Ormskirk School Council Debate

THIS afternoon I had the pleasure of attending a mock council meeting in the Council Chamber for Local Democracy Week.

The guests were Ormskirk School Council, which is in Derby Ward, and the topic was on the subject of ‘ASBOs – Should We Name and Shame?’

The meeting was chaired by the Mayor and ran very much like a Council Meeting with an agenda, officers present etc.

The quality of the debate was excellent, and the points they raised were very well thought out and presented – something the other councillors who attended concurred with.

It’s important for youngsters to be aware of how their community is run, and the role the council has in it. But on the flip side, it’s important for us as councillors to hear what young people have to say.

There can be a tendency to group people within a certain demographic together and assume they have a certain view on certain subjects, but that isn’t the case.

Towards the end of the meeting, there was a general discussion on facilities for young people in Ormskirk, but even on this there was no set view – some thought there wasn’t enough, while others thought there were plenty of activities for young people.

So all in all, an excellent afternoon. And who knows, we may have seen a few councillors of the future…?

Bin collection day change will help alleviate anti social behaviour on St Helens Road

I have this week welcomed moves by West Lancashire Borough Council to change the refuse collection day on St Helens Road, Ormskirk.

You may remember I blogged last year about being contacted by residents who were fed up with leaving their bins out on Thursday evening ready for collection the following morning only to find they were being tipped over by revellers who had been on a night out in Ormskirk.

Following this, I took up the matter with the council and, following specific requests from residents, enquired as to whether the collection day could be changed to accommodate local concerns.

It has now been announced that, following my representations, and as part of a wider review into waste collection services across West Lancashire, collection day for the vast majority of residents on St Helens Road will be on a Wednesday rather than a Friday, starting week commencing June 20th.

It was felt that as collection day is currently on a Friday, and Thursday evening being a popular ‘going out’ night in Ormskirk, the proximity to each other means that bins which are put out on a Thursday evening were more at risk of being tampered with.

I’ve been told of stories were residents have woken up in the dead of night following disturbances outside and finding their bins tipped over with rubbish strewn all over the place.

I’m pleased that, following my representations and the wider review into bin collections across the Borough, the council has taken onboard the concerns of St Helens Road residents and the collection day has been changed to a Wednesday.

There will be some properties which will have a Thursday collection, but I am advised these are mostly the properties in the part of St Helens Road in between the junction with Ruff Lane and Wigan Road. The remainder appear to be scheduled for Wednesday collections.

However, you can check your new collection day by visiting http://www.westlancs.gov.uk/refuse__recycling-1.aspx

West Lancashire Borough Council is also staging a roadshow on Thursday, June 9th, at Ormskirk Market from 10am-2pm where you will be able to find out more information about the changes. In addition, the Council says it will be sending a collection date leaflet to every house during the weeks beginning June 6th and 13th.

Anti social behaviour on St Helens Road, Ormskirk

I have been approached regarding incidents involving residents’ bins being tipped over on St Helens Road.

I am advised the problem tends to occur late on Thursday night/early hours of Friday morning when people are heading home after a night out in Ormskirk Town Centre.

I understand from the Borough Council that bins only have to be presented for collection from 7am on Friday, thus giving residents the option to not having to leave it out overnight.

However, it is recognised that due to holidays and work commitments, for some residents the only option would be to present their bin for collection the night before.

To that end, I am working with my Derby Ward colleague, Cllr Paul Greenall, and the local police team on this issue. I have requested the police undertake patrols at key times to ensure that residents’ bins are not tampered with and, if they are, then they are on hand to take the appropriate action.

Hopefully the situation will improve as a result of the action taken.