Agenda and minutes

The Chair (Councillor J Walker) welcomed everyone present to the second meeting of the Chorley South Community Forum, and indicated that representatives of Chorley Borough Council and its Community Forum partners (Lancashire County Council, the Parish Councils for the Forum area, Lancashire Constabulary and Central Lancashire Primary Care Trust) were present at the meeting to answer residents’ queries.

Apologies for absence were submitted on behalf of Councillors Kenneth and Nora Ball.

The minutes of the meeting of the Chorley South Community Forum held on 21st February 2007 are attached.  

The minutes of the first meeting of the Chorley South Community Forum held at Adlington on 21 February 2007 were confirmed as a correct record, subject to the correction of Minute 6(i) (Open Forum) to clarify that an assurance was given that the Borough Council would be represented at the Public Inquiry that could result from the Lancashire County Council’s refusal of planning permission for sand extraction and landfill at Sandhams Quarry, Adlington.

A copy of the schedule detailing the action taken on issues raised at the Community Forum meeting held on 21 February 2007 is attached. 

Copies of a schedule detailing the action that had been taken on relevant issues raised at the Chorley South Community Forum on 21 February 2007 were distributed at the meeting.

County Councillor Mrs P Case referred to the issue regarding the plans for 20mph speed zones on certain roads in Adlington, and indicated that the Lancashire County Council were about to approve a speed management strategy which would require a major review of speed limits within villages and a total of 130 ‘A’ and ‘B’ roads throughout the County.  A separate prioritisation system would need to be taken into account for roads other than ‘A’ and ‘B’ roads, but a consistent approach would be necessary in dealing with all the current requests for reviews of speed limits.

Representatives of Lancashire Police will report on the priorities for each PACT (Police and Community Together) and any other Community Policing initiatives.  

The Chair welcomed Inspector Jo Keay (the Police Inspector responsible for the Adlington, Coppull and Wheelton areas) and PC Andy Woodward (Coppull Community Beat Manager), who were accompanied by a Police Constable and a Police Community Support Officer.

Inspector Keay gave an overview of the Police’s performance over the past 12 months in their quest to reduce the overall level of crime in the district, indicating that there had been an overall reduction of 8.7% in crime statistics for the three areas since January 2007, with a reduction of 16% in the British Crime Survey (BCS) comparator offences (against which the Police’s performance was measured) over the same period.  The statistics had revealed reductions in all but two categories of crime (ie vehicle theft (which had increased by one since last year) and theft of pedal cycles (which had increased by 10 offences)).

The Inspector confirmed that the Police were about to re-launch ‘Operation Summer Nights’, a multi-agency approach that would involve the Police working alongside its partners in visiting problem ‘hot spots’ and other locations to target anti-social behaviour and raise awareness of community safety and drink/drug related issues to young people.  Funding was to be made available for additional police patrols during the Summer Nights operation, which was set to run from 1 July to 31 August 2007.  Leaflets promoting the initiative were distributed at the meeting.

Leaflets advertising the ‘Crime Stoppers’ facility, whereby members of the public could report crimes and suspicious incidents in confidence to the Police, were also available at the meeting.

Inspector Keay introduced the Police Community Support Officer (PCSO) present at the meeting, who was one of 12 Officers partly funded by the Borough Council who were working across the area.  The PCSO’s provided substantial support and assistance to the Police who were looking to develop and enhance the role of the Support Officers.

Finally, Inspector Keay advised the Forum that PC Andy Woodward, the Community Beat Manager for Coppull, had been nominated to represent the whole of Lancashire Constabulary’s Southern Division in a national competition for Community Beat Manager of the Year.

Questions raised at meeting:

(i)      A resident referred to the speed of some traffic on Spendmore Lane, Coppull and asked when speed cameras would be introduced.

         Response:  Inspector Keay confirmed that the mobile equipment had been acquired and that Officers had been trained to use the speed cameras which would shortly be deployed on lengths of Spendmore Lane, Coppull at various times of the day.  The road safety problems caused by speeding traffic had been identified as a PACT priority issue and the new equipment was expected to deter drivers from speeding on those roads.

(ii)     County Councillor Mrs Case drew attention to the problems and dangers caused by the excessive speeding of traffic on de-restricted roads in the rural areas (eg Long Lane, Heath Charnock) and asked for the Police’s views on any remedial action that could be taken.

         Response:  Inspector Keay reminded the Forum that the Police and  ...  view the full minutes text for item 14.

(a)         Highfield Farm, Coppull

         County Councillor E Forshaw drew attention to an application from the owners of Highfield Farm, Jolly Tar Lane, Coppull for retrospective planning permission for the composting of shredded green waste and the construction of a concrete pond.  The application was due to be determined by the Lancashire County Council’s Development Control Committee on 4 July 2007, following a site visit on 2 July.  County Councillor Forshaw said that he would welcome any comments and views from local residents in advance of the County Council’s decision.

         A local resident queried whether the operator was using vehicles legally licensed by the Traffic Commissioners, an issue that would need to be raised with the County Council’s lawyers.

         The outcome of the County Council’s deliberations on the planning application would be reported to the next Forum meeting.

(ii)     No Cold Calling Zones

         County Councillor Mrs P Case advised the Forum of an initiative being promoted by the Trading Standards Institute in conjunction with the County Council and the Police to encourage small residential areas to set up ‘No Cold Calling Zones’, defined by clear signage.

         The scheme aimed to tackle the problem of doorstep criminals who were known to target particular properties, areas or residents and especially vulnerable people, such as elderly persons living alone.  The scheme would educate local residents on how to deal with cold callers and give them the confidence to refuse doorstep salesmen and canvassers.

         The Parish Council representatives were requested to consider identifying selected areas within their Parishes that were likely to benefit from designation as a ‘No Cold Calling Zone’.  Leaflets and information packs offering advice and guidance on the procedures in establishing the zones, possible funding from key partners and the roles of residents were displayed at the meeting.

The Chair welcomed Maureen Harrison and Victoria Dewhurst from the Central Lancashire Primary Care Trust (PCT).

Maureen told the Forum that the two Officers would be happy to hear the views and questions of any Parish Council representative or local resident on any aspect of the health services provided by the PCT.  If the Officers were unable to answer the questions spontaneously, they would seek an answer from their colleagues and respond to the questions.  Maureen indicated that both she and Victoria would be available at the close of the meeting to speak to other attendees.

Prior to the Forum meeting, each constituent Parish Council had been invited to submit any issues or questions which they wished to raise or promote at the meeting.  In response, the following questions had been submitted by the Parish Councils indicated:

Issues/Questions raised by Anderton Parish Council

1.      Parking on Ashfield Road, Anderton

         “For many years we have been trying to stop cars parking on the double yellow lines.  The problem is caused by shoppers accessing the Late Shop and who won’t use the car park provided.  We have had more than one complaint of near misses to residents, both those in vehicles and those on foot on the pavement (who have been nearly hit by cars mounting and parking on the pavement).  Firstly the Police and then Parkwise, despite some tickets being issued, have failed to stop the problem.

         The LCC are going to undertake some measures to try to alleviate the problem:  1)  replacing existing kerbs with full height kerbs 2) defining the bus stop at the junction and laying an H marking  3) erecting 3 bollards on the radius on the Co-op side.

         Whilst welcoming any measures that will alleviate the problem which we feel is a safety hazard, we don’t think these will stop the cars from parking.  The Police (at the PACT meeting) thought that only by placing railings along both sides of the road would the problem be stopped (or by moving access to the store to the other side near the car park.”

         Response:  County Councillor Mrs P Case relayed a reply from the Lancashire County Council’s Engineering Services Manager.

         The Lancashire Locals budget allocation is expected to fund the erection of bollards on both sides of the road and Bus Stop Clearway markings, and the Officers hoped that the cost of lifting the kerbs could be met by the developer of the adjacent property.  The County Council would explore the possibility of some bollards being replaced by guard rails, having regard to the need to safeguard visibility at the Bolton Road/Ashfield Road junction and allow the passage of pedestrians along Bolton Road.

         Practice in other areas had shown that the proposed measures were likely to discourage the vast majority of pavement parking within 15 metres of the junction.

         In this context, the Police representatives at the PACT meeting had been requested to feed their comments on any traffic/highway matter to John McLaughlin, the Police’s representative at the County Council’s Road Safety and Traffic Management meetings.

         Questions/Comments raised at meeting:

         (i)      A Parish Councillor considered that the problem would best be alleviated by the repositioning of the entrance to the Late Shop closer to the car park.

         (ii)     A resident complained that Parkwise Attendants did not visit rural areas on a regular basis and asked for clarification of the criteria governing the enforcement of the loading and unloading regulations.

               Response:  Keith Allen indicated that he would raise the feasibility of a greater number of Parkwise Attendants being allocated to visit the Anderton site  ...  view the full minutes text for item 17.

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 present at the meeting to raise questions and express views on any matters relating to the provision of local services or issues affecting the Adlington, Anderton, Coppull, Heath Charnock and Rivington Wards.  In addition, a supply of Question Cards were made 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 resident drew attention to the state of the grass verges on the Coppull side of the Coppull/Charnock Richard boundary, which she stated was strewn with litter and unkempt.  This contrasted sharply to the well-tended verges on the Charnock Richard side and the resident queried the reason for the different standards of maintenance.

         Response:  Keith Allen undertook to ensure that the Grounds Maintenance Area Manager would contact the resident to investigate the complaint.

(ii)     A Parish Councillor complained that litter and overgrown weeds at the former railway station site at Coppull was offensive and creating a nuisance.  The Parish Council had been unable to persuade Railtrack to take any action.

         Response:  Keith Allen requested the Coppull Parish Council to forward contact details to him so that the Council could consider options for either further negotiations with Railtrack or the institution of formal enforcement action.

(iii)    A resident complaint at the nuisance being caused by the failure of the Council to mow the grass at the rear of the even numbered properties on Dickens Road, Coppull.

         Response:  Keith Allen promised to arrange for the Grounds Maintenance Area Manager to visit the site and discuss the situation with the resident.

(iv)    A Parish Councillor indicated that she had heard rumours of proposals to establish a motorcycle track on land at Ellerbeck and asked if there was any validity in the rumour.

         In this context, reference was also made to the problems on canal towpaths and rural roads created by motorcyclists.

         Response:  The Council’s Officers reminded the Forum that plans to establish motorcycle tracks within the Borough would require planning permission and that the Chorley Council had in the past rejected proposals to create a motorcycle facility at Ellerbeck.  The Officers were unaware of any formal resubmission of the proposals.

         Keith Allen pointed out that a number of enforcement actions could be instigated by various Authorities (eg Lancashire County Council and the Police) to abate nuisances caused by the unlawful riding of motorcycles.

         It was AGREED that Chorley Council’s Officers would examine with Officers from the Lancashire County Council and the Police any nuisances and problems caused by motorcyclists on canal towpaths and rural roads to ascertain  ...  view the full minutes text for item 18.

Members of the Public are requested to indicate the 3 biggest issues in their local community which they would like to be addressed by Chorley Borough Council and / or Partner organisations. 

The Chair reminded the Forum members of the Borough Council’s interest in ascertaining members of the public’s views on the major issues affecting their particular areas.

Forum members were invited to complete the cards available at the meeting to identify the three biggest issues or concerns that they would like to be addressed by the Borough Council and/or partner organisations.  The cards had also been widely distributed throughout the Borough through local schools.

The responses would be analysed and a summary report would be compiled for submission to the next round of Community Forum meetings.  The report would outline the major issues/concerns affecting areas, together with potential courses of action to address the issues.

Members of the Public will be invited to express their views on the format of the meeting and to submit issues for consideration at the next meeting.

The Chair also drew attention to the feedback cards available at the meeting and invited the attendees to complete them to express their views on the format, arrangements and conduct of the Forum meetings.  The cards could also be used to suggest items for consideration at the next meeting.

Future meetings of this Forum will be held at on the following dates  commencing at 7.00pm:

• Wednesday 7 November 2007
• Wednesday 23 January 2008  

The venues will be circulated in the near future. 

The Chair reminded the meeting that future meetings of the Chorley South Community Forum were to take place on the following dates, commencing at 7.00pm at venues yet to be decided:

?         Wednesday, 7 November 2007;

?         Wednesday, 23 January 2008.