THE PARISH PLAN IMPLEMENTATION GROUP
1. After THE PLAN
The Rushton Parish Plan was published & then distributed at the new Village Hall opening ceremony on Saturday 27th September 2008. Under the chairmanship of John Sellers it took 2yrs to complete the Plan. This involved Open Meetings, a Parish Questionnaire, data analysis and much discussion to agree what were the important things that the community wanted to change, create or just leave as they were, to make Rushton Parish a better place to live.
The Plan contained a list of Actions which were to be worked on and with John bowing out, Mike Wilson took on the Chairmanship of the new Parish Plan Implementation Group and with many of the original team, set up 6 Working Groups.
2. The Parish Plan Implementation Group
The current team is as follows:
a. CommunicationsW.G. Mike Wilson; Ron Chisnal
b. Development W.G Mike Scott; Sandy Bering
c. EnvironmentW.G. Mike Scott; Sandy Bering
plus Lynda Fosbrook as advisor on Dog matters
plus Peter Stockton as advisor on Public Footpaths
d. Road SafetyW.G David Lilley; Ian Burgon
e. ServicesW.G. Colin Lloyd, Richard Potton as Home Watch coordinator
f. Social & Community W.G. Andree Rose, Sally Oakes
3.What Has Been Worked On:
The Group has had 5 well attended meetings October, December, January , March & April and the following issues have been worked on:
a. Grant Applications
We have made 2 applications for admin & 5 specific projects and have been awarded our maximum entitlement (£3,000) for the year ending 31st March 2009.
b. Communications Working Group
i. Newsletters. We have rationalised the newsletters of the past and now send out a Quarterly Parish Newsletter backed up by monthly (or recently weekly) flyers of forthcoming events.
ii. Parish Websitewww.eatonandrushton.org.uk <http://www.eatonandrushton.org.uk>
We have updated the website which gives details of what’s happening in the various organisations of the parish
iii. Parish Directory - (grant financed project)
A directory of information is being produced and will be distributed as an A5 Ring Binder to all residents in the Parish. Updates will be circulated every 6 months.
c. Development Working Group
i. Parish Landscape & Village Design Statements We are working with the Parish Council to produce these documents which will be the guide to how the community would wish the Parish & Village to develop.
ii. Prepare Open Space/Leisure Survey (grant financed project) - This initiative is currently being launched to examine the potential for improvement to common land within our Parish. The Green (adjacent to the Old Smithy) is being discussed as a possible first project and a group of 18 villagers have shown interest attending a recent meeting.
iii. Renewable Energy - We are represented on the Wind Farm project to ensure that the views of the community are heard.
d. Environment Working Group
i. Litter - We have set up a volunteer Litter Collection group (20 people) which on a regular basis, pick up litter in their area of the Parish. This has been very successful with obvious improvements to the Parish.
ii. Fly Tipping - We are highlighting areas that need attention, the first being Hickhurst Lane that has already had rubbish removed by contractors.
iii. Dog Fouling - (grant financed project) Our new Dog Warden has shown a need for 2 additional dog bins and these have been delivered (with bag dispensers) and will be erected on Lightfoot Lane and Winterford Lane. The existing bin in Winterford Lane will be moved to Hall Lane and the bin by the school will be moved away from the seat area to a position by the Waste Skip. All the above changes have been approved by the local County authority and are being finalised with the Parish Council and adjacent residents.
-
iv. Protection & Enhancement of the Environment
. see d2 above.
v. Hall Noise Levels: We are working with the Environmental Protection Team Manager of the new County Council to analyse the noise control needed at the new Village Hall. A particular 18th birthday party upset local residents due to the sound levels transmitted by the disco set up used. A noise level measurement exercise has been carried out. A report of recommendations will be given to the Jessie Hall committee .
e. Road Safety Working Group
Not surprisingly, although this was the most important concern of the Parish, it has been the most difficult to progress. At our meeting in March we decided to start a new initiative in parallel to the Parish Council and have appealed to County Councillors and our local M.P. for help. We have received good supportive replies from our County Councillors and Councillor John Grimshaw has agreed to take up our case. We now have to agree what the community actually wants regarding speed limits, calming etc.
f. Services
i. Private Services to the Home - We are collecting information on mobile phone reception, T.V reception so that we can discuss problems with suppliers and then make recommendations (through our Parish Directory) to parishioners
ii. Local Public Transport - We are collecting information on services available e.g. times of the buses to Winsford, details of Dial a Ride, so that they can be added to the Parish Directory. If the community wants it, we will look at proposing new services to our new County Council
iii. Home Watch - (grant financed project) We now have a Home Watch Coordinator and over the past weeks, we have worked with Cheshire Constabulary and Tiverton Home Watch co-ordinator. Signs have been posted on all entrance roads to the Parish. Richard Potton is progressing how Home Watch will work in our parish.
g. Social & Community
From the questionnaire response, we could see that there was a need for new activities to be arranged if we wanted to appeal to a wider range of people. The building of the Village hall was a major advantage in getting things off the ground and members of our Group joined up with the Social Committee of the Hall to help get things under way. Andree who heads up our SOCOM Group has become Hall Manager.
i. Film Club (grant financed project) : A film Club was started and hiring the equipment and films through Vale Royal, 4 films have been shown over the winter months with 80+ in attendance at Mamma Mia & The Duchess. These have been great community events and will be continued next Autumn. A new electrically operated Projection Screen has been installed.
ii. Tea & Chat Mornings: This is a monthly event which has developed with a book stall, farm produce sales and again is a good event for older people who previously didn’t get involved in Village activities.
iii. Major Events: Again with the Hall social committee, we produced a 1940’s Night and New Years Eve “Cruise” which were both sell outs.
iv. Family Function : Again as a response to the Questionnaire, a Family Games Night was held in April with great success. This will be repeated in the autumn.
v. Educational Classes: We are working with the council departments to assess what classes may be started next autumn in the Hall.
vi. Gardening Club : Again addressing a request through the Questionnaire, we held an open meeting to assess the need for a Gardening Club and 20 people showed interest. We now have a club called "Up the Garden Path" and they have a programme of activities to the end of autumn. They meet on the last Tuesday of the month with outings/visits in the summer.
vii. Parish Council Meetings: A member of our group now attends these meetings to ensure good communications between the two organisations.
4. Summary
The Group has been encouraged by the support of the community which has been evident in the initiatives undertaken. This work will continue and all residents of the Parish are asked to consider how they can help and to contact the Chairman who will be happy to advise how their time however small, can help us.
Mike Wilson
Chairman
Parish Plan Implementation Group.
01829 760619
mike.marywilson@btinternet.com