Election night, 3 May 2012, was a late one, arriving home in the early hours of Friday morning, a new council resulted and as there are no Chorley Borough elections in 2013, at least two years of me being part of the opposition party began. Several people were disheartened however the natural order is that things change, to quote Bob Dylan “And don't speak too soon; For the wheel's still in spin… …For the loser now; Will be later to win”
My opinions on local election results being influenced by national issues have been written here previously and it seems wrong, to me, that hard working local councillors (regardless of their political colour) are cast aside whilst some without any local agenda or those who have been less active remain. However that is democracy and we would be worse off without it. The two (or is it now 3?) Independents in Chorley remain the exception to the hypothesis that people vote based on their opinion of national issues. Our Chorley North West Independents continue to generate the largest number of votes, so there must be a case for spending all day everyday walking round talking with people.
Our group AGM elected our officials for the coming year, Peter remains as group leader, Greg was appointed deputy, Alison as secretary and I remain as group Treasurer. Shadow Cabinet positions, representatives on committees and outside bodies were agreed at our group meeting and more or less (apart from Overview and Scrutiny) were ratified at the full council meeting, the next day.
As is tradition at the first full council meeting of the civic year, a new Mayor and Deputy Mayor were sworn in. I can only say that it has been a privilege to have spent the past year watching the Mayor Pat Case in action, a truly inspiring lady. Roxanne always talks about meeting Mayor Case and I am sure it is a memory she will retain for many, many years.
Due to the changing political balance I ended up as the only one of our group with a chair, that being of the Governance Committee and my seat in the council chamber moved from a back seat to a front one.
Committees, on which I will sit until May 2013, are: Licensing and Public Safety, General Purposes, Members Support Working Group, plus Chair of Governance. I have mixed feelings about no longer sitting on the Development Control Committee. Two positives are that as Development Control meets at least once a month, involves many people with many opinions and generates a large agenda, it does take up a large amount of time, so that time is now freed up to spend with my family and concentrate on local issues. Secondly, I can now better represent the ward and say what I think about planning applications without the concern of having been considered to have pre-determined a decision. My year on the Development Control Committee has been extremely useful, I have used the opportunity to learn as much I possible about the planning process at Chorley Council and it will help my work throughout Chisnall ward.
I will continue to attend Executive Cabinet and Borough Parish Liaison meetings. I will also continue to attend Development Control meetings on occasion and definitely when there is an application in Chisnall ward under consideration. I remain as the council representative on Heskin Village Hall Management Committee, which I will continue to support. I will also continue to be involved in representing local people and local issues at the Parish Council Meetings of Charnock Richard, Heskin and Coppull as well as the PACT meetings and any other events at which I can offer a positive contribution to local people.
Baku
Concerns remain and it appears that the Public Protection Officer may have misunderstood comments from residents in close proximity to the Hunters Lodge. The deadline to submit comments on this application for a 24/7 eating, drinking and entertainment licence ended on 16 May.
Why a 24/7 licence is being applied for and the implications of this are unclear and is generating much angst amongst local people, who are concerned about an intrusion of their privacy. Rumour being generated locally and a lack of communication from the people who are to be responsible for running the venue, are compounding the concerns of neighbours of the Hunters Lodge.
I stand by my comment that it will be good to see the venue being used again, however this must not be at the expense of anyone’s quality of life and I hope that I will not have to report any unacceptable noise or behaviour from Baku.
2 Nursery Close
No longer sitting on Development Control Committee, has an immediate benefit. I have distributed a leaflet to each of the 400 or so houses in the central area of Charnock Richard, informing people of this development and explaining that I will be speaking against it.
I am not against development, as an increasing population will have to be provided for, however development must be carefully planned such that it enhances and improves the places in which people live. Charnock Richard cannot escape development and has had two relatively large applications approved recently. However, this proposed development is inappropriate and will have a significant negative impact on existing residents, has significant highways limitations and I will do all I can to encourage refusal of the application.
I will be submitting a formal written requesting that the application for demolition of 2 Nursery Close and development of 10 houses behind, be recommended for refusal.
I will also be requesting to speak as ward councillor at the Development Control meeting, following which I will publish my comments made at that meeting here.
Dog Attacks
Particularly concerning and something I brought up at the most recent Police And Communities Together meeting is the increase in attacks on dogs by dogs, this has happened twice recently, with one case being particularly disturbing as a dog walker was protecting a dog from being attacked resulting in the dog walker being attacked.
I have written to the dog warden expressing my concern and hopefully something will be done before someone is seriously hurt, maimed or even killed.
Mossies Footpath TPO
I am still working on this and have today (17 May 2012) had a message from the Chorley Council Conservation Officer, with a glimmer of hope. The habitat along this footpath needs protecting for many reasons, not least of which is that it is a valuable wildlife corridor.
Pre-School
Eventful as ever and I often wonder why I volunteer as Chairman. Then I remember that if I didn’t do it no-one else would and the setting would have to close, losing the provision provided for children and their parents and leaving 8 people without employment.
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