Agenda and minutes

The Chair, Councillor Gordon France, welcomed everyone to the meeting.

Decision: That the minutes of the meeting held on 17 October 2018 be confirmed as a correct record.

The Parish Council have requested a follow up item on this issue, which was discussed in July 2018. 

A report was considered by Executive Cabinet in November 2018 and this is enclosed for information.  Lindsey Blackstock, Open Space Strategy Officer, will attend to answer any queries. 

The enclosed document has been supplied by Croston Parish Council. 

With the consent of the Chair this item was brought forward on the agenda. 

Lindsey Blackstock, Open Space Strategy Officer, presented the report which had been considered by Executive Cabinet in November 18.  The report set out that the control of Invasive Non Native Species (INNS) can only be a success if carried out through a collaborative partnership approach amongst all council directorates, landowners and the community throughout the whole catchment. A great deal of work has already taken place throughout the Borough over many years to control INNS and this is proposed to continue.

Peter Fennemore, Croston, advised of his concerns with regards to Japanese Knotweed and the potential for damage to infrastructure.  It was suggested that this could be a project for the upcoming round of Neighbourhood Area Meetings.  It was noted that Chorley Council Streetscene staff have received training on how to recognise and deal with INNS. 

Decision: That the update be noted.

At the last meeting it was requested that a representative from the Police be invited to attend the meeting to discuss issues, including speeding in rural areas and support in tackling drug use in play areas (Bretherton), the plan to resolve issues with travelling football fans, an update on neighbourhood policing and changes to the call handling centre. 

The Chair welcomed Chief Inspector Gary Crowe, Lancashire Constabulary, to the meeting. 

CI Crowe updated the meeting on the recent core services review undertaken which had resulted in resources be moved around within the force.  The Police are spending more time dealing with vulnerable people and in dealing with cybercrime.  This has resulted in staff from neighbourhood policing assisting with emergency responses.  An additional 50 call handlers have been recruited, but there has been a reduction in Community Beat Managers (CBMs) with resources being transferred to emergency response.   There is now a dedicated Inspector and Sergeant for Special Police Officers and there is a focus on recruiting and retaining Specials across the three Divisions.  

There were a number of cases of ATM and cigarette thefts within the Parishes before Christmas, but the perpetrators have been dealt with.  CI Crowe explained that there is a need to be agile with resources and that this has regrettably had an impact on the ability to support Remembrance Sunday events in the Parishes.

One of the projects initiated by the Police and Crime Commissioner (PCC) related to Community Champions.  CI Crowe undertook to forward information about this project as it became available.  Statistics relating to the percentage of non-urgent issues reported online will also be fed back. 

Gwyneth Lloyd, Bretherton, raised an issue relating to the speed limit and accidents in Bretherton.  CI Crowe advised that when the issue was considered in 2015 there wasn’t enough evidence to take action.  Accident statistics from the Parish will be shared with CI Crowe following the meeting. 

LCC are aware of this issue and a response has been emailed in from CC Keith Iddon, Cabinet Member for Highways at LCC.   CC Iddon and the Head of Highways are due to meet with the Headmistress in February, and the Road Safety Board for the Police to consider the request. CC Iddon notes that this can only be decided by the Road Safety Board and the Police.

CC Iddon has noted that people are listing accidents in Bretherton but wanted to highlight that these must also still be reported to the Police and a log number assigned. When the Police receive the request to reduce the speed limit, they will check their own records before implementing any changes.

Ian Horsfield, Anderton, queried proposals from the PCC relating to Council Tax and noted that the proposals relate to the current funding model. 

Decision: That the update be noted.

At the last meeting it was requested that Janine be invited to attend the meeting to give an update on the work of the Youth Zone since it opened in May 2018, with reference to engaging young people in the Parishes and transport issues. 

The Chair welcomed Janine Blythe, Chief Executive, Inspire Youth Zone, Chorley. 

Janine Blythe advised that the Inspire Youth Zone has been open for eight months, from 4pm each week day and Saturday and Sunday.  The membership targets have been surpassed as the aim was for 1 in 5 Chorley young people to be members in the first year, but 1 in 3 Chorley young people are already members! This surpasses other existing Youth Zones and shows the need for the facility in Chorley.

On average there are between 1300 and 1400 visits per week and between 160 and 200 young people per session.  The first holiday club for 8 to 12 year olds was a great success.  The cost was £14 per day, including lunch, although funding had been received from the Duke of Edinburgh awards to provide over 1,000 hunger meals.  Numerous events have taken place, including a Pride celebration, Halloween party and Christmas celebration. 

It was acknowledged that it has been a steep learning curve for the staff and volunteers, and that some initiatives planned for year two have been brought forward, including assistance for young people with additional needs, the creation of a female empowerment group and an LGBT group.  An inclusion session has been created on a Sunday which is a quieter and nurturing environment for those young people in need of this. 

The issue of transport for rural areas was acknowledged.  Analysis of where young people attend from is undertaken monthly and a good spread has been documented, including young people from outside Chorley.  Stagecoach have agreed a £1 charge on the 125 route and Arriva have agreed to match this for the 362 service recently.  The Youth Zone has a 9-seater mini bus but find the resources for staffing this a challenge.  The Council undertook to give assistance where possible with this.  It may be possible for LCC to assist also. 

In areas such as Brindle and Hoghton transport is a problem due to the lack of public transport and young people are dependent on parents and carers for lifts.  In the future it may be possible to have a youth worker who visits these areas. 

The meeting noted with disappointment that the Youth Zone for Preston has not progressed. 

Decision: That the update be noted.

Recently the parish council has had need to contact Chorley Council with a simple question regarding a land use planning matter. For this our parish clerk submitted the question electronically. The initial (presumably?) automated email responses from Chorley Council have proved to be very confusing and seem to reflect more the administrative process rather than the matter at hand.

The parish council is fully supportive of electronic communication means but does question if other parishes experience the same level of confusion. We would like to request that the borough council reviews the format of its electronic communications in order to simplify and remove extraneous content and to make the replies more meaningful to the user.

A response will be provided at the meeting. 

Ian Horsfield, Anderton, highlighted an issue with a response to an enforcement request.  Chris Sinnott, Director (Early Intervention and Support), advised that the content of email responses has been reviewed and improvements made. 

The issue of Digital Inclusion was noted and that a discussion had taken place at the meeting with Parish Council clerks in relation to the provision of paper plans for planning applications. 

Decision: That the issue be noted.

To discuss support for the provision of transport to enable young residents from rural areas to access the Chorley Youth Zone. 

It is suggested that this issue is discussed as part of item 3: Discussion with Janine Blythe, Chief Executive, Inspire Youth Zone.

This item was considered as part of a previous agenda item. 

The Croston Branch of the RBS closes in January and, following the approval of application 18/00906/FUL, the ATM outside the bank is also to be removed.

The Parish Council would like to include an item to discuss whether anyone attending or connected to the Liaison has any suggestions as to whether any alternative arrangements might be organised.

Anne Peet, Croston, explained that the Royal Bank of Scotland in the village is closing and the ATM being removed.  She queried how other villages have overcome the lack of ATM facilities in their villages.  Suggestions included ATMs within pubs, the Post Office and local shop. 

Decision: That the discussion be noted.

In order to allow members of the Liaison and members of the public to raise issues of local concern, a period of 20 minutes has been set aside.

A member of the public may speak for no more than 3 minutes.  Members of the public are not required to give notice of the issue they intend to raise, although it is expected in the case of service issues that the appropriate mechanisms for resolving the issue have been explored. 

Where a question is raised which cannot be answered at the meeting, a record will be kept by officers supporting the meeting and it will be responded to via the appropriate mechanism.

Items requested following publication of the agendafrom Bretherton Parish Council  

Speed Limit in Bretherton. The Parish Council would like a 30 mph limit to be applied in all parts of the village and has been recording accidents to support this view-copy attached.

State of pavements in the village-many of which are in a poor state of repair and is some cases an additional problem is caused by vegetation coming from under hedges and narrowing the pavement.

Terry Dickenson, Wheelton, queried the funding for community groups and advised that the Sports Forum have not received funding this year.  This will be raised with the Executive Member (Early Intervention) outside of this meeting. 

Graham Ashcroft, Heath Charnock, expressed concern about the proposed warding arrangements for Chorley Council following the Electoral Review. 

A schedule setting out deadlines for items to be requested on the agenda for the Chorley Liaison and dates for future meetings is enclosed. 

Future agenda items were requested on air pollution, Westway playing fields, rural broadband and the route of Ironman UK within Chorley.