Annual
Report
Each year the Chairman of the Council
makes a report, normally in April, reviewing the year just passed.
Below is the report covering the past year 2007/08 by the Chairman
Councillor Bill McGinnis. The Chairman's period of office ends in
May.
ANNUAL
REPORT 2008 -
NANTWICH TOWN COUNCIL
Council
Chairman Councillor Bill McGinnis
Representative
Duties
Over the past twelve months I have represented the Council at 56 events,
covering a wide range of the activities carried on within our town.
This connection with local organisations is important as on the one
hand, it signifies that the council recognises the value of the
enterprise and on the other, it is helpful in informing the council on
these activities, sometimes leading to the council giving active help.
The diversity of our local organisations and the sheer effort put in by
so many volunteers is impressive and in my opinion, vital to the
maintenance of a decent and civilised society. The town council awards
grants to many of our local groups and I do not believe that one penny
is wasted.
If
I may highlight just a few of my visits during the year I would chose
the following:
Joining the scouts for
their centenary and renewal of the scouting promise – an early morning
assembly on the town square. This is an organisation which does immense
work in preparing young people for life. Long may they flourish.
The inaugural event of
the Nantwich Fair Trade Group on the town square. The choir from
Stapeley Broad Lane School performed on a freezing morning and one
little chap was so cold his hands were withdrawn into his sleeves and
his head almost disappeared into his coat! Fair Trade is a concept
which could do much to help others in the developing world.
Carol Service at St.
Anne’s – a scene of some confusion between the little shepherds and the
three wise men resulted in one of the funniest moments of my year in
office. It almost brought the congregation to tears of laughter. A
very enjoyable carol service.
The final of the Junior
Schools Indoor Sports at Malbank Sports Hall – the enthusiasm and sheer
vigour of the children was so infectious – if only it could be bottled!
Nantwich Players Youth
Theatre – production of Daz 4 Zoe. This was a thought provoking
piece which could be described as a cross between Romeo and Juliet and
“1984”. It is so encouraging to see the work being done with youngsters
interested in the theatre.
St Mary’s production of
“The Davidson Affair”. Another inspiring work asking questions as
relevant today as they were two thousand years ago. The cast were
magnificent and Rev. Peter Chantry seemed born to his role. A
thoroughly enjoyable evening.
My wife Lyn accompanied
me to most of the events and we are so grateful for the opportunities
afforded to us.
COUNCIL BUSINESS
Planning and
Development Control
One of the main
functions of the council is to examine and comment upon applications of
development within the town boundaries. We have dealt with over 170
planning applications this year and responded to consultation on
housing, waste disposal and planning policies. Our response on
“Eco-Towns” was swift and robust.
Car Parking
This vexed question was
once again prominent, as the Town Council fights to secure adequate
parking for shoppers and workers. I am pleased to report that good
progress has been made this year and we can look forward to improvement
in the next few months. Nantwich Town Football Club have almost
completed the legal agreement with the Borough Council and their large
car park
will soon be available
for use. We anticipate that it will be mostly workers who will use this
facility, thus freeing up spaces nearer the centre for shoppers. This
agreement will achieve the objective set out by the Town Council when we
awarded a substantial grant to the Football Club.
Our closer relationship with the
Borough Council has seen the Board of Crewe & Nantwich approve
expenditure to extend and surface the Shrewbridge Road car park and
bring it into use as an addition to the existing capacity.
The Board has also
approved funds for a viability study on the possibility of some type of
shuttle service linking the car parks at the Football Club, Snow Hill
and Shrewbridge Road to the town centre. This is something we have been
pressing for over some years and it is pleasing to see tangible
progress.
As expected,
decriminalisation of car parking has now happened, although it did take
longer than anticipated. It should now prove easier to deal with
illegal and inconsiderate parking but it will be necessary for the town
council to monitor progress. We are pressing for early introduction of
“residents only” parking areas, where local agreement is evident.
Security and Safety
The Town Council keeps
a close eye on security and safety matters through the medium of our
Town Watch Committee. On this body, there is representation from
traders, licensees and the police, in addition to our councillors. The
close co-operation has been of real benefit to the town and has been
used as an example elsewhere.
Once again, the Council
has agreed an annual payment of £14,000 to maintain an open Police
Station. We have also contributed £1500 of the £2100 cost of a new
hand-held “enforceable speed gun” which will help Inspector Hassall and
his team to confront dangerous driving in some well known areas.
Grants
Each year, the Council
awards grants of money to a large number of organisations which have met
the Council’s basic criteria, the most important of which is a clear
benefit to the people of Nantwich. These grants are important in
helping our local voluntary sector and in some cases, are vital in
keeping them solvent. An exhaustive list of the grants made may be
extracted from our accounts but to give some representative flavour, the
following groups have recently benefited:
·
Nantwich
First Responders Emergency Service
·
The
Gables Senior Citizens Luncheon Club
·
The Guy
Harvey Youth Centre
·
Brine
Leas and Malbank schools
·
Nantwich
and District Band
·
The
Cricket Club
·
The
Tennis Club
·
The Rugby
Club
·
Citizens
Advice Bureau
·
Nantwich
Players
·
Nantwich
Museum
·
“Nantwich
Now” and “Nantwich in Bloom”
…………and many more
Council Run
Functions
A few years ago, the
Council introduced the “Family Fun Day” – a sort of modern carnival day
out, to be held each July. It has proved a great success and Council
has agreed to continue funding for this event. The success of this
venture is due in no small measure to the work of Vice Chairman Keith
Cafferty and his hard-working team of volunteers. The Borough Council’s
Direct Works Division has also been of great help.
Last year, emboldened
by the success of the “Family Fun Day” Council introduced a celebration
of St. George’s Day in the form of a medieval fair. This too, was a
success and it will return again on Sunday the 20th April.
Once more, Cllr. Cafferty is at the helm.
In an effort to
brighten up our Christmas atmosphere, the Council increased funding for
extra lights and engaged the Nantwich District Band to perform carols
and festive music on the Square during the three Sundays leading up to
Christmas. On the Sunday immediately prior to Christmas, councillors
were to be found dispensing mince pies and mulled wine on the Square.
It is pleasing to note that foreign visitors to our town have commented
how enjoyable this was.
The Chairman’s Dance
was held in the Civic Hall in November with Todd Miller and the Joe Loss
Orchestra providing the music. David Yorke aka Siljohn moved among the
tables fascinating the dancers with his sleight of hand and bag of
tricks. The event was highly enjoyable and resulted in a donation of
over £640 from raffle and dance proceeds to the Royal British Legion,
Nantwich Branch.
Financial Accounts
This Council is well
managed in its administration of our accounts and for that we must thank
our Town Clerk, Mr Riddell Graham and his assistant, Mrs Jill Geldart
In brief, council tax
and grant income is around £106,000. Interest income from our capital
reserve is some £56,000. Our revenue expenditure is around £133,000.
During the year we have paid capital grants of £170,000.
For 2008/9 council is
raising the precept by 25p per month on a band ‘D’ property.
Quality Status
During this council
year, the accolade of “Quality Council” was awarded to the Council.
This award signifies that the council has met certain strict criteria
laid down by Government and in essence, means that Nantwich Town Council
is well run and in touch with its people. It is timely and important
for the Town as, with the advent of the new East Cheshire Authority,
Nantwich may be given greater scope to deal with local matters. Only
councils proving to be well managed are likely to be given such
opportunities.
Achievement of the
award reflects upon the combined efforts of our members and our
administration officers and the work of our Town Clerk in particular, is
worth special mention.
Miscellaneous
Matters
We are fortunate in
having access to experts in varying fields who are willing to come to
our meetings and share their knowledge with us. To mention a few, we
have had informative talks from Alan Millington (Planning), David Marren
(Direct Works), Doug Butterill (Nantwich in Bloom), Lucy Johnson
(Tourism), Ian Dale (Weaver Valley), Andrew Cliffe (plans for Brine Leas
School).
Before each Town
Council meeting there is an “open forum” where any member of the public
may ask questions of the Council and raise issues which are relevant to
our town. This is not often the case with council bodies. As a general
rule, the public seem to be shut out of things or find too many
obstacles when they wish to raise an issue.
Our meetings are held
in public and all are welcome. There are a few residents who regularly
attend and raise matters of concern but I would like to see more people
take an interest and see for themselves how their Council goes about its
business. In this context, I must congratulate the Townswomen’s Guild
and National Womens Register for putting us on their “roster” and making
visits to our meetings. They are always welcome.
Of the many groups
which serve this town I would like to highlight two:
· Nantwich
in Bloom
This voluntary group is largely
responsible for the attractive flowers and shrubs which go to make
Nantwich a town to be proud of . The members beaver away in the
background, often unsung and they are not afraid to get their hands
dirty. It is only justice that their efforts have brought so many
awards to the Town. This year, they are going for the big one – the
Gold. Let’s all try to help by not dropping litter or otherwise causing
an untidy appearance in our town centre.
· Nantwich
First Responders
This voluntary service is part sponsored
by the Town Council and is viewed by councillors as a key component in
the emergency health services on which townspeople rely. This emergency
service is usually first on the scene of an accident or medical
emergency and their training and expertise is invaluable in saving lives
and giving comfort. That service is currently under threat and this
Council is fighting proposals which will mean a reduction in the quality
of service and may lead to its disappearance. We view this prospect
with alarm and Council has called a public meeting which will have taken
place by the time this report has been issued.
There have been other
notable events during the year with mixed results for Nantwich:
Brookfield Caravan
Site
Following upon the Borough Council’s
decision to close the caravan site, a public meeting was held at
Brookfield Hall (the town council offices) and, after a lively
discussion and further consideration by the Borough Officers, it was
decided to obtain planning permission and allocate the land for more
allotment plots. In the last week or so work has commenced on the site.
Post Office Closures
The proposed closure of
the post office services at Millstone Lane and Meeanee Drive was
greeting with dismay by councillors. The Town Council held a public
meeting to gauge opinion and joined forces with the Borough Council to
vigorously oppose closures in the area. Unfortunately, the decision was
taken, as many feared it would and we lost our sub post offices. We
believe that this is a short-sighted policy which will later be
recognised as a gross error. In the meantime, through the Borough
Council, we are examining some options which may or may not prove
viable.
In
conclusion, our Council has had a busy year and has done its best to
discharge its duty to the Town. We have made progress but more work
lies ahead. I am hopeful that the improvements we have seen,
particularly with the new paths along riverside, the bridges and seating
on the lakeside and the tackling of grot spots will be carried forward
in the years ahead.
Our achievements over the past year have only been possible through the
co-operation of all members of the Council. There may be differences of
political philosophy between councillors but all members have one common
aim – the betterment of Nantwich. By pulling together, we have shown
what can be done when the silliness of Yah:Boo politics is thrown out.
My
thanks are due to my Chaplain, Father John Daly for a memorable Town
Service and for being on hand to offer spiritual comfort. I would also
like to thank the Vice Chairman Cllr Keith Cafferty and
Cllr Joyce Stockton who kindly took my place when I was unable to attend
a few events and, above all, a heartfelt “thankyou” to my long suffering
wife, Lyn.
COUNCILLOR BILL McGINNIS, CHAIRMAN, NANTWICH TOWN COUNCIL.
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