SUSSEX DOWNS CONSERVATION BOARD Agenda Item 16

7TH JULY 2000

JIGSAW PROJECT

REPORT BY THE SUSSEX DOWNS OFFICER

1. Purpose of Report

    1. To update members on progress with this AONB-wide project, and indicate how this community and local distinctiveness initiative may be taken forward.

2. Background

2.1 In 1999, as part of the B4 Community Action project programme, the Board launched the Sussex Downs Millennium Celebration Jigsaw Project. This ambitious project aimed to involve all the 122 parishes in the Sussex Downs AONB in creating a photographic record of the Sussex Downs at the beginning of the 21st Century. We wanted to find out what people valued and what they thought was special about their parish — in other words what was locally distinctive.

3. The Project

    1. Each parish was sent two films to record people and places of significance. From these thousands of photographs we are producing:-
    1. A Jigsaw Display — a 2.2 x 4 metre pictorial display of the whole AONB with each parish’s "favourite image" making up the parish-shaped jigsaw piece. This display will capture the landscape of the Sussex Downs, as seen through the eyes of local people, at one point in time. It will go on display during 2000/2001 at public places and community events.
    2. The Parish Pages — photograph albums made up of images and text, created by the parishes at a series of workshops, that provides the story behind the photographs and explains what matters to local people. The Parish Pages will accompany the Jigsaw Display as well as providing a permanent record of the AONB.
    1. The Jigsaw project will be launched on Wednesday 23 August 2000, at St Mary’s Hall in Arundel, in conjunction with parish representatives that have participated in the project. Afterwards the Jigsaw Display and Parish Pages will go on view to the public during the Arundel Festival.

4. The Future

    1. The project does not end with the production of the Jigsaw Display and the Parish Pages. It will help to inform and guide two important aspects of future work for the Board:-
    1. Community Action — the Parish Pages have raised many issues that concern local people. We plan to list these issues and use these as starting point for the Board’s future work with communities. We may not be able to help directly with all the issues but we will work in partnership with other organisations in order to help communities find a way forward.
    2. Local Distinctiveness — the photographs provide a valuable information source on the features that make the landscape distinctive at the present time. This combined with historical research will assist in developing local distinctiveness guidelines.

RECOMMENDATIONS
    1. For Members to note the progress of the project and support Board staff in its development.
    2. To thank West Sussex County Council and its drawing office for the contribution they have made to the design of the Jigsaw packs and to the proposed display.

MARTIN BEATON

Sussex Downs Officer

Contact Jane Bowden tel. 01243 811533