Chairmans Report May 2009
Taking over the position of Chair from our previous chairman was an extremely daunting task, however I continue to learn and be amazed at the skills and commitment of the councillors in High Legh, most of whom have busy working and family lives, yet remain dedicated and passionate about the running of the Parish. I start the report this year with thanks to each and every councillor for their non-stop commitment to this Parish Council, and to our Clerk, for her energy, patience and resolve in pulling together all the communications, reports, agendas, minutes, emails, phone calls and meetings and generally keeping me on my toes with the day to day running of this outstanding Parish Council. We started the year in May 2008 under the two authorities of MBC and CCC, often caught between services and responsibilities, however we are now in the dawn of a new Unitary Council, and live in hope that Cheshire East will be able to deliver on all its promises and provide us with a level of service no less acceptable and even higher than was expected before. Rest assured that each and every member of this council makes putting High Legh to the top of each Council agenda a priority. With the demise of CCC we passed on our grateful thanks to the last ever Chairman of CCC Steve Wilkinson, who has remained a loyal colleague and friend to High Legh Parish Council – we hope to remain in contact and wish him well with his new responsibilities. Day to Day activities in our Parish. Whilst there is no formal ‘timetable’ or definitive ‘list’ of jobs a Parish should undertake each year, many projects remain firmly on our agenda, with the addition, of extra projects as they arise. I will aim to summarize our activities and immediate projects as follows
Utilities
The Parish has remained in close communication with UU this last year, and as promised, the new pumping station is nearing completion and hopefully the days of water shortages and cuts in our Parish are over. We will keep up our good relations with UU in order to monitor the new works once up and running.
Planning
High Legh PC has continued to represent and uphold our Parish values, thanks to an experienced and informed Planning Committee. Hopefully the new Cheshire East Council will continue to respect our position with all future planning issues that may have an impact on our Parish and its environment. The Parish Council has invited many representatives to attend our meetings this year, including planning officers from MBC, local residents and planning applicants, to ensure all facts and concerns have been heard and representations made. As a Parish we recognize that planning applications can have a wider reaching environmental impact than just upon neighbouring properties, and seek to ensure items such as traffic, noise pollution, or utilities for example, are raised where they impact on the Parish – as experienced in the recent application for the Appleton Thorn Autodrome project. High Legh PC remains firm on its position over greenbelt policy, and to that end, follows through any concerns regarding unauthorized lighting, signage or developments across the Parish to the highest level.
Maintenance and Recreation Areas
Having such keen, informed and vigilant councillors and residents ensures that all concerns surrounding fly tipping, lighting, footpaths, hedges and day to day maintenance issues are dealt with promptly and efficiently by our Parish Council. Thanks again here to our Clerk for the countless emails and communications sent on our behalf to the relevant departments of the Council. To name but one example, pressure from the PC ensured that the pavement outside the school was resurfaced over October Half term, despite reluctance from Highways to do so, along with re-doing the zig-zag line painting outside the school which was done incorrectly the first time. The recreation areas in the village remain an invaluable asset to the Parish, especially when prospective house-buyers are searching the area for a place to live and bring up a family. These areas provide a safe, secure environment for our children to enjoy the freedom of playing outside, whether with young toddlers or older teenagers. Last year, unfortunately saw the maintenance schedule of the two areas, the playground in particular, fall down to an unacceptable level, with no valid excuse or apology for this from MBC. No grass cutting took place during August, and when pressured into carrying out a visit in September, the mess that was left by the groundsmen was disastrous, causing long term damage to the grass over the winter months. In an effort to revive the grass and edges, the Parish Council carried out a private tidy-up of the area in the Spring, which received many positive comments from parents. We will continue to invest in this service as and when required in order to provide an outstanding play area for our residents, over and above the basic service we will be receiving from Cheshire East. On a more positive note, HLPC has met with Cheshire East Leisure Services and approved the new Maintenance schedule, appropriate for the new play area. So far, the work has been carried out both on time and to a much higher standard. Time will tell………….
Traffic Safety/Highways
Councillors have again pushed our concerns about speeding through the village to the top of both National and local agendas. More recently, working closely with our local police, we obtained the use of a SID along West Lane, in a first attempt to make drivers aware of their speed through the village. Hopefully similar measures can be taken this next year to keep safe driving a priority in High Legh. Sadly, the A50 saw one more fatality this year, along the notorious stretch by the Bear’s Paw Public House. A letter was sent from High Legh Parish Council to Highways, in the hope that this ‘statistic’ could be added to the review that was taking place, of all A and B roads in Cheshire, Warrington and Halton. Following the review, a section of the A50 has been identified to have a 50 mph restriction from just west of the Swineyard Lane junction, to a few metres west of the Heath Lane junction. Whilst not the result we had hoped, at least someone somewhere has started to recognize the speeding issues along our A50. Responding to concerns of Parishioners is one of our main priorities, and in advance of any planning application from the Appleton Autodrome for hosting driving events, a letter has been sent to Highways requesting an environmental weight limit along Swineyard Lane. Already, there are many heavy vehicles choosing to use this route as a cut through to the A50 from their warehouse instead of the appropriate upgraded road, and residents are concerned about the damage being caused to this country lane, not to mention any future increased traffic flow. In another response to residents’ concerns, the PC has requested the installation of new steel bollards around the grassed areas at the entrance to Rensherds Place. This is following discussions with the school and local residents who wish to deter irresponsible drivers from driving over and parking along the grass, which has been destroying the edges and blocking both sides of the road.
Community Relations
- Parish Plan
A vote of thanks should be minuted to the Parish Plan Group, who are now in the final stages of putting together the Plan, following an outstanding return of questionnaires from the Community. HLPC has remained in close contact with the committee and looks forward to using the results in our future plans.
- Community Association
With the Parish Plan in its final stages, the PC and CA agreed to hold the lease renewal for one more year, although work is still progressing on the new lease. The PC/CA subcommittee has met a number of times throughout the year to discuss the various maintenance issues and any concerns arising.
The Village Hall remains our most valuable community asset and we are privileged to be in possession of the grounds, house and hall. Whilst the running costs of the Hall, house and car park remain significant; the PC recognizes the need to invest in this community facility and will continue to do so.
- High Legh School
Our local school is yet another reason for young families to move into High Legh. A daily walking bus now operates encouraging parents to leave the car and promote a healthier way of getting to school. The school receives requests to join from areas such as Lymm, Statham, Mere, Knutsford and Mobberley. The children enjoy many educational day trips and residential stays, and along with the Pre-School have often enjoyed a visit to the Playground, or to St John’s Church. As already mentioned, the PC works closely to help the school with any community issues such as parking or irresponsible driving. This September the new intake for Class 1 is expected to exceed 20 children, and this was a school the government wanted to close and merge due to falling numbers – I rest my case.
- Press
Due to current economic circumstances, our local paper the Knutsford Guardian was forced to relocate out of Knutsford and lose members of staff. Fortunately, the PC has always a good working relationship with the paper and over the past year we have published a number of positive press releases over many issues such as speeding and the success of the Parish Plan, all of which serve to re-enforce the positive work of the Council and local groups.
- Local Police
Last year we were introduced to our new CAT Police Constable representative for the High Legh area, PC Andy Duncan, who has made in impressive effort in getting to know our Parish and Parishioners. Andy has attended several meetings, and visited a number of residents when non-emergency incidents have arisen, and subsequently followed them up with his team or the Parish Council. Andy has also visited the school and with the support from the PC made sure that every resident in the village knows how to make contact with the team. We pass on our thanks for his support to our community.
- Finance
Just when you think the Credit Crunch is not affecting you, the Parish Council unfortunately lost the use of its banking facilities when the Bank account was frozen last December. Thanks to the hard work of the Clerk and Councillors, ALL the PC funds were recovered, and a new account opened as quickly as possible to ensure the smooth running of the Parish. Unfortunately, due to this event, and the decision to wait for the final results of the Parish Plan, a number of spending projects were put on hold and have now run over into the next financial year.
The finance committee does a superb job each year of planning for ongoing projects, new projects, and potential projects. With a number of obvious and ongoing fixed costs such as the Village Hall area, Clerk’s salary, insurance, and auditors, there are also various maintenance costs that can occur each year such as repairs to or replacement of traditional finger posts and railings, to which the PC contributes half.
In an effort to respond to parishioner concerns raised over the last and previous years, the following projects will hopefully be starting during this next year; with most, but not all, requiring some funding from the precept;
· New grit boxes in certain locations around the village.
· Extra grounds maintenance to the play areas
· Notice board refurbishment
· Dog waste bins at the Belfry and playground
· Bollards at Rensherds Place
· Creation of a permissive footpath alongside the Park Belt
· Line Painting to create better car parking at the Village Hall
· Enhancement of the Belfry Entrance
to name but a few.
To Conclude
High Legh Parish Council seeks to serve its Parishioners in the fairest way possible by providing and enhancing services that are accessible by all members and associations of the community. It is with much pride that I submit this report which shows what an outstanding contribution to village life our Parish Council has achieved.
Cllr Claire Hay
Chairman High Legh Parish Council
Current Issues & Information
Scottish Power 132kV Power Line
Scottish Power are pushing ahead with building a high voltage power line through High Legh despite objections over the environmental damage it will cause. , please click here to find out how they managed to get away with it.
Water Supply
United Utilities are nearing completion of the scheme to improve the reliability of the water supply to the High Legh.
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