This year has seen some significant developments for Rope.

Our PCSO Steve Ansell began patrolling the parish in July, this was later than hoped but the cost of funding him was reduced to compensate and allowed us to do other things with the money saved.  Initially he had to carry out his patrolling on foot; this meant that quite a lot of patrol time was lost as he had to walk between the parish and the Police Station.  Eventually the police found some funding for the necessary kit and training and he now patrols on a bicycle which is much better.

Since he started he has regularly attended council meetings and we have been able to contact him by mobile telephone or email about any issues.  By the last meeting there was a feeling that the main problem of youth nuisance is now much improved.  Of course there are incidents but now we are no longer competing with the trouble spots of Crewe for police recourses to deal with them.

There have been several Neighbourhood Action Meetings to discuss local policing.  Apart from youth nuisance the main concern has been speeding.  The Council has responded by working with Steve to set up a Speedwatch group.  Hopefully this will lead to some improvement in conjunction with other police action.

The Medical Centre opened during the year and is very busy.  It has Rope in its name which is good news as it raises the profile of the parish.  While it was being built the Council raised concerns about the positioning of the bus stops.  We would have preferred the buses to have pulled into the site.  This has not been done as it was thought to be too expensive.  Instead there are bus stops either side of Rope Lane so we hope there will not be any accidents.  When the Centre was proposed an additional bus route was promised.  The PCT say that despite their best efforts, Cheshire County Council will not subsidise an additional route.  After a series of meetings involving all the local parish councils a commercial route provided by Best Bus will be trialled shortly.

The arrival of the Medical Centre has triggered a joint initiative with the Leisure Centre to set up a new health and fitness centre of excellence centre.  The idea is to attract people who would not usually use gym equipment.  The Council was asked if it could support this venture and we have been able to contribute to the fund.  There was a demonstration of the proposed equipment last week which was impressive.

Throughout the year the Local Government Reorganisation has been rumbling on.  At the beginning of the year we wrote in support of the Borough Council.  However our views and those of most local people were ignored and Cheshire East will replace both Crewe and Nantwich Borough Council and Cheshire County Council in this area.  Already this change has caused disruption to local services and things are likely to get worse before the new authority takes over.  We have already waited over a year to have the fence near Rope Green Bridge replaced.  This year we will need to watch developments carefully to see how the changes may affect Rope and the Parish Council.

I would like to thank all the Parish Councillors for their help not just as councillors but also for the extra jobs they have taken on.  Thanks also to our Clerk Sue Togay for keeping us in order and for using her networking skills to get things done.  Finally thank you to Borough and County Councillor Margaret Simon and to Borough Councillor Robert Dodd for their help and support.

Bob Squirrell