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Annual Report 2006-7
ACHIEVEMENTS IN 2006/07 The Parish Council spent a lot of time, effort and money in improving and refurbishing the community centres operated for the benefit of local people Bewsey Barn was decorated and the kitchens were re-fitted in 2005/06, and in 2006/07 the floors were re-covered, new chairs were bought, the central heating boiler was replaced, the window blinds were replaced, an alarm was fitted in the disabled toilet and the old light fittings were replaced with new and more energy efficient ones. Hood Manor also had a kitchen refit and new blinds and light fittings. It has been re-decorated and new chairs supplied. Both kitchens at the Tim Parry centre were re-fitted and re-decorated. The annexe got new blinds (the blinds in the main hall were replaced the year before) and new, more energy efficient lights. Repairs were made to the flagged area in the garden, and an alarm fitted in the disabled toilet. Hood Lane had some painting done, new light fittings and some remedial work to improve the hot water supply, plus an alarm fitted in the disabled toilet. Whittle Hall had some repairs made to flagged areas. All the work was been done with 3 principles in mind - have as much done as possible by the Council's own staff to keep costs down; work around the bookings in the halls to minimize disruption to the hall users; go for energy saving equipment and fixtures as much as possible. Feedback from the many and varied groups using the halls is that they are much brighter and pleasanter places to go to. The Parish Council tried to make life better for the people in the Parish in many ways The Council increased the number of Police Community Support Officers from 2 to 4 after seeing the positive benefits brought by the original 2 PCSOs. They allowed the police to use 3 of the community centres as venues for Community Action Meetings, enabling local people to have a forum to liaise with Police over what matters to them. The Parish Council worked with Police and Warrington Borough Council to try to improve security around the Hood Manor area and succeeded in getting the temporary CCTV set up there. Individual Councillors used knowledge gained from liaising with parishioners to pass on information to PCSOs to target "hot spots" After a long campaign the Council succeeded in getting Tim Parry recreation ground to be used as a pilot scheme for "designated alcohol free areas". That should happen this summer. Following the success of the Litter Awareness Scheme in 2005/06 the Parish Council tried to target the local High Schools to make improvements in the litter around their grounds. Unfortunately this was not so successful, but it did prompt the Borough Council into taking up the initiative on litter in local schools.
The Parish Council gave donations to 13 local groups (or organizations that benefit local people), ranging from £50 to local pre-schools to £2500 to the SuperGrounds Project at Park Road school which will benefit the environment and local people. The Parish Council supported Summer Playschemes in the area with a donation and use of its centres, and will do so again in Summer 2007.
The Parish Council set up the Warrington West Youth group to try to kick start activities for local youngsters who feel they have nothing to do in the area. There are now activities at Sankey Forum on Friday nights, and more are being sought.
The Parish Council helped a new craft club start up at Hood Manor, and a keep-fit group at Tim Parry centre. The Parish Council tried to make itself more effective and efficient The Parish Council implemented many efficiency measures, from installing Broadband and networking the computers to make the administration more effective, to switching to energy saving lights and appliances, and doing as much maintenance work as possible in-house to save the taxpayer money. By careful management of the money the Parish Council was able to avoid raising the precept to taxpayers again this year, and was able to keep their hall hire charges unchanged for another year. The Parish Council has more plans for the future The Council has been looking at its suppliers of utilities such as telephones and gas, and will be moving to get the best deals shortly. The Council has set its budget for 2007/08 and it includes 2 funds which will be used to encourage positive action for good in the community. One is specifically targeted at providing benefits for the young people. and the other is for any groups within the community. The Council is trying to encourage more involvement from the people of the Parish, and will be considering if it is feasible to undertake a Parish Plan to get more people involved in how the Parish will be run in future.
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