Northampton Borough Council and the Northampton Inter-Faith Forum (NIFF) commissioned an evidence base study on faith communities to inform the development of the Borough’s new Local Plan.
By giving them a better understanding of the Borough’s faith communities, their current facilities and their current and future needs, the outputs from the project are now enabling the Council to more effectively plan for future development needs. In addition, the project has facilitated ongoing engagement with faith groups, helping to inform the evolution of the Borough’s Sustainable Community Strategy.
Various secondary data sets were analysed to establish the composition of Northampton’s faith communities, identify existing faith facilities and to ascertain proposals for new facilities. An extensive engagement process was also conducted, including one-to-one interviews, workshops and an on-line survey. GIS mapping of faith communities and facilities played a key role in the analysis.
The Study identified where and how needs could be met and made a series of practical recommendations for the Council and NIFF.
To find out more or if you are interested in commissioning a similar study, please contact Tim Maiden, CAG Partner, tm@cagconsult.co.uk, 01539 528929