THE Malvern Hills Partnership team charged with preparing a vision for the district for the 21st Century will concentrate on ways of involving the under-50s following the results of its initial Vision 21 exercise.

Feedback from its recent series of community meetings, visitors to a Vision Vehicle and 4,400 completed questionnaires is currently helping the Vision 21 team decide on a plan of action to take ideas forward.

But the average age of respondents was shown to be 59 so the team is eager to hear from residents in their 20's, 30's and 40's on what they think the district needs.

A breakdown of suggestions for improvements made during the exercise and released by MHDC this week shows a vast range of issues, with many communities recognising the importance of affordable housing to attract and keep young people in the area.

Desires for better rural transport, local police, amenities and more jobs were also expressed along with a wish for more local control over planning matters.

Stephen Leese, of Malvern Hills District Council, said the 12.6 per cent response rate to the questionnaires had been very encouraging.

"Some of the community meetings were better attended than others but the quality of the debate was very high with some excellent comments, ideas and suggestions for the way forward."

Maggie Bryan, partnership co-ordinator, said that a draft strategy was due to reach the public by May and plans of action involving the relevant partners by June.

Anyone with ideas about how to obtain the views of younger Malvern residents is asked to contact Ms Bryan on 01684 862392 or email maggie.bryan@malvernhills.gov.uk.