THE first phase of a plan to make the village of Oldbury a better place to live for the whole community is underway.

A meeting about the Oldbury Parish Plan, held last week, had a big turnout with the village hall packed out with local residents who wanted to help make their village a great place to live.

Chairman of the parish council Barry Turner said he was pleased by the enthusiasm of parishioners towards to plan, which would be a blueprint for the village for the next five to 10 years.

"It was an extremely successful meeting," said Cllr Turner. "As a result we now have a number of volunteers who want to get involved in forming the plan.

"It is in its very early stages, but things are moving forward."

Councils across the country are making formal ‘parish plans’, which set out what the local community want from their town or village and how it can be achieved.

They take on average 18 months to two years to complete and they form the basis of future decision making in the area and can lead to funding for specific projects identified by residents.

Mr Turner said that while the power station was an important issue brought up at the meeting it was not the overriding concern for local residents.

Parishioners highlighted transport, affordable housing, the future of the primary school and even the very low broadband speed in Oldbury as areas that could be improved in the village.

"Clearly one of the biggest issues in Oldbury now, and always really, is the power station and what will happen with it, but this was definitely not the overriding concern amongst residents," said Cllr Turner.

"Hopefully the parish plan will enhance the community we already have. The problem with villages today is that they can become commuter towns. Luckily Oldbury is not quite like that but anything we can do to improve the village for everyone will be a good thing."

Cllr Turner said the next phase of the plan would probably be to do a questionnaire of the village to get everyone’s views.