Darren Barrenger, community activist and former parliamentary candidate

Darren attended the drop in session at the William Loveless Hall in Wivenhoe on Saturday 27/10. The meeting had been organised by the Wivenhoe Town Plan Group and was an early opportunity for Wivenhoe residents to see the results of the survey. The group achieved an excellent response of 1624 completed forms from the 6500 questionnaires delivered as part of the process.

Next steps for the group are to complete a full town plan which will include the survey results and action plan which will be published in early 2008.

Darren was responsible for the Community Healthcheck which was completed in Brightlingsea and its surrounding rural villages of Alresford, Thorrington, Frating and Great Bentley in 2000 and is extremely supportive of the work carried out. Speaking after receiving a copy of the results Darren said "I'd like to pay tribute to Councillors Eugene Kraft and David Purdey for helping to steer this valuable piece of work. In Brightlingsea the Community Reach Partnership used a similar piece of research to bring in nearly £400,000 of investment into the area. I am also very keen that individuals and not local authorities lead these type of groups, as we do with the Community Reach Partnership in Brightlingsea. I'm sure the group will be looking at similar opportunities for Wivenhoe."