Agenda and draft minutes

The Chair (Councillor John Walker) welcomed everyone present to the third meeting of the Chorley West 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.

He welcomed representatives from United Utilities for Item 5 on the agenda relating to Bretherton and Croston Sewage Sludge.

An apology for absence was submitted on behalf of County Councillor Mark Perks.

The minutes of the meeting of the Chorley West Community Forum held on 5^th July 2007 are attached.

The Minutes of the second meeting of the Chorley West Community Forum held at the St Mary’s Social Club, Wigan Road, Euxton on 5 July 2007 were confirmed as a correct record subject to Minute 07.14(iii) paragraph 2 Lancashire County Council issues being amended to read 50mph and not 30mph.

It was reported that no objections had been received following the formal consultation on the plans to impose a 50mph speed limit on a length of North Road, Bretherton.

A copy of the schedule detailing the action taken on issues raised at the Community Forum meeting held on 5 July 2007 is attached.

Copies of a schedule detailing the action that had been taken on relevant issues raised at the Chorley West Community Forum on 5 July 2007 were circulated with the agenda for the meeting and the contents were agreed.

The Council’s Environmental Health Manager to report on the depositing of sewage sludge on agricultural fields in the Bretherton and Croston area.

The Director of Streetscene, Neighbourhoods and Environment informed those attending the meeting of the discussions that had taken place in his office with officers, owners of the farm, the Environment Agency and representatives from United Utilities.  A number of evidence packs had been given out to residents to enable those wanting to lodge a complaint to record the date and times there is a smell nuisance.

Following receipt of a number of complaints Environmental Services had investigated the cause of the problem of the smell nuisances from the deposition of sewage sludge on agricultural fields in the Bretherton and Croston areas.  The deposit of the waste had been overseen and regulated by United Utilities.  The method of spreading complied with adopted Codes of Practice.  If it was found necessary the Council could instigate action under Environmental Protection Act 1990 if the odours were deemed to constitute a statutory nuisance.  The justification for such action would be linked with the frequency and duration of the odours affecting local residents in their homes with the evidence packs sent to residents to enable them to record the frequency and degree of smell nuisance.  This would enable the Council to gauge whether or not enforcement action was warranted.  Statutory nuisance was a complex issue and on the evidence already provided and on the basis of previous cases there did not seem at the moment that a Statutory Nuisance existed.  However, any more information received would be examined.

Questions raised at the meeting:

i)       A local resident expressed concern that no warning had been given by United Utilities before the spreading had taken place and claimed that United Utilities were not doing what they said they would do.  It was claimed that it was eight hours before the field was ploughed.

         Response

         A representative from United Utilities reported that it was not practical to leaflet drop all the houses in the vicinity and due to circumstances the time and date could be changed at short notice.

         It was suggested a single point of contact be made by informing Chorley Council with emails being sent to Parish Clerks.

         The reported time claimed of eight hours was a reasonable time before ploughing and it was often done as soon as possible after the spreading.  United Utilities do the ploughing and control the task, the farmer is not involved.  The eight hours was due to the whole spreading time.

ii)      A Bretherton Parish Councillor pointed out that this was a concern for all people in the village and that action should be taken to reduce the operation and have a change in the processing.  Concern was expressed that a proposed date for the meeting of all interested parties had not been arranged.

         Response

         The Director of Streetscene, Neighbourhoods and Environment said that a meeting of all interested parties would take part as soon as possible.  The quality of evidence received so far did not represent a Statutory Nuisance, pointing out that 99.9% of such complaints received are resolved  ...  view the full minutes text for item 26.

Representatives of the following organisations will report on any local issues / initiatives within the area of this Forum.

The Chair introduced Johanne Keay the inspector responsible for the area of the Forum who was accompanied by Police Community Support Officers, to report on the statistics relating to crime as well as community policing initiatives due to take place in the Chorley West Community Forum area.

The Inspector said that most types of crime had seen a fall in the crime figures.

The main threats were around criminal damage, anti-social behaviour, particularly at this time of year with Halloween only a few weeks away.  An operation called ‘Bright Sparx’ would be in operation round 5 November Bonfire Night to combat anti-social behaviour.  This would be tailored to the individual areas.  Local problem house holders would be targeted with those known people written to.  The Police were looking for the co-operation of local shopkeepers in preventing the sale of eggs and fireworks which would create anti-social behaviour.

The Inspector introduced Loz Elphick the new Community Beat Officer for the Mawdesley area as well as Maria Featherstone the Community Police Support Officer for Croston.

Sergeant Chris Brooks would be commencing duties in the area on 5 November.

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

a)     Refuse and Recycling Collections – Service Design Options

A representative from the Neighbourhoods Directorate will present a verbal report on the options available for kerbside refuse and recycling collections.    

The Chair welcomed, John Lechmere the Director of Streetscene, Neighbourhoods and Environment.

Mr Lechmere explained that the current Refuse and Recycling Collection Contract was due to terminate at the end of 2009 and the Council was currently looking at the tendering for a new contract to run from April 2009 – March 2019.

A recent survey of 1000, of which 461 had been returned, had shown a drop in customer satisfaction from members of the public, with 78% of people happy to retain the alternate weekly collections.

Chorley was one of the top performers in the county and were currently improving.  Currently the authority was heading for 50% recycling.

Public consultation had taken place in improving the system of collection and the Council’s preferred system of collection would mean replacing all the plastic sacks and containers with another wheeled receptacle that includes a pod action.  A single vehicle would be used rather than the current service which used several vehicles.

It was also planned to introduce a kitchen food waste service.

It was also reported on the recent introduction in communal areas for the collection of recyclable waste.  Tailored solutions to the collection of recyclable waste with the provision of large commercial type receptacles to accommodate the various types of recycled waste.  These would be placed together in an allocated space that is acceptable to all residents in the communal areas.

Some of the commercial type receptacles had been called ‘cow bins’ because they had been painted black and white.

County Councillor Alan Whittaker drew the Forum’s attention to the plans to impose a 50mph speed limit on a length of North Road, Bretherton and that no objection had been received following formal consultation.

It was also reported by the Clerk of Bretherton Parish Council that the Speed Indicator Devices (SPIDS) would be deployed in the area after training.

The Chair also reminded those present that there would be a meeting of the Lancashire Local for Chorley on Wednesday, 31 October 2007, commencing at 6.15pm and would be held at Lancashire College, Southport Road, Euxton.

Alison Johnson, Associate Director Community Engagement, will give a short presentation on the PCT Community Engagement Development Strategy and Action Plan.

A copy of the consultation letter outlining the details is enclosed

The Chair welcomed Alison Johnson, Associate Director, Community Engagement from Central Lancashire Primary Care NHS Trust.

Mrs Johnson gave a presentation on the Council’s Engagement and Development Strategy.

The strategy document sets out the community engagement and development framework and principles that Central Lancashire PCT will work to along with an action plan to achieve a number of key objectives over the coming year.

Central Lancashire PCT will promote health, reduce inequalities and deliver the best possible care for the population within the resources they have available and to improve the health of the people of the Chorley area it was necessary to work in partnership with other organisations and the Police.

It was explained that over the coming months consultation would take place with partners, members of the public and partner organisations to provide feedback, comments and suggestions about the strategy and action plan.  This consultation would be via a series of workshops and meetings and will provide feedback and input into the strategy.  A final version would be submitted to the Primary Care Trust Board in November incorporating any changes or additions resulting from the consultation.

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

The Chair informed the meeting that the 3 main issues that had been identified in the Chorley West Forum area were the need for recreational facilities, highways issues and anti-social behaviour.  It was considered that the areas already had provision for football pitches and those services were provided by other agencies.

A request was made to look at other areas and to decide how the £12,500 could be spent and report back to the next 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 present at the meeting to raise questions and express views on any matters relating to the provision of local services or issues affecting the Bretherton, Charnock Richard, Croston, Eccleston, Euxton, Heskin, Mawdesley and Ulnes Walton areas.  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 question was raised.

i)       A resident from the Cedar Avenue, Euxton area referred to complaints of flies in houses in the area.

         Response

         Complaints to the Council had been received and an investigation had shown that the cause of the flies was the spreading of muck on a newly ploughed field.  The flies should die off anytime and the mild weather for the time of year creates the problem.  There had been no problem in previous years.

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 drew attention to the feedback cards available at the meeting and invited the attendees to complete them to express their wishes on the format, arrangements and conduct of the Forum meetings.

At the conclusion of the meeting, the Chair thanked the Members of the public present for their attendance and participation in the meeting.