meaningful series of recommendations relating to future planning controls within Great Canfield.

A further Open Evening took place on 8^th September 2008 to give all those interested an opportunity to review the responses to the Questionnaire, to examine the first draft Design Statement and Design Guidance recommendations, and to give their comments. A number of comments were received and these will be reflected in the final document. The draft Village Design Statement is displayed on this website and residents are encouraged to read it and give comments via our e-mail link. If you would prefer a paper copy please ask via the link.