Showing our support for the Duke of Lancaster Regiment

I NOTICED today that at the council offices, the flag of the Duke of Lancaster Regiment was flying on one of the poles at the Derby Street entrance.

After giving them the Freedom of the Borough at the weekend, I thought it was a particularly nice extra touch…

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…?

Landlord accreditation scheme mooted

A new scheme to accredit local landlords could be launched by Conservative controlled West Lancashire Borough Council.

The idea was first raised at a meeting of the Borough Council/Edge Hill Forum and has been developed by the Council since then and will be considered by council cabinet next week.

The proposal, which would see the council work with the Residential Landlords Association, has been welcomed by myself and my fellow Derby Ward Conservative councillors.

Cllr Adrian Owens said: “Edge Hill Student Union is supportive of the principle of piloting a landlord accreditation scheme and I and my housing portfolio colleague will be meeting with Edge Hill management next week to see if they too will be involved.

“It’s important to recognise the scheme is a voluntary one – landlords are not compelled to participate. It will not be a magic wand, but if we can get good cooperation between the partners then we can start to deal with some of the issues faced by both tenants of the properties and their neighbours.”

Cllr Paul Greenall added: “Derby ward has areas of significant private renting, especially to students and so it’s worth trialling an accreditation scheme that may improve standards.”

The Residential Landlord Association accreditation scheme is mentioned here http://www.rla.org.uk/lanetwork/?zoom_highlight=accreditation+scheme

A report will come before WLBC cabinet on Tuesday 13th September seeking approval to progress with the scheme.

Cllr Owens and Cllr Hopley have a meeting scheduled at Edge Hill on Friday 16th September to discuss Edge Hill’s involvement in the Scheme.

Review of local polling stations in West Lancashire

Are you happy with where your local polling station is? If not, this could be your chance to change it.

The council is required to review its polling districts and polling places on a regular four-yearly cycle, and as such is using this as an opportunity to carry out a review of the location of polling stations.

Voters and other interested persons are invited to give feedback on any aspect of polling districts, polling places and polling stations currently used and suggest alternatives. Local political parties, local community groups and councillors will also be consulted.

The council is carrying out this review of districts and polling places to ensure they are suitable and accessible for as many voters as possible within West Lancs. Electors are encouraged to share their views and the council would welcome any person or body with expertise in access for people with disabilities to comment too.

Information regarding the current polling districts and polling places can be obtained from the elections page here, alternatively contact the admin and electoral services office. Representations should be sent in writing to the Director of People and Places, 52 Derby Street, Ormskirk, L39 2DF by 31 August 2011 or by emailing jane.smith@westlancs.gov.uk

Overgrown vegetation on Greetby Hill removed

My thanks to the Borough Council’s street scene team for their quick response to my request for the removal of this overgrown vegetation on Greetby Hill.

As a keen gardener, I know full well how weeds and vegetation can grow very rapidly at this time of year, even more so when we have rain interspersed with warm and sunny weather, so it can be a bit of an ongoing battle with nature to keep this in check.

Nevertheless, I’m grateful for Street Scene for their prompt response to my request and, as a result, the footpath on this part of Greetby Hill is now unobstructed.

Hettinga House developers must be good neighbours

ON Thursday evening, both myself and local residents attended and addressed the Borough Council’s Planning Committee regarding the application to demolish Hettinga House on Dark Lane.

The plan, submitted by Stocks Hall Care Homes Ltd, was for a new 48 bed medical trauma rehabilitation centre, demolition of the existing buildings, a new car parking area and alterations to the existing road junction at Greetby Hill. It would replace the former St Joseph’s Hospice, with closed more than three years ago.

After the debate, the Committee approved the plans, but not before listening to concerns from myself and the site’s neighbours about parking and traffic.

The nub of my argument was that I am concerned that 25 parking spaces, which is what the scheme will have, will not be enough for a facility which will have 48 beds and 130 staff, not to mention visitors to the new premises and the visitors to the ‘Life for A Life’ memorial garden in the grounds of the former hospice.

As I said on the night, I am, in principle, supportive of the service the applicant seeks to provide, but there are genuine concerns that parking will spill over into nearby residential areas such as Greetby Hill, Dark Lane, Delph Top, Charlesbye Avenue and Charlesbye Close.

Based on the highways authority’s own predictions, we could be looking at well over 400 extra vehicle movements per week. Can a 25 space car park really cope with that?

I welcome the company’s indication they would lay on a minibus service for staff so as to avoid multiple car journeys, but doubt they could make use of it compulsory, so there would still be some staff who would use their cars.

I told Committee members that Jospice worked because it was a small scale concern in comparison with what will now be built there as it will be triple the size in terms of beds.

After the Committee made their decision, I wrote to the applicant, Stocks Care Homes Ltd, calling for a meeting, and will be as I want to impress on them that the new site operators and management need to be good neighbours.

I haven’t met anybody who isn’t supportive of the idea of a medical establishment on the former Jospice site. But there are genuine fears among residents over increased noise, traffic and pollution to the area, and for that reason the new site operators have a duty to work with the local community to ensure that any problems are dealt with quickly.

Action over access issues on Tower Hill

You may remember that back in November I blogged about an access issue involving a tree on Tower Hill.

The tree’s routes had caused some damage to the pavement and, coupled with the fact the footpath is not very wide, it was forcing some pedestrians into the road, especially those in wheelchairs or parents with pushchairs.

My colleague County Councillor David Westley and I raised the issue with Lancs County Council and they have now agreed to have the tree removed and level off the footpath, so as to ensure people can get past with hindrance.

The County Council have also said they will plant a new tree at an appropriate location nearby so as to ensure there isn’t a net loss of trees in the area.

In case you were wondering what happened with the leaves on Tower Hill I blogged about in the same post, they got swept up the following week.

My thanks to County Cllr Westley and LCC for their help in this matter.

Lancs Police say ‘no’ again to extra powers for PCSOs

My fellow Derby Ward Conservative Councillors and I have this week responded to Lancashire Police’s latest refusal to grant extra powers for our local PCSOs.

Following a recent decision of Full Council, West Lancashire Borough Council’s Chief Executive wrote to Chief Constable Steve Finnigan, calling on him to give his frontline PCSOs extra powers.

Remember, currently 95% of discretionary powers in Lancashire are not used, whilst in neighbouring Wigan, PCSOs use more than 65% of the discretionary powers available to them.

Cllr Paul Greenall, who took the matter to Full Council in April, said: “The Chief Constable’s reply is extremely disappointing. He claims that by giving PCSOs more powers, it would cost more in wages, training and equipment. But other forces, like Greater Manchester and Kent, have done this, so why can’t Lancashire?

“The financial mess that Labour left our country in means everyone in the public and private sectors are expected to do more for less. In not giving PCSOs extra powers, Lancashire Police are limiting their impact in tackling crime at the very time when budgets are being squeezed and every penny counts. And they are not doing something that PCSOs, Unions and the public want.”

Cllr Adrian Owens said: “The Chief Constable’s refusal to grant extra powers mean that West Lancashire residents are once again suffering from a postcode lottery. How can it be fair that in some cases, like in Up Holland, residents are getting a two tier policing service depending on what side of the road they live on?

“Giving PCSOs more powers would have freed up frontline Police Officers to deal with other serious crimes. Instead, they are having to deal with relatively minor offences which could be dealt with by PCSOs if only they had the powers. It is waste of valuable resources.”

For my own part, I have spoken to many PCSOs who have indicated they would warmly welcome extra powers. They want to help keep our communities as safe as possible, but if they are not given the powers to do so, it’s almost like they’re being asked to do their job with one hand tied behind their backs.

It is a shame though West Lancs Labour Group voted against our calls for extra PCSO powers. In doing so, they have shown themselves to be soft on crime and defenders of a two tier policing system which is plainly to the detriment of West Lancashire taxpayers.

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.

First impressions of life on the Borough Council

It’s now two weeks since I was given the honour by Derby Ward residents of representing them in the council chamber, so I thought I’d give you a little update as to what I’ve been doing since then.

Having never been a councillor before, the first thing you notice is the sheer amount of reading you receive from the Borough Council, from council papers, procedures, protocol etc… it was quite daunting seeing massive packages being delivered, all of which are filled with important information which had to be read and, most importantly, understood. That last bit is crucial because, believe me, when it comes to council reports some of them have to be read 2 or 3 times before you can actually grasp what they mean, as they are written in councilspeak, complete with bits of jargon and acronyms. I must admit I have something of a head start on this as I used to have to read council reports for a living, but even so, some of it still baffled me at first.

Because of this, I’ve spent a lot of time talking to officers, the council’s civil servants, who are there to assist councillors and implement agreed policies. They have all, without exception, beeen very welcoming, friendly and professional, taking time explain certain things and also briefing you on individual plans or policies.

Wednesday night saw my first Borough Council meeting which was the annual meeting of council where councillors vote in a new Mayor and Deputy Mayor as well as agree the appointments to committees, spokesman roles etc. It was particularly pleasing to see my Ormskirk colleagues Cllr Rob Bailey (Knowsley Ward) and my fellow Derby Ward colleague Cllr Paul Greenall elected to the posts of Mayor and Deputy Mayor respectively. Both of them brought their young children to the meeting and many people commented to me how nice it was to see them there.

One thing the local elections has done is seen a number of younger councillors elected. After the meeting, I was speaking to some of the newly elected councillors in both the Conservative and Labour Groups, and it was agreed that having younger members is a good thing as it helps balance the chamber and make it more representative. The council now has a few councillors who are now in their 30s and I think that, at 31, I’m possibly the youngest councillor this year.

But apart from the official council engagements, I’ve also continued having a steady stream of Derby Ward residents contacting me on a variety issues and this has seen me getting action on their behalf. This is the part I particularly enjoy and, in the past, I have received many cards, letters and emails of thanks for little bits and bobs I have managed to get sorted for residents.

So two weeks in, I know I have a lot to learn but I am determined to enjoy the next four years and do my very best to make Derby Ward, and West Lancashire as a whole, a great place to live and work.

As ever, if I can be of assistance, do not hesitate to get in touch. My contact details can be found here.