TheNo.8 Autumn 2009Raven The quarterly magazine for the whole of Rainow G Village News G Social Events G Parish Council News G Clubs & Societies G School & Church Congratulations to the Best Kept Village team he Parish Council is delighted by the success of the team in winning Cheshire’s Community Spirit award and is supporting the team as it takes Rainow forward into the regional finals of Tthe Calor Village of the Year Competition. What this achievement means and information about the competitions appears later in this issue. Please, everyone, help the team to keep Rainow at the top of the league! Footpaths & Map Board Local Area Partnerships (LAPs) You will soon start to see The LAP is the new body which links our local numbers corresponding to area to the new Cheshire East authority. There are the numbers on the 7 LAPs across Cheshire East; ours is known as Rainow Parish Paths Map the Macclesfield LAP and consists of 17 Town and appearing on the Parish Councils plus the unparished area of waymarks and footpath Macclesfield Town. The stated aims of the LAP signs throughout Rainow are: so that you can now be sure that you are on the A more effective and coordinated approach G correct path. Thank you to to tackling local needs. all the volunteers who are Improved engagement with citizens. G putting these in place. More responsive local management of services. G The new map board is Enhanced community governance. G now in place by the Trinity Enhanced community leadership role for G Garden and has been elected councillors. much admired by walkers Value for money. G and residents alike. The map and frame were paid for The membership of the LAP is still being finalised from the Rural Access Grant provided by Cheshire but presently consists of representatives of the Community Action and put in place by two of our Police, Fire and Rescue Service, Cheshire Peaks Councillors. & Plains Housing Trust, Town and Parish Remembrance Day Councils, Peak District NPA, Central & Eastern The Remembrance Day parade will be on Sunday, Cheshire Primary Care Trust, Cheshire 8 November this year. The procession will leave the Community Action, local schools (not private at Church at approximately 10.40 a.m. and return after present), the commercial sector, the voluntary a short service at the War Memorial. Traffic will be sector and a number of Cheshire East stopped during the two minutes silence at 11.00 a.m. Councillors. Harold Davenport who is a Cheshire East Councillor chairs the meeting. A number of Auditors Report local priority areas have been set up; clean The Council is pleased to announce that they have streets, getting children off the streets and rural received a clean report from the external and internal crime. Rainow Parish Council Chairman, Ken auditors for the year to 31 March 2009. Notice of Butler, has now attended the third of these conclusion of audit and right to inspect the annual assemblies and says that although it is early days return will be available on the notice boards and it would be fair to say progress is being made on website shortly. a number of initiatives. Ken reports that there is a good feeling about these meetings and the Highways Update coordinated approach to issues appears to be Councillors and Highways are aware of problems with working. Minutes of meetings should appear on the drainage on Sugar Lane since the resurfacing. the Cheshire East web site in the near future. Highways are in discussions with the Contractor. We also continue to chase Highways for action on potholes on Ravenhoe Lane and Stocks Lane. Civic Service We are also trying to get support from the Cheshire By the time the Raven appears, the second Civic Association of Local Service will have taken place on September 27 Councils for continuing with a large number of invited visitors. The Council the 30 mph signs to thank all the volunteers who provided cakes and include the rest of the sandwiches and prepared the school in readiness village. We are pushing for the service. for action on cutting Advertising in the Raven down motorcycle noise The Council are seeking advertisers to ensure the on Buxton Road and on continuation of the Raven. The income from the B5470. advertisements is key to the financing of the At last the official signs magazine, as the contribution from the Parish have appeared on Bull council is necessarily limited. If you would like to Hill to deter drivers of arish Council News advertise, or know a business which could, then larger commercial please contact Cllr Ian Brammer for more details. vehicles. P 2 Other Matters We have been trying to get the bin in the Pleasance replaced for some time now; this has happened but in the wrong place! The bin in the lay-by on Lidgetts Lane Welcome to will be replaced at some point over the next six months. (Unfortunately it was set on fire 3 times!). Cheshire Wild Life Friendly Gardens Awards Cheshire Wildlife Trust is running a scheme to encourage everyone with a garden, no matter how small, to make it a haven for wildlife. Some of us already have a garden like this, not always intentionally! There will be bronze, silver and gold awards and plaques to all winners. There is even an award for a miniature wildlife garden in a The planter and winners of this award could see their garden aven on show at Tatton Park next year. All the details are on ur readersR know that Rainow is a great place to live. the website for Cheshire Wildlife Trust. Now not only we can boast that it is the village in OCheshire with the greatest community spirit but we E-News have independent confirmation of this by the expert If you would like to join Rainow E-NEWS and get all the judges of the Cheshire Community Pride Competition latest news and updates please email your address to (see the article which follows on Rainow’s success in this the Clerk at [email protected]. Agenda, minutes competition). The competition rules stress that “it is not and any notices are also available on the web site for about pretty window boxes and the village green”. Well, your information. we may not have a village green, we don’t have a bank or a shop and with our industrial history we aren’t the Dog Fouling pretty-pretty sort of village which features on Cotswold We continue to receive complaints calendars. But what we do have is a better place to live, about dog fouling on footpaths and taking account of what is on offer to everyone in the grass verges. It is OK to use the community. The judges looked for well-balanced, litterbins for dog waste. Please, enterprising, caring villages and communities that make please pick up your dog’s waste the most of local opportunities. They looked at a whole and keep our village a clean and range of activities in the village from the part local healthy place to live in.Thank you. businesses play to the facilities and services for young and older people, conservation and energy saving initiatives and communications – how people find out about what is going on. Future Council Meetings So what influenced the favourable decision? 20th October - Parish Council Meeting 8.00 p.m. The presence of the Church and Rainow School with all 17th November - Parish Council Meeting 8.00 p.m. their related activities, the existence of the Institute and 15th December - Parish Council Meeting 8.00 p.m. the facilities provided by the pubs all played a part. Certainly the Church Fete, the Scarecrow Fortnight and the Jazz Festival had an impact; certainly the village websites, the Church Magazine and, to blow our own trumpet, the Raven helped paint a picture of effective Your Parish Councillors efforts to keep everyone informed about what is happening. Carrying out the Parish Plan investigation Ken Butler (Chair) 433168 work had an impact – we were one of the earliest Mary Marsh (Deputy) 573508 villages to complete a plan and definitely one with a Ian Brammer 426059 professional approach and one which set great value on Alan Brett 576108 getting views from everyone. But at least as important were the visibility of the regular activities of all the young John Cantrell 422107 people’s groups (including the pre-school children), the Geoff Cooper 574878 meetings of the W.I, the way new residents are Vivienne Law 575201 welcomed with a cake, the emphasis on older people’s John Leigh 574327 welfare, the contribution of the villagers in supporting John Stagg 572816 charities, not forgetting Rainow NSPCC. So the Alan Taylor 575544 “hardware” of the village was relevant but the actions of Wendy Vernon 572812 all the people who make Rainow what it is were the crucial factors in the decision. Take a bow, all those Judy Wilkinson 614650 volunteers and everyone whose efforts have been Clerk: Sarah Giller 850532 recognised! And keep going to the National Final! [email protected] Borough Councillor for Rainow Editorial Team: Ian Brammer (01625 426059) Harold Davenport 01663 763986 Bob Langstaff (01625 573761) County Councillor for Rainow Tony Nicol (01625 421297) Sylvia Roberts 01625 575306 Design by Mel Wilcox (01625 576182) 3 Rainow wins Cheshire Award! Now for the Nationals! ainow has won the prestigious Community Spirit Competition for the whole of Cheshire. At the award ceremony on 24 September at RNorthwich, the team from Rainow collected a splendid plaque to be Restricted Byways put up in the village and the congratulations of the defeated finalists.