Agenda and minutes

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

Decision: That the minutes of the meeting held on 20 March 2019 be confirmed as a correct record.

Zoe Whiteside, Planning Policy,Housing and Open Space Strategy Manager, will attend to give an update on the Westway playing fields sports development. 

Further information can be found here: http://chorley.gov.uk/news/Pages/Council-outlines-plans-for-sports-facility.aspx

Zoe Whiteside, Planning Policy,Housing and Open Space Strategy Manager, gave an update on the Westway playing fields sports development.  The development will be a new £2.2 million sports hub in Astley Village, including football pitches and the potential for an athletics track led by Chorley Council.  It will also provide overflow parking for events in Astley Park.

The proposal makes the best use of available space for a facility which can be used by people right across the borough, including:

•   A floodlit full-sized artificial grass football pitch

•   Three grass pitches (one full-size and two nine-a-side)

•   A pavilion including changing facilities, kiosk, multi-use social room and customer toilets

•   More than 150 parking spaces

•   A compact athletics facility including a 100m sprint track and two long jump pits – this would be a future phase of the project after the initial development is completed as it is subject to further fundraising.

The scheme is reliant on successful bids to the Football Foundation and the remainder of the money will come from contributions from developments in the borough and money already set aside to improve parking for events in Astley Park.  If everything goes to plan work could start on site as early as March and be completed in 2020.  It will be a design and build contract. 

Members of the Liaison Group noted the potential to provide additional athletics facilities in the future, public transport to the facility and issues with problematic parking on Great Meadow. 

The Chair thanked Zoe Whiteside for the update. 

CC Iddon will attend to answer any queries on highways and transport issues.

Issues previously raised have included:

1.    Use of roads in Bretherton by HGVs - Rural roads are being adversely affected by HGVs, however the opening of the Penwortham By Pass would give the County Council the opportunity to reroute HGVs away from Bretherton. 

2.    Speed Limits on North Roadd, Bretherton - Residents are constantly complaining about the speed of traffic along this road and have given examples of cars and motor cycles travelling at well above the 50-mph speed limit. The Parish Council has asked that the speed limit be reduced to 30 mph.

3.    Lack of parking enforcement in villages in evenings.

4.    The procurement process for public transport.

The Chair welcomed County Councillor Keith Iddon, (Cabinet Member for Highways and Transport), to the meeting. 

Councillor Iddon updated the meeting on a number of issues, including

·      The rerouting of the Ironman UK event

·      Work undertaken to resolve defects on the road network within Lancashire

·      Progress with the Penworthan bypass and plans for a bypass in Ormskirk

·      Proposals to reopen Midge Hall railway station

·      The reduction in speed limit on North Road in Bretherton to 40mph

·      Signage and markings on Pompian Brow in Bretherton

·      Parking enforcement in the rural areas

·      The merits of implementing 20mph speed limits

·      Enforcement issues with pavement parking

·      Issues with the adoption of new housing estates

·      Issues with diverting HGV’s away from villages

·      The process for the procurement of bus routes, including subsidised routes

Councillor Iddon requested that any specific issues be email to him on keith.iddon@lancashire.gov.uk

The Chair thanked Councillor Keith Iddon for the update. 

1.    Until this year the Police have always been in attendance at the Adlington Remembrance Day parade and have provided traffic management during the short periods in which Railway Road needs to be closed. This year the Town Council is planning to engage a traffic management company to ensure that the event can go ahead. The event in Adlington is held in association with Heath Charnock, Anderton and Rivington Parishes. Can Chorley Council provide any assistance for future events by streamlining the road closure application process for Remembrance Sunday, providing marshals and/or training for these, or any other support?

2.    Would it be possible for Adlington (specifically Railway Road) to erect lamp-post banners similar to those on Market Street in Chorley on Railway Road in Adlington? Who needs to give permission for these, and who changes the banners in Chorley?

1.    Until this year the Police have always been in attendance at the Adlington Remembrance Day parade and have provided traffic management during the short periods in which Railway Road needs to be closed. This year the Town Council is planning to engage a traffic management company to ensure that the event can go ahead. The event in Adlington is held in association with Heath Charnock, Anderton and Rivington Parishes. Can Chorley Council provide any assistance for future events by streamlining the road closure application process for Remembrance Sunday, providing marshals and/or training for these, or any other support?

2.    Would it be possible for Adlington (specifically Railway Road) to erect lamp-post banners similar to those on Market Street in Chorley on Railway Road in Adlington? Who needs to give permission for these, and who changes the banners in Chorley?

It was reported that an email has been sent to the Parish Council clerk with an update on both issues.    

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.

 No questions were raised. 

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

The agenda management timetable and suggested future items were noted.

Items were requested at future meetings relating to

·      Retrospective planning applications

·      The Local Plan

·      Air pollution

Some information has been provided by Peter Fenemore relating to Knotweed. 

The Chair introduced Councillor Peter Fennemore from Croston to update the meeting in relation to knotweed. 

Chris Sinnott, Director (Early Intervention and Support) undertook to write to the Parishes with a proposal of how to tackle this issue.