Agenda and draft minutes

Apologies for absence were submitted on behalf of Borough Councillors Patricia Haughton, Marion Lowe, Joyce Snape, Ralph Snape and County Councillor Don Yates.

The minutes of the meeting of the Chorley Central Community Forum held on 27 June 2007 are attached.

RESOLVED – That with the inclusion of Councillor Adrain Lowe (Vice-Chair) being shown a present, the minutes of the Chorley Central Community Forum held on 27 June 2007 be confirmed as a correct record for signing by the Chair.

A copy of the schedule detailing the action taken on issues raised at the Community Forum meeting held on 27 June 2007 is attached

A detailed schedule was distributed highlighting the action taken in respect of the individual queries that had been submitted at the Chorley Central Forum held on 27 June 2007.

Questions/Issues raised at the meeting:

(i)            Councillor Khan drew to the Forums attention the fact that Councillor Brown and herself had been working with the young people of Chorley East for some considerable time now and not just more recently as was indicated on the schedule.

(ii)        A Member of the public stated that her question had been misunderstood in relation to the Midwifery shortage in Chorley.

            Response:            Maureen Harrison said that she would speak with the lady after the meeting to build up a clearer understanding of her concerns.

Refuse and Recycling Collections – Service Design Options

A representative from the Neighbourhoods Directorate will present a verbal report.

The Chair welcomed Mr Simon Clark (Environmental Health Manager) from Chorley Council.

Mr Clark gave a short presentation on the Refuse and Recycling Collection Services Contract for the period April 2009 – March 2019.

A recent survey had shown a slight drop in satisfaction from members of the public although 78% of people were happy to retain the alternative weekly collections.

By inviting tenders for a longer contract period it would enable the Council to obtain better value for money, allow the Council to further embed the process more and enable the service to reach its targets. Chorley is already one of the top performers in the country on recycling and it was the intention to improve on this and aim for the number one spot.

In response to public consultation, Chorley Council’s preferred system design would mean replacing all the plastic sacks and containers that the public currently uses with another wheeled receptacle that included a pod within. The design would allow the collection of co-mingled recycling. In addition it is intended to introduce a kitchen food waste service, which would be a valuable asset for those people who didn’t have a garden and therefore don’t have access to the brown recycling receptacle for garden waste.

A recent initiative had been introduced for communal areas. Tailored Solutions was the provision of the large commercial type receptacles to take the various types of recycled waste, placed together in an allocated space that is accessible to all the residents. Some of the bins have been painted in black and white, hence the nickname ‘cow bins’ and have proved popular with the children, helping to promote recycling.

Questions/ issues raised at the meeting:

(i)         A member of the public reported that her glass recycling had not been collected since May, she had rung the offices three times to report it but nothing had been done.

            Response:            Simon Clark apologised for this poor service and said that he would endeavour to get to the bottom of this issue. He promised to arrange for her collections to be closely monitored to ensure a consistent service. Mr Clark added that the intended co-mingle recycling bin that the Council aimed to introduce, would solve problems like these.

(ii)        A member of the public reported that the refuse people did not empty the bins that were slightly ajar.

            Response:            Mr Clark said that any receptacle that was only slightly ajar should be emptied and asked the gentleman to let him have further details after the meeting.

(iii)            Councillor Laura Lennox asked for clarification as to the types of plastics that the Council could recycle?

            Response:            Mr Clark explained that under the current system the only plastic that we could collect and recycle was plastic bottles as this was a high quality plastic that is easily recyclable, however the present contractor will take most yoghurt pots and some types of trays. They would not take shrink-wrap or plastic bags and the thinner type of  ...  view the full minutes text for item 25.

Youth and Community Service

To receive from Deb Cardwell, a Youth Worker Manager from the Youth and Community Child and Young People Directorate, an update on the work of the Youth and Community Service within the area of the Central Community Forum

The Chair welcomed Deb Cardwell (Youth and Community Service) from Lancashire County Council.

Miss Cardwell outlined all the work that was currently being done by the Youth and Community Service in the Central area of Chorley. There was a lot of good working being done and this was down to the hard work and dedication of both officers and volunteers alike.

One project that had been successful was the creation of a Young Womens Group and a Young Mens Group on the Liptrott estate. The groups focused on Community Health issues and getting involved with projects and work within their own community.

They had tried to promote a similar scheme in the Eaves Green area, however the take up in this area had not been successful so the resources had been switched to Youth and Community services in the Chorley East area.

Miss Cardwell commended the hard work of Councillors Hasina Khan and Terry Brown for their efforts in successfully launching a Youth Club on Friday night’s at Lord Street, Chorley and it was hoped to build on this shortly by also opening the club on a Wednesday night.

In answer to a consultation exercise carried out amongst the youths of Chorley, Lancashire County Council got together with Chorley Council and the Lancashire Constabulary and were shortly due to launch a weekly disco at a Chorley nightclub. B4@Ajs would provide a fun and safe venue for 13 – 17 year olds to enjoy a night of dancing to a varied mix of music.

There was now a Young Mum’s Group for young mums aged between 16 – 21 years, living in Chorley and surrounding areas where they can have fun and make new friends in a safe and comfortable environment. The group recently had the opportunity to include their experiences of being young mums into the teen pregnancy strategy in Chorley.

Work continued to be carried out in relation to young pregnancies whereby advice and support was given on sexual health matters and the Wise Up sessions continued to be very popular.

The Lancashire Youth Service was also working with the schools. They have set up a Youth Forum that involves young people in the decision making process, encourages them to get involved in the community, manage its own resources effectively and take responsibility for their actions.

The Youth Council was involved in Local Democracy Week whereby young people where encouraged to get involved more and have their say on the issues that affect them.

The new What Now? 2008 handbook was now available for the young people of Lancashire. The literature was available to 16 – 25 year olds and included information on anything from education to leisure and from relationships to the environment.

Finally Miss Cardwell thanked everybody for their continued hard work and was sure that what they had achieved so far could be built on in the future.

Questions raised at the meeting:

(i)            Councillor Anthony Gee asked why the Youth Service had pulled out  ...  view the full minutes text for item 26.

Inspector Ian Roberts will report on the statistics relating to Chorley Crime in this area.

The Chair welcomed Inspector Ian Roberts to report on the statistics relating to crime, and to talk about the other community policing initiatives within the central area of Chorley.

The Inspector reported that with the exception of a slight increase in vehicle crime, all types of crime including damage, violence and burglary were considerably down.

Lancashire Constabulary was back to its number one spot and had received an excellent rating for its Neighbourhood Policing. The Police Community Support Officers were doing a fantastic job, it was true that they do not have the full powers as the Community Beat Officers but this was sometimes perceived as being a bonus, as they do not get tied down with unnecessary paperwork, giving them more time out in the community.

There had been an upsurge in Youth Violent crime, particularly in the East and South West areas of Chorley and steps were being taken to take officers of other response work to be able to tackle these problems more firmly. There was now a dedicated team in place to tackle the issues in these areas.

Combating the access to alcohol is improving with the introduction of the Think 21 Policy. However work is still needed to educate the parents not to buy alcohol for their children. Community Teams are going out between 5pm and 6pm to help tackle this problem.

The Inspector also reported on the work that the Multi Agency Task and Co-ordinating Unit (MATAC) were doing. The Police worked with the Council and other partner organisations to target problem areas and they were achieving some good results.

All the Community Beat Managers attend their relevant Police and Community Together (PACT) meetings so if people have any concerns, then these meetings are the place to report it.

Questions/Issues raised at the meeting:

(i)         A Member of the public stated that the residents in the Eaves Green area of Chorley are having repeated problems with drug takers on a children’s play area. The problem did seem to get better for a short while but have returned once again.

            Response            Inspector Roberts explained that they had recently done a lot of work across the way in the Liptrott area of the town and had had resounding success in removing this type of activity from this neighbourhood. Obviously with what was now being reported there was a realisation that the problem had just moved to another area. The Inspector promised that work would recommence in the Eaves Green area the next day.

(ii)        A member of the public reported that she and another lady had been barricaded in Tatton Community Centre one evening by a group of youths. They had rung the police, but had been informed that they were not a priority.

            Response            Inspector Ian Roberts said that this was totally unacceptable, there were cases when situations had to be prioritised in order of risk but he promised to look into this particular case personally to establish why they did not respond.

            Inspector Roberts  ...  view the full minutes text for item 27.

A short presentation will be given on the PCT Community Engagement Development Strategy and Action Plan. Alison Johnson Associate Director Community Engagement

A copy of the consultation letter outlining the details is enclosed.

The Chair welcomed Maureen Harrison (Community Engagement) from the Central Lancashire Primary Care NHS Trust.

Mrs Harrison gave a short presentation on the Central Lancashire Engagement and Development Strategy.

The strategy document set out the community engagement and development framework and principles that Central Lancashire Primary Care Trust would work to, along with an action plan to achieve a number of key objectives over the coming year.

Mrs Harrison explained that over the coming three months the Primary Care Trust would be undertaking a series of workshops and meetings with the public, partner organisations and community groups to get direct feedback and input into the strategy and action plan and that a final version would be submitted in November to the Primary Care Trust board incorporating any changes or additions resulting from the consultation.

A consultation workshop was being held at 1.00pm on Tuesday 16 October in the Lancastrian Suite at the Town Hall and everyone was welcome to attend and give their views on the strategy.

Questions/Issues raised at the meeting:

(i)         A member of the public referred to a recent Chorley Guardian article as to why the proposed Heath Clinic on Friday Street, Chorley has not yet started to be developed?

            Response:            Mrs Harrison reported that since the amalgamation of the three Primary Care Trusts, the Friday Street, Chorley site was still the preferred option. Consultation was due to commence again because of the time lapse but Mrs Harrison was confident that the development would be completed in approximately two years.

The Chair of the Chorley Central Community Forum will present a verbal report on the Big 3 Issues.

The Chair reported that the 3 main issues that had been identified were Anti-social behaviour, highways issues and extra activities for the young people of Chorley.

Many of these issues were services that we provided in partnership with other agencies and Donna Hall (Chief Executive) for Chorley Council reported that the Authority would work together with the Lancashire Locals to decide what the £12,500 could achieve in these service areas and report back to the next Forum meeting.

A period of 30 minutes will be allocated to allow members of the public to raise questions and express views on any matters relating to local services affecting the community.

Question cards will be available at the meeting for members of the public to complete and hand in before the start of the meeting.  Where possible questions will be answered on the night.  If a question cannot be answered a written response will follow.  A summary of the responses to questions submitted will be included on the agenda for the next meeting.

The Chair invited the local residents that were present a the meeting to raise questions and express their views on any matters relating to the provision of local services or issues affecting the central area of Chorley. In addition, a supply of question cards was available at the meeting as an opportunity for residents to write their enquiries or views on the cards.

The Chair indicated that the appropriate Officer and/or Partner representative would endeavour if possible, to provide a direct response to questions and issues raised at the meeting. If this was not possible, a written reply would either be sent to the questioner as soon as possible after the matter had been fully investigated or a response reported to the next Forum meeting.

The following issues/questions were raised at the meeting:

(i)         A member of the public asked if there was the possibility of a nearby play area being removed, as they were experiencing repeated problem of anti-social behaviour. The play area was just across from their homes on the Draperfield estate, Eaves Green.           

            Response:            Donna Hall (Chief Executive) said that she would consult with colleagues and provide a detailed response to the residents in the next two weeks.

(ii)        A member of the public asked why the Community Centre that was originally intended for the new Gillibrand estate was now being sited on the Liptrott estate?

            Response:            Councillor Adrian Lowe explained that in response to public consultation it had been decided to move the location of the Community Centre to the Liptrott area of Chorley. He added that the actual site had not yet been determined and that he would ask for a more detailed response to be sent to the gentleman in due course.

At the conclusion of the meeting, the Chair thanked the Members of the public present for their attendance and participation in the Community Forum meeting and expressed gratitude to the Council Officers and Partner Representatives for their contributions.