Highways & Byways
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Highways & Byways May 2016 The News and Views from Mickle Trafford and District Spring Blossom www.mickletrafford.org.uk Page 2 Highways and Byways Spring has finally arrived with its usual sunshine and showers but the gardeners will hope the last of the very cold weather has left us. The May blossom is here and Lilac is showing its elegant purple and white spikes. April brought some notable celebrations with the Queen's 90th birthday and the 400th anniversary of Shakespeare's death. These events continue over the coming weeks and Prescot on Merseyside is particularly celebrating its connection with William Shakespeare. Shakespeare .... Prescot ??? Not the usual combination. Read more on page 15. Are you celebrating something special in 2016? We'd love to feature it in the Highways and Byways. Contact details below. The next newsletter will come out at the end of July. If you have any contribution for the Newsletter please send your items to Jenny by email to [email protected]. If you want to chat about news items or advertising contact Jenny and Roger on 01244 301860. The Tale of the Reclaimed Fireplace Mantel Shelf. This week saw the installation of bench seating in the three bus stops at the Cross, Plemstall, and Bridge Trafford. The Parish Council having had quotes of £300 and above for each shelter took up the offer from a local Councillor to make and install them. Two of the bench type seats were made from reclaimed mahogany hardwood which served as a fireplace top mantel shelf in his home many years ago. Reclaiming is good! The cost of the three installations was just over £100. The views expressed in Highways and Byways are not necessarily the views of the Parish Council. The inclusion of any products and services within the newsletter does not imply endorsement by the editorial team. Page 3 WHAT’S ON — at a glance Thursdays June Trafford Mill/Kitchen garden volunteer day 10 to 3pm Alternate Saturdays June Trafford Mill/Kitchen garden volunteer day 10 to 3pm Sunday 5th June Open Farm Sunday Grange Farm and Trafford Mill Monday 6th June Parish Council Planning Committee 7pm VH Wednesday 8th June Flying Scotsman passes through Chester Thursday 9th June St Peter’s Church open 10am-3pm Friday 10th June EURO 2016 matches begin Monday 13th June Parish Council Meeting 6.30pm Village Hall Saturday 18th June MGB Band at the Village Hall Sunday 19th June Crossroads Cafe 10am Methodist Church Thursdays July Trafford Mill/Kitchen garden volunteer day 10 to 3pm Alternate Saturdays July Trafford Mill/Kitchen garden volunteer day 10 to 3pm Monday 11th July Parish Council Meeting 6.30pm Village Hall Thursday 14th July St Peter’s Church open 10am-3pm Saturday 16th July Strawberry Tea in aid of Alzheimer’s Society Sunday 17th July Crossroads Cafe 10am Methodist Church If you want to make sure your special event is highlighted in this section contact Jenny 01244 301860 Page 4 MICKLE TRAFFORD & DISTRICT PARISH COUNCIL NEWS Based on the Parish Council Meetings held on 11th April and 9th May The Chairman asked for all present to observe a two minute silence to mark the passing of Cllr Brian Ancliff. Open Forum (April Meeting) Steve Yandell / Ceris Timms – Trafford Mill It is hoped that very soon there will be a major announcement about actions that have been taken by the Trustees in relation to Trafford Mill. The Mill is a facility that can be visited when there is staff on site e.g. on a Thursday. The Mill will be open on the 5th June as part of Open Farm Sunday. Mr Martin Preston / Mr Steve Allman Active members of Frack Free Mickle Trafford Frack Free Mickle Trafford (FFMT) intend to carry out a Parish wide survey relating to local issues regarding Fracking and Unconventional Gas Extraction (UGE) in the near future. The Chairman of the Parish Council advised that the results would be of interest to the Parish Council but the Council would not partake in the preparation of the questionnaire. He was not willing to ask prepared questions at a forthcoming Ineos presentation. Cllr Nicholas re-iterated the comments made by the Chairman that the Parish Council wish to remain totally neutral on this matter in order that when presented with any Planning Application on this matter they can all state that they have not pre-determined anything on this matter. Mr Roger Brace Mr Brace asked about Parish Council publicity and the website in particular. Cllr Taylor advised that the website domain name had now been purchased and he was in the process of sourcing a host so that the website could become operational again following discussion with a local website developer. The website will be updated as soon as possible. All basic information such as meeting minutes and dates will then be bought up to date. Initially the webmaster (Cllr Taylor) will have responsibility for the site but in the longer term the publicity for the parish Council may become the responsibility of a particular councillor. Open Forum (May Meeting) A Bridge Trafford Resident The meeting was made aware that there was a problem with Japanese Knotweed at a property in the village. Action has been sought through the Clerk to the Parish Council and the Ward Councillor. As the infested area is private land, CWaC have advised that they are unable to take action. Attempts are being made to contact the landowner. Page 5 POLICE UPDATE (April Meeting) PC Boulton described recent incidents: Attempted entry at a property in Littleton. Break in at a rural dwelling on Wicker lane A locker was broken into and a wallet stolen from the Spa area of the Double Tree hotel Bogus window cleaners? Residents are advised to check previous clients of these types of trades to confirm their validity and ensure their work is of a quality A Police Surgery was held outside the Post Offices of Guilden Sutton and Mickle Trafford. on Tuesday 19th April at Guilden Sutton 1200hrs & M Trafford 1300hrs. A Member of the Public advised PC Boulton of excessive mobile phone usage whilst driving on the A56 The Chairman then closed the Open Forum and the Council Meeting began. This summary In Highways and Byways is largely based on the May Meeting minutes but incorporates some items discussed in April and not updated in May. Election of Chairman (Parish Council) and of Vice-Chairman (Parish Council) Glen Nicholas was the only nominee for Chairman and was duly elected. Phil Blackman, Margaret Parker, and Roger Parkin were proposed and jointly elected as Vice Chairmen. See Photos on Page 22. Council Business. The meeting continued with the agenda items which required Councillors to approve or note the minutes of the various meetings that comprised Council business in the last two months. Items involved are simply listed here as in most instances their approval did not stimulate or warrant further discussion: Parish Council Minutes. Planning Committee Gowy Liaison Annual Parish Meeting Income & Expenditure Accounts It is noted in the Gowy Liaison Minutes that the current landfill licence expires in November 2016 and that a new Planning application is being prepared. Councillors Special Duties List 2016/17 This matter was deferred to the next meeting when Councillors will be assigned to the various tasks carried out by the Council. Community Opportunity - a presentation Cllr Sharpe Cllr Sharpe described an informal discussion which she, together with Cllrs Parkin and Blackman, had held with a Hoole Lawn Tennis Club representative about the opportunity to develop parts of the site on School Lane that are surplus to HLTC Page 6 requirements and potentially available for purchase or to share. Such “Green Spaces” could provide valuable facilities for the community. The presentation prompted a lively debate and deliberations suggested the Queen’s Jubilee Field as another site that might be developed. A motion was approved that a group be formed to open discussions with HLTC and also consider other areas that may be available and the scope or type of development envisaged. Members comprising that group would be decided at the June Parish meeting. Pavements in the Parish It was agreed that councillors would report areas of concern to the Clerk who would alert CWAC to the problem. Formation of Finance Committee The case was made to reinstate a Finance committee to meet on a monthly basis at 6.30pm on the first Monday of each month. Composition of this committee wil be resolved at the June Parish Council meeting. Village Hall Trustee report Cllr Nicholas reported that the new front door had now been installed. Cllr Spence stated that there were still noise issues for local residents but this had improved. Cllr Nicholas advised that all users were made aware of the problem. Highways Issues The Clerk continues to progress a list of complaints around our roads and pavements. Some of these issues can be reported directly to CWAC through their website but, in the case of no response, the Clerk will assist. Matters raised at the discretion of the Chairman An E-mail from a resident asked what the Parish Council could do about the amount of dog poo that was present at the Gowy Woodland Park. The meeting noted that it was FCC Environmental who were responsible for the maintenance of this site but ultimately it was up to individual dog owners to collect the poo and place it in the receptacles provided. This matter is regularly discussed at meetings of the Gowy Liaison committee. The same resident asked that the Parish Council look into the replacement of some of the equipment in the Queens Diamond Jubilee Park.