Newsletter : 4 June 2015

Parish Champion Newsletter June 2015

Dear Parish Councillors Firstly, thankyou to all those who attended the LCC Parish Conference and helped to make it a success, in particular to those who bravely stepped forward to run workshops – sharing their examples of good practice with others and opening up debates from County Councillor Cynthia Dereli which everyone I think was able to learn in some way.

Continuing this theme of sharing information I am pleased to be able to include in this newsletter reports from parishes who received a grant this year about their projects. Perhaps these might inspire some of you, in which case I will look forward to receiving your applications for funding! Also, if you are looking for ways forward to address community needs please don't forget the many issues in previous newsletters around health and well-being. There is more on this within this newsletter.

At County Council changes are happening as service delivery is reshaped to accommodate the huge budget cuts imposed by central government. This process will inevitably impact on the ways of communicating with parishes and I hope to share more information on this with you as it becomes available. Meanwhile I hope to be able to visit area meetings in the next few months to hear about the issues that are of concern in your area.

County Councillor Cynthia Dereli [email protected] or tel: 01704 895247

LCC Parish Champion Grants The following parishes have received a parish champion grant since my last newsletter:

Barton PC – pedestrian refuge crossing £500 Bowland Forest PC – Shelter for the Village £500 Green

Caton with Littledale PC – Bouncy Fun Activity Day £300 Catterall PC & Pilling PC – New Parish £600 websites

Chatburn PC – notice boards £500 TC – notice board £400

Garstang TC – website for parish £300 Hambleton PC – new wooden bench £580

Heaton with Oxcliffe PC – Health & Wellbeing £600 Much Hoole PC – Spring Fair £300 Programme

Nateby PC – website for parish £140 Newburgh PC – wooden noticeboard £500

Over Kellet PC – Improvements to pathway £500 TC – improvements to toilets £500

Champion for Parishes

Simonstone PC – Laptop and Software £275 Stalmine with Staynall PC – feature bench £300

Whalley PC – Green Gym £500 Whitworth TC – new bench £250

Wrightington PC – Defibrillator for the village £450 Yealand Redmayne PC – new notice board £325

Further details and application forms can be obtained from Janet Nuttall on telephone number 01772 533110 or e-mail [email protected]

CHAMPION FOR PARISHES – FUNDS APPROVED SINCE NOVEMBER 2014

Barton PC: Pedestrian Refuge Crossing friends and relatives of all ages for the activities, promoting community cohesion and The grant is a contribution towards the aimed to reduce social isolation by welcoming installation of a pedestrian refuge crossing on every age for an intergenerational mix and the A6 Road near the junction with especially welcome disabled participants, the Station Lane in Barton, Preston. The wheelchair bound and their carers as pedestrian crossing will benefit the children spectators or participants. crossing to and from the bus stops to the local

St. Mary & St. Andrew's Catholic Primary School and pensioners crossing to the shops New websites and bus stops who are particularly vulnerable for: to the speeding traffic on this busy road. Catterall PC Bowland Forest PC: Shelter for the Village Pilling PC Green The villages of Dunsop Bridge and Whitwell Garstang PC joined together to celebrate the Queen's diamond Jubilee in 2012. After all fundraising and events were held there was some money left over which was split between the villages. It was decided at Dunsop Bridge that a stone Catterall and Pilling PC's requested funding shelter would be a lasting reminder of the towards the cost of new websites to replace Diamond Jubilee celebrations. The shelter existing ones which were created over 10 will improve the facilities on the green and in years ago and were now out of date, often the village of Dunsop Bridge and provide a unreliable and information of use and value to shelter which is easily accessible to all in local residents cannot always be published keeping with the existing buildings. when it is relevant.

Caton with Littledale PC: Bouncy Fun The new sites interactive access to minutes, Activity Day agendas and other documents/information supplied by both the parish council and other The funds requested were to support a fun partners will keep the residents informed. bouncy activities day, at which everyone in the community is welcome. A variety of Garstang TC has been looking to develop its inflatable equipment offered different fun own website so that it may continue to provide challenges at a range of levels, planned to an effective and relevant service to its encourage people of all ages and most residents and the community abilities to enjoy themselves together Other funding came from Caton with Littledale The local community should be able to hold Play Park Action Group. It was very important the Council to account about the services they that no-one should feel unable to come provide. To do this, people need information because of cost, and so there was a request about what decisions the Town Council are for a voluntary donation instead of a charge. taking, and how they are spending public The event was able to bring together families money. This information and much more will from the two village primary schools and be available on the new website. 2 Champion for Parishes

residents have access to as much local New notice information as possible, which will improve boards for: their quality of life. Chatburn PC Earby TC Yealand Redmayne PC had been working on a regenerated playground area in the Newburgh PC Meadows at Yealand Redmayne. They Yealand wished to have a new notice board on the Redmayne PC site, which not only gives necessary contact details about reporting accidents, unsafe play Chatburn PC needed to equipment etc, but also enhances the replace two of their four notice boards in the enjoyment of the area by providing village. They proposed to replace two of the information about local species of wild boards with recycled plastic ones which would flowers, wildlife and butterflies. It is hoped require no maintenance. The new notice that this will be co-ordinated with the AONB. boards will enable the Parish Council to keep residents informed of events and local Local walks in the area could be described, information. Chatburn is a tourist centre for possibly with a route map, this would be the and the boards are useful to informative and enjoyable to read, so reaches people visiting the area. out to all age groups, ethnic minorities and educational differences, by showing pictures, Earby TC wished to replace their outdoor drawings and information. Some of the public notice board that had reached the end information on the route map will be in Braille of its useful life. They wish to purchase a and the local Primary School children may be double notice board made from recycled invited to take part in designing the map, plastic which looks like wood and is vandal which will give them a sense of involvement proof. The benefits of replacing the notice whilst learning about the area that they live in. board will enable the Parish Council to keep residents informed of events and local Heaton with Oxcliffe PC: Health & information Wellbeing Programme The Heaton-with-Oxcliffe Parish Council were The new notice board will be a feature of their planning to initiate a “Health and Wellbeing” new seating area on the Bus Station and will programme, primarily for the benefit of elderly, be more or less the final stage of a 2 year disabled, isolated and vulnerable residents in project in making their Bus Station a line with its rolling Parish Plan 2014-2017. welcoming place. This has been a truly joint However, elements of the programme will be project between a number of agencies who of potential benefit to all residents. The have worked with Earby Town Council programme will include the following activities including Pendle Borough Council, Town in the calendar year 2015: Centre Regeneration and Earby Clarets a) Survey the households in the parish to

identify elderly, disabled and isolated Newburgh PC were wanting to replace the residents and those not able to access wooden noticeboard in the village with a larger man made timber noticeboard. The easily shops, services and social contact; wooden noticeboard is approximately 40 identification of their “wellbeing needs” years old and is in a bad state of repair. and beginning of programme to address them The man made timber noticeboard will last b) Initiate a Dementia Aware campaign, longer and will require minimal ongoing including events in one or two venues maintenance. The noticeboard is an essential using training and materials available from community facility for local residents who rely the Altzheimer’s Society Dementia Aware on it to find out what is going on in the area. initiative; A large proportion of their residents are c) Distribute an additional issue of our Parish elderly and do not have access to the internet. Newsletter in 2015 which will be on the The larger noticeboard, which will hold 50% theme of Health and Wellbeing and based more information, and help to ensure that around the NEF’s Five Ways to Wellbeing. 3 Champion for Parishes

d) Compile a Health and Wellbeing undergone improvements throughout the last handbook for parishioners which will be twelve years but the toilets are still the original available on the Parish Website and in public house toilets and are in major need of hard copy for those who apply for it. improvement. The funding will be used to e) Publicise, support and develop “learning refurbish the toilets, making the centre more for wellbeing” opportunities within or attractive to event organisers.

adjacent to the Parish - possibly digital Simonstone PC: Laptop and Software inclusion with the assistance of the L.C.C. Simonstone Parish Council wished to replace Go ON initiative and reminiscence/family an aged computer which was used for all their & local history. administrative work. The one used at present had become problematic in its operation. The The programme will be designed to be replacement laptop and software now assists sustainable in the sense that the Parish will in keeping the service to the Parish gain knowledge about the needs of vulnerable maintained. and other residents in the Parish and will identify the more successful ways of meeting New benches those needs beyond calendar year 2015. The for: parish council have a step-by-step plan for the coming year and hope that a report on their Hambleton PC project will be available to County and other Stalmine-with- parishes in early 2016. Staymall PC

Much Hoole PC: Spring Fair Whitworth TC Much Hoole Parish Council requested funding towards their Spring Fair for residents. The parish council wanted to attract as many Hambleton PC bought a wooden bench over residents as possible to make this a 20 years ago on the retirement of a past clerk community event. After the Christmas market who had himself served over 25 years. This residents had expressed the wish for an event bench has been repaired and restored a in the summer. They were needing funding in number of times over the last 20 years and particular towards the cost of hiring a climbing has unfortunately been recently quite badly wall. There were other items available which vandalised. the parish council will contribute towards with a similar sum, and insurance will be covered The Parish Council wanted to purchase a by the parish council. bench that is made out of recycled environmentally friendly materials that need PC: Improvements to Pathway minimum maintenance. The recycled product There is a pathway in Over Kellet which is is vandal and weather resistant and will well used as it connects a large housing ensure that the bench should not need development to a previous council housing replacing for a considerable number of years. estate and Over Kellet Primary School. The The other benefit is that the bench will be improvements to the pathway will make the located at the top of a steep path leading to access easier, more user-friendly for parents the village hall, conveniently located so that with buggies or for physically challenged people who are walking to the venue can rest persons and will lead to less maintenance before walking the remainder of the distance costs for the future. to enter the village hall.

Penwortham TC: Improvements to Toilets Stalmine with Staynall PC like to celebrate Penwortham Community Centre has grown the agricultural and seagoing heritage of their from being a "no go" public house which was village and have installed a number of planted closed down into a well used integral part of features using farm carts, old ploughs, boats the community. The centre is used by youth etc. Someone driving through the village clubs, lunch clubs, mother and toddler groups, noticed this and offered them two Standard keep fit classes, IT classes, Art classes and a Fordson (tractor) spade lug wheels which variety of other classes and courses could be used to form a bench with old tractor throughout the year. The centre has slowly seats. 4 Champion for Parishes

A parish survey revealed that some of their and ages have the opportunity to regain, older residents identified that there were very maintain and improve their physical well- few places to sit and get their breath when being they go out for a walk and they would walk more if there were benches placed around the Wrightington PC: Defibrillator for the parish (the village is a linear one and there village are limited opportunities for a circular walk). The Parish Council would like to purchase 2 Someone who is an agricultural engineer did Physio-Control Lifepack CR Plus fully all the work to make the bench free of charge automatic defibrillators to be installed in 2 but the council wanted a contribution to help separate village halls. Both halls are the buy the old tractor seats and make the responsibility of Wrightington PC who will also feature. The benefit of the feature seat will be contributing towards the cost of purchase enable their residents to go out for walks of the 2 defibrillators. around the village and know there is a seat located in a pleasant planted environment Both village halls are well used with a variety where they can have a rest. of activities including yoga classes, children's parties, jujitsu and karate classes, parish Whitworth TC bench on the main road council meetings, coffee meetings etc. (A671) through Whitworth was desperately Therefore, the equipment will benefit all users, needing replacing. It has been in situ for young or old. around 25 years and was well used, but was very much past its use by date. The Parish Update on previous grant to Hilldale PC Council wanted to replace the bench with one made of recycled materials, which has a number of benefits. There is little Dog owners maintenance required for it, it is almost were urged to completely tamper- and vandal-proof; it is act responsibly very hardy weather-wise and should be in situ and clean up for many years to come; it is environmentally after their pets friendly as it uses recycled materials. The during a village bench is much appreciated by the community, Poop Patrol especially our elderly residents who use it on Week. the way to the shops and to church. The campaign Whalley PC: Green Gym aimed to Whalley Parish Council wished to provide a highlight the "Green Gym", financed in co-operation with problems caused the trustees of Whalley Sports Community by dog fouling in Park. The Green Gym is a program that aims Hilldale as well to provide the community with a way to as promoting enhance fitness and health while taking action positive to improve the outdoor environment. behaviour and sharing The project is to devise a program of important environmental activity and run regular Green information for Gym Sessions according to Conservation dog owners. Quality Standards (including Health and Safety) it is intended to recruit participants into the scheme via local health services and Local school through wider promotional activity. children entered a competition to It is intended to provide a range of practical create poster projects that give the opportunity to tackle designs for Poop physical jobs in the outdoors – Patrol Week. digging/planting/lopping and path clearing. By establishing the Gym people of all abilities 5 Champion for Parishes

LANCASHIRE COUNTY COUNCIL – PARISH CONFERENCE MARCH 2015

The Parish Conference held in March at Town Hall was very well attended. The key speaker was CC John Fillis who gave a presentation on Community Transport, which was followed by three discussion groups, led by Parish Councils, sharing good practice. All feedback received has been very positive and networking has continued between parishes, particularly around the discussion group 'running community buildings'. A small cluster of parishes have also met since the conference to explore opportunities of community transport in their area. PUBLIC RIGHTS OF WAY – LOCAL DELIVERY SCHEME

Lancashire County Council – Public Rights of Way run a Local Delivery Scheme that provides Parish/Town councils or community groups the opportunity to undertake low priority maintenance on the Public Rights of Way Network. Subject to meeting the criteria a payment (pro rata) will be made of £200. As issues are reported to you, you will be asked to inspect the site and then notify us whether you want to undertake the work such as point strimming of signposts/stiles/gates. The types of maintenance on offer are removing obstructions, strimming, replacing/repairing stiles/gates and signposts and once you confirm you wish to undertake you are paid (upfront) for the work and we also supply materials. You can use volunteer groups to undertake the work or a contractor and you are given a reasonable amount of time to respond and progress the work. If you wish to discuss in more detail please contact [email protected]

SPEED INDICATOR DEVICES

Speed Indicator Devices, more commonly known as smiley face speed signs are used to positively reinforce the speed limit at areas of local concern. They have proven to be highly popular amongst residents because of their positive impact on the speed of vehicles. A study into the performance of SpIDS deployed around Lancashire has shown that they have a marked speed reduction impact during deployment and that the speed of vehicles at a site are on average lower even after the SpID has been taken down. The SpIDs are designed to stay at a site for about a week before being moved to further locations of concern to prevent drivers becoming over familiar with the signs. Currently, Lancashire County Council deploys SpIDs county-wide using a prioritisation system based on road-casualty records. Due to the high volume of requests received, this means that all areas of concern do not receive SpIDs regularly. By owning and operating SpIDs of their own, Parish Councils would be able to give a more regular and targeted response to resident concerns about the speed of vehicles. This can be achieved either by buying one using existing Parish Council funds, or alternatively through grants available from the Lancashire Partnership for Road Safety.

If you would like to find out more on how to get a SpID to enable a more locally focussed approach to speed management in your area, please contact us at [email protected]

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HIGHWAY SERVICES

As part of the county council's transformation plan there are significant changes to the services we deliver and the ways in which we deliver them. The new-look organisation is designed to work in a more integrated way and with leaner management whilst providing the very best service it can to help create and support the prosperity, health and wellbeing of people across Lancashire. Providing a first class highway network is critical to improving and sustaining the lives of people that live, work and invest in Lancashire. Contacting Us Over the past few years, many of you have built up working relationships with public realm managers and other officers. An on-going priority for highway services is that we effectively communicate the works that we will be doing; that we repair actionable defects in a timely manner; and that we respond to and manage appropriately the concerns and aspirations of the citizens you represent. As from 1st April 2015 we request that you direct all your contacts with us via the following dedicated communication channels. This will ensure that we robustly record, action, monitor and manage all your highway related reports and requests and in doing so will provide you and the people of Lancashire with the very best service. For most reports and enquiries a team based approach will be used rather than through a designated manager Using the contact methods below you will receive an effective and timely service, delivered by the most appropriate officer

All highways enquiries and requests by:

 Tel: 0300 123 6780

 Email: [email protected]

 Online: www.lancashire.gov.uk/roads (to report highway defects online)

USEFUL INFORMATION FOR RESIDENTS IN YOUR AREA

LANCASHIRE ADULT LEARNING Learn a new skill, have fun and be inspired You can now enrol on a Lancashire adult learning course for the autumn term. Courses are aimed at all abilities and interests and cover subject areas such as health and wellbeing, arts and crafts, computer skills, general interest, learning a foreign language or British sign language. If you want to get an english or maths qualification - maybe you didn't have the opportunity to do this at school or you're looking to improve your job prospects - our new programme of 'skills for life and work' courses will help you with your basic english, maths and computer skills. All courses take place at the heart of local communities, including community centres, church halls, schools, children's centres and libraries. You can download the new brochure here, visit www.lancashire.gov.uk/adultlearning or call 0300 123 6711 for more information.

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LANCASHIRE COUNTY COUNCIL'S WELFARE RIGHTS SERVICE Lancashire County Council's Welfare Rights Service was set up in 1987 to advise and help Lancashire citizens with their benefits entitlement. The Service offers free and confidential advice and help from local bases around the County. For more information about LCC's Welfare Rights Service please use the following link http://www.lancashire.gov.uk/benefits-and-grants/benefits-advice/contact-us.aspx To obtain a copy of their recent newsletter please fill in the electronic contact form on their hompage to request a copy

LANCASHIRE COUNTY COUNCIL'S VOLUNTEERING The Volunteer Hub represents all services offering volunteer activities within Lancashire County Council and we are now recruiting volunteers on behalf of . Some of our volunteer roles include:  Befriending Older adults or those with Physical/ Learning Disabilities;  Gardening/ Arts/ Crafts/ Activity Assistants within Day or Domiciliary services;  Countryside Rangers/ Information Assistants  Young People's Centre volunteers

To view and apply to any of these and many more volunteer roles, visit www.lancashire.gov.uk/volunteer and click on 'Apply for a Volunteer Opportunity'. Lancashire Constabulary are currently looking for volunteers to join our policing family. You can get involved in various aspects of the service from assisting our staff in police stations to supporting Neighbourhood Policing Teams within the community. To view all our available opportunities and details on how to apply please visit: www.lancashire.police.uk/join- us/volunteers

SUSTAINABLE FOOD MATTERS

Lancashire's School Food Plan Work continues on this and information can be found on The Healthy Schools website in the school lunch section at www.lhsp.org.uk. Lancashire County Council Food Poverty Grant Scheme In February 2015, a 'Feeding Lancashire Event' was held with over 70 participants attending from a wide range of organisations and groups to tackle food poverty across Lancashire. The aims of the event were to:  Provide a platform for all key stakeholders to work together  Identify the key issues, challenges and concerns driving the food poverty agenda and associated factors  Identify action to work towards alleviating food poverty in Lancashire  Agree the proposed outcomes into a partnership approach to tackle food poverty

A large number of comments and suggestions were collated during the day and key themes and actions were identified for addressing within our partnership structures which include: LCC and district planning, Sustainable Food Lancashire and Feeding Lancashire Together.

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The key themes identified on the day include:  Using untapped assets within communities: delegates raised a number of concerns about using untapped assets within community settings, such as using school kitchens outside of school times for cooking skills training and food banks to work with 'growing' community based organisations and allotment associations to utilise surplus produce and buddying people in growing skills.  Access to affordable quality foods: suggestions were put forward on ensuring people in poverty and low incomes have access to affordable, good quality food and not be dependent solely on food banks. Suggestions included: promote 'old style, post war' recipes which were designed to make the best use of limited resources and increase the number of food parcels available to give to people in crisis outside of office hours.  Education, knowledge and skills: the need for more education across a range of settings and population groups, increasing people's knowledge on accessing food and increasing skills in cooking, growing and budgeting. Suggestions for this theme included: use the opportunity we have within schools to pass on skills and provide good healthy food, provide support for families to decrease the use of takeaways and influence districts to restrict fast food outlets and encourage basic cooking skills, food growing skills and access to cooking utensils.

For a full copy of the report and for more information contact: [email protected] Feeding Lancashire Together In order to continue to support food poverty work in various districts across the County, applications for small grants of up to £400 are now being invited by Together Lancashire, supported by Lancashire County Council. It is envisaged that funds will be allocated to projects such as food banks, community cafes, cookery and healthy eating courses, holiday support for children on free school meals and food growing initiatives. Completed applications need to be with Together Lancashire by the 31st July 2015. Grant criteria and guidelines are in place. For more information contact Gillian.beeley@together- lancashire.org.uk or [email protected] Hospital Food and Drink Strategy Following on from the Department of Health’s Hospital Food Standards Panel Report, hospitals are now required to have a Food and Drink Strategy in place. This will assist hospital's in achieving the Soil Association's 'Catering Mark', an effective way to promote excellence in hospital food. To this end Lancashire County Council are working with The Soil Association, University Hospitals of Bay NHS Trust, East Lancashire Hospitals NHS Trust and Lancashire Teaching Hospital NHS Trust to develop a Food and Drink Strategy over the next few months. Progress on this work will be available later on in the year.

For more information contact: [email protected]

If you have any information of successful activities that your parish has carried out in the community, particularly as a joint venture with other parishes, I would be keen to hear about it and to share it with all parishes as 'good practice' in forthcoming newsletters.

Regards County Councillor Cynthia Dereli Lancashire County Council Champion for Parishes

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