The Steering Group was constituted at a public meeting in the Village Hall on 30th June 2005. The meeting was called by Judi Walton, Chair of the Long Melford Parish Council. Annette Gray of Suffolk ACRE gave a presentation explaining why parish plans could have benefits for the villages that managed to do them. Ten people were elected from the meeting to carry the idea forward, together with two members of the Parish Council:
| Don Watson (chair) | Rob Guyton |
| Roy Adams | Dudley Kemp |
| David Burch (PC deputy chair) | Roger Kistruck |
| Jane Burch | Patrick Kohler |
| Andrea Coe | Paul Rylott |
| Keld Fenwick | Judi Walton (PC Chair) |
The Steering Group met roughly once per month during the project. Minutes are available on this CD:
Terms of Reference were adopted in September 2005.
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