The Island has a strong cultural, historic and artistic appeal, with many avenues already explored but perhaps many more to be discovered.

Is the Islands arts and cultural infrastructure as well developed as that of its neighbours? What are the relevant differences? What is the unique cultural heritage of the Island and does it come across to those who visit? How much can be understood and how much requires interpretation?

Our ‘Pride of Place’ is rooted in the Island’s history and heritage, due perhaps to it’s once strategic location. Is Portland still a well-known location nationally, or does its potential now lie as an alternative to the traditional Dorset experience. Is it the hidden gem rewarding the more adventurous?

This part of the Neighbourhood Plan intends to look at how we can make the best use of the Island’s character, it’s powerful ‘Pride of Place’, to enrich the quality of life for residents and also to help visitors enjoy the ‘Island Experience’. With a coherent strategy, Arts and Culture could be made to work for the Island; creating local employment in the strong growth areas of entertainment, tourism and hospitality.

Many of the day to day services a community requires are available on Portland; although the choice can at times be limited. It could be argued that being so close to Weymouth is both a benefit and a dis-benefit for service provision. No community has everything in one place but what is the right balance for ours?

While some existing services already have a degree of policy protection the economic climate may affect the reality on the ground. Factors beyond local control may diminish the current provision or they may simply be outpaced by a changing or an increasing population.

Education, a crucial part of any community is certainly changing rapidly on Portland. Does the plan need to respond to this in a pragmatic way? Could the new provision have knock on affects in other services, positive or negative? Will other advantage filter back to the community from the construction of a new campus?

With a high proportion of older people and life expectancy amongst the highest for the UK, the pressures on some services are ever increasing. Portland has proportionally less services in these areas than are the national average.

Other changes abound; for example central policy is allowing more freedom for community organisations. Is this a viable path for the provision of extra service within a community? Is this an opportunity for the island to find local solutions that suit its individual needs?

The coastal environment of Portland is ideal for many sports and leisure activities despite the complex and sometimes competing aspirations for land or maritime areas.

Portland plays host to much recreational activity, yet it’s communities are recorded as having amongst the lowest levels of participation within the Borough. Are the reasons for this based in our choices or in the amount of access we have to fixed facilities? Do we understand the opportunities right on our doorstep? Do we understand how to share in access to the Olympic legacy?

The current and future economic climate is certain to affect the local fixed facilities. With the Borough Council unlikely to invest in new buildings and citing its preference to move away from maintaining some existing offerings; will community organisations or the open market deliver our preferences?

What of the open spaces well suited to walking or possibly even cycling if it is provided for? A wider agenda exists in relation to this, namely that the leisure and recreation potential of Portland serves to attract visitors to the island. Could this form of tourism be a keynote of wider regeneration? Is the recreation potential inherent in our environment more important to us than we first think?

Is the current road network a constraint on development? The effectiveness of the Island’s road network creates strong debate.

We have an excellent public transport system; however we rely on cars because of our location, this creates a level of journeys on the access route to Portland comparable to other highly used A roads across Dorset. The recent winter storms have again highlighted the vulnerability of the Beach Rd.

Can we establish a managed approach to our footpaths and create bridleways and cycle ways? Can we reduce car usage? Do we need to create an effective park and ride system? Are there car parking issues that we need to address? Do we need to consider further changes to speed limits?

Has the removal of the Western Relief Rd (Wyke/Lanehouse by pass) and the Underhill By-pass plans restricted future viability commercial sites on Portland?

Would a new West Country rail/rapid transport solution help to underpin a number of projects on the Island, in particular the ‘Destination Portland’ concept which includes continued development of the Port. Is this a realistic option?

With so many questions here, at what point should a transport review be triggered? Should the Neighbourhood Plan be a prompt for such a review?

Natural resources have historically funded Portland’s economy but continue to change and diminish from their position in leading employment. New industries should in time step in, but what is the best path to take in this transition?

Business and Employment provide the foundations for a community. On Portland the competing demands of nature and employment are particularly evident with considerable protection afforded to the natural environment. The consequence of this protection is limited availability of land for commercial activity and a measured management of the natural resource.

A successful Neighbourhood Plan should consider these competing demands within the context of the developing market.

Many factors will make demands on the local employment situation; changes in population, current and planned; potential changes to the business models proposed centrally; travel to work patterns and the quarrying and maritime legacies.

With the limited land use changes that are possible on the Island, any decisions on it’s prioritisation for business and employment may be a key factor in the Island’s culture and future prosperity.

“Home is not a building, home is a feeling,” an old adage certainly, but is it really true?

May we easily chose where we live or does the market dictate much? Certainly we may have links to Portland through family or work, but affordability and supply of the accommodation we seek affects us too. Should we encourage a more flexible outlook in our young people? Is it unreasonable to consider off Island solutions for accommodation of our elderly?

Understanding the economic and demographic issues within our communities is necessary for those who provide public services and infrastructure or for anyone proposing further development. To attain a sustainable future must we understand these issues well enough to have an informed opinion.

How does the heritage of our built environment affect our homes? With much of our housing lying in conservation areas, will we find upkeep of our homes or energy needs too costly in the future? Perhaps there is more potential value in conservation than we first realise or perhaps are we finding limitations that we could address?

Will competing demands for employment land and land dedicated towards protecting our natural environment draw a line under the level of housing that can be achieved? At what point does the Island become full?

Finally with statistics predicting changes of who will live here and the relative age ratios; will there be more demand on a finite housing stock? Will this affect Portland more strongly than other areas of Dorset? What if any, are the alternatives to accepting the pressure of market forces?

Challenges abound here; there are few place in the United Kingdom where the natural environment is so closely linked to the built heritage as on Portland. There are constraints which impact fundamentally on the Island’s potential future; so, how should Portland’s development be directed?

Should we recognise that not all the Island’s environment is as good as it could be? Some developments have potentially detracted from the local character. Could we improve this position? ‘Central Government recognises the value of the natural and built environment and has established a series of initiatives to support the future of these’. Recognition of a green Infrastructure network, the Portland Quarry Nature Park and the Island’s conservation areas are examples.

With traditional quarrying and the maritime industry looking to their futures, how can their legacy best be managed? How important is our environment in developing industries such as tourism?

What of the future regarding climate change and coastal erosion, what constrains must we recognise here? With regard to our location, can we take advantage of sustainable solutions regarding energy and our use of it?

In short can the Island achieve a sustainable solution to its future, balancing all of these issues? Can the Neighbourhood Plan be part of a future sustainability?