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Holmes Chapel Parish Council

• It has been a privilege to be Chairman of the Parish Council in 2002/3
• I was born and bred in HC, I have lived here for most of my life and I attended this school [HC Primary School]. My roots are here.
• When I laid a wreath at the war memorial on Remembrance Sunday, the names of members of my family were called out and it made me realise that this village is steeped in history not just for me but for many many people.
• My year of office began last May when the Queen’s Jubilee Year was working towards its climax. I was lucky enough to be chosen as one of the Parish Councillors from Cheshire to attend a Buckingham Palace garden party; then to join Council representatives from all areas of local government to attend the event at King’s School Macclesfield when the Queen made her Jubilee trip to Cheshire; and it was a great pleasure to present Golden Jubilee mugs to all the primary school children in the village.
• As well as these national events there have been a number of high spots when I have joined local people and organisations in celebrating local events
• And of equal importance there have been lots of Council meetings to chair and a lot of interesting issues to handle

• Throughout the year a Parish Council handles all sorts of issues.
• These days we are up to date with technology. The Clerk spends several hours a week in front of our computer – preparing agendas, minutes and resulting correspondence. He sends and receives a huge number of e-mails keeping in contact with the members of the Council, local people, the Police and the County and Borough Councils.
• One of our members, Alan Rickards, maintains our web site where there is plenty of information to keep you up to date with our activities. Alan and the Clerk feed information to the local press and radio and the Information Centre in the Library
• All this is about the life of a busy Parish Council. If I told you everything about the events of the last year we could be here for several days so let’s deal with some important issues which stick in my mind.
• At the end of the meeting there will be an opportunity to ask questions about these issues and others of interest to you and the chance to talk informally over cheese and wine at the end of the meeting

• It is important to appreciate the changes which are taking place in local government.

• Most district and county councils are now run on a cabinet / executive style like central government
• This means that elected members are less involved in day to day decision making and play a more policy making role.
• Proposals for the formation of regional authorities are now well advanced and these are likely to lead to the abolition of county and district councils and the formation of new unitary authorities. You may say "good" – especially after the performance of Cheshire County Council in dealing with the Byley Gas Plant appeal
• But think about it – in 4 or 5 years time CCC and CBC could disappear. Is that so good if our councillors become more and more remote from us?
• Let me give you another example. There is now a Government target for 95% of planning applications to be dealt with by officers under delegated powers. There are some good arguments in favour of this type of approach but it does mean that a lot of decision making will be removed from the local representatives we know and can contact without too much difficulty.
• To move on to a positive note, all this means that Parish Councils have an important role to play in representing grass roots views and forming relationships with those in power to put across local view points
• Nationally Parish Councils are getting geared up to play this role
• Also there is a need for co-operation between Parish Councils and local people. The Byley Gas Plant appeal has been a good demonstration of local councils and people standing up to the actions of County officers and the proposals of a large public company in the interests of the local community

• This leads me to talk about Planning which is always an important area of our work

• Local news has been dominated by the Byley issue over the last year
• This turned out to be a big problem because of the stance taken by CCC
• Particular thanks is due to Cranage Parish Council who spearheaded the work of the local area to oppose the proposals – so much so that at the end of the Planning Inquiry the Inspector’s commented that this was the best case he had ever heard mounted by a "third party"
• The result of the appeal is awaited but whatever the outcome we will know that local people did their best to safeguard the area
• In the past this Council has not been afraid to appear at inquiries and to incur costs in fighting for the local residents – and I am sure we will do so in the future because there are other local issues looming
• Some of you will have heard about the proposals of a company called Banks for tipping at Kinderton. We are preparing already for a possible fight on this issue and at the moment we are arranging joint meetings with Middlewich Town Council and Sproston Parish Meeting to fight the proposals
• Apart from these high profile planning issues we carry out regular monitoring of all planning applications affecting HC. It is important that we continue to do this as more and more applications are dealt with under delegated powers.
• I cannot claim that our efforts always meet with success but often they do – for example local opposition has resulted in a change of the access to a proposed car park at HC Comprehensive School – thus keeping traffic away from too many houses

• Work started in March on the access and car park for the new playing pitches at Cranage. This is a joint project with CBC and Cranage Parish Council and will provide some much needed recreation facilities for the area. All the necessary money is in place to complete the access and car park with 2 pitches
• Throughout the year we have continued to enjoy the support of the "village volunteers" and the achievements they have made in planting and tidying areas of the village centre. Particular thanks is due to John Clowes and David Monks. If you would like to help and want details of when they meet please let us know.
• In the next few weeks work should start on the expansion of the Library car park – this car park will be available for the whole of the village and will provide over 30 spaces to add to the ones across the road, more or less making up what we lost when the Good Companions site was developed. Because CBC have paid CCC approx. £80k for the site this means that there is money in the pot to carry out improvements to the library buildings and facilities – however a note of caution. A lot more money is required to do what we really want to the building and at the moment it is not in plentiful supply.
• Over the last few years this meeting and indeed many Parish Council meetings have heard complaints about levels of policing in Cheshire. I am pleased to say that over the last year we have experienced better policing than we have had for years – and we need to support and say thanks to the CAT who have done a lot to stamp out ante-social behaviour in the village. We are pleased to welcome here this evening Dave Newton from the CAT.
• Turning to a controversial issue recent police action has resulted in action against skateboarding in the village.

• I need to give some explanations about this issue and perhaps I can quote from a recent press release we made: "The Parish Council has been involved in discussions with Congleton Borough Council and the Police regarding provision of skateboarding facilities in HC. This has arisen from a number of factors:

• This subject was a Parish Council "target" for this year
• There is not a lot of progress to report but this has to be a long term project because of the financial situation and government / regional policy
• We have participated in the "safer routes to schools" project which has resulted in a new pedestrian crossing on Chester Road; and consideration being given to one on Middlewich Road
• We need to concentrate particularly on Middlewich Rd and Macclesfield Rd – being the route to M6 junction 18
• The issue of widening the M6 motorway has come back this year. There are mixed views about this all connected with a wider transport strategy. At the moment, however, the project is government policy so we must prepare for it to happen.
• We need to consider its impact on local communities and recently we have asked our MP to make representations to the appropriate government minister. Also we are asking Parish Councils in the area if they are prepared to meet together to focus attention on the issue
• On the public transport side we have Parish Council involvement on the Local Transport Liaison Committee and this has achieved some success – better bus services – bus shelters are being provided in the village centre. However, these services will only continue if they are supported so if local people want bus services they must use them.
• On the Railways I am afraid that we will have to put up with some pain next year when the line through HC will be closed for several months because of improvements to the west coast line.

• This is a constant problem in the village centre and on roads leading to the centre.
• We put constant pressure on CBC about street cleansing – there has been a recent meeting between Parish Council representatives and CBC to discuss cleansing routines and to achieve improvements
• There are numerous areas in private ownership and we cannot control these
• Please bear in mind that local authorities do not throw litter; they just get criticised when it is not cleared up as quickly as everyone wants
• We need to work in partnership if we want our village to reflect the pride we feel for it

• This is a good note on which to draw to a close.
• I have mentioned various areas of co-operation in this report – Parish Councils working together to propose schemes like Byley and Kinderton which threaten our environment; the Cranage playing pitch scheme; the Motorway widening; "Village Volunteers"
• At the beginning of this report I referred to my long association with this village. However it would be wrong to give the impression that HC or the Parish Council is the preserve of the people who have lived here all their lives. There is no drawbridge here and the Parish Council like many local organisations is representative of a wide range of local people and interests. Long may that continue and long may our village life be a reflection of people and groups of people working in harmony
• In a few weeks time a group of Councillors will start touring the village to judge the Best Kept Garden Competition. This is just one of many opportunities for us to take pride in our local environment.

• I cannot end without saying a few "thank you’s":

• The Vice-Chairman (Alan Rickards) and fellow Councillors and Clerk for their work during the year
• Our Borough Councillors and our County Councillor (with a special mention for Rab Parry who is not seeking re-election next month)
• The Village Volunteers (again!) and local organisations who improve our environment, provide cultural and sporting activities and generally make this village a happy place to live
• The Police and CAT for all their efforts
• The press and public for their interest in our activities
• We encourage people to come to our meetings and to communicate with us. We want to keep in touch with you and we do not expect you just to store up all your questions for this one night of the year. The Parish Council functions throughout the year and we need your input. You do not need me to tell you that there are so many ways in which you can communicate with us – but please tell us who you are. We will not reply to people who hide behind the anonymity of web sites and the like.

Thank you,

HC – Holmes Chapel

CBC – Congleton Borough Council

CCC – Cheshire County Council

k – Thousand

CAT – Community Action Team