RUYTON XI TOWNS PARISH COUNCIL JANUARY 2017 NEWSLETTER
LOGGING AT THE SPINNEY NEAR DOCTORS MEADOW
The trees you can see behind Doctors Meadow are to be felled in February/March and new trees planted on a Community Tree Planting Day. Should you want to learn more or be involved please contact Simon Gittins for more details. For the moment we await the "hum" of the chain saws!
Simon Gittins Tel: 01939 260273 Email: simonjohngittins@googlemail.com
ROAD WORKS
Road to be closed: Holyhead Road West Felton (from Twyford Lane junction to The Avenue junction) Date: 17 - 27 February 2017 Times: 07.30 – 17.30 Purpose: Machine Patching
Purpose: Considerable improvements to the A5 including: footway construction, resurfacing;installation of lighting etc.
Traffic restrictions:
Night time closure of A5 section between Halton roundabout and A5 Gledrid roundabout
Night time closure of A5 section between Fiveways roundabout and A5 Gledrid roundabout
Night time lane closure of A5 Gledrid circulatory carriageway
Night time closure of B5070 Chirk Road, closure for approximate length of 500m north from A5 Gledrid
Night time closure of B5070 for approximate length of 500m east of A5 Gledrid roundabout
Night time closure of Station Road for an approximate length of 500m west of A5 Gledrid roundabout
There is a public right of way around the roundabout; no pedestrians are anticipated during night time working. Footways will remain open and any pedestrians to be escorted past the works.
Narrow lane restrictions with reduced speed limit of 50mph will be implemented around roundabout during daytime for public safety.
Traffic utilising diversion route through Chirk bridge to be controlled with the use of traffic lights and all vehicles are to be kept to the Chirk bound lane (South side/upstream side).
Emergency vehicle access will be maintained for the duration of the works, if you need to enter the works area in an emergency situation please drive carefully through the works area and comply to the site speed limit.
This information has been provided by Highways England Area 9 Stakeholder Liaison Manager For more details contact Kier Services I Highways www.kier.co.uk
Parish Council Precept for the Year April 2017 – March 2018
At our Parish Council meeting on 16th January 2017, councillors voted for an increase in our precept – the local portion of Council Tax that is raised from the homes in our Parish.
Central Government have imposed a maximum 2% increase that local government can raise their Council Tax, but in recent years Shropshire Council had chosen not to raise Council Tax at all, and consequently with the cuts to local government by Central Government, they now have insufficient funds to continue to maintain current services. As a result Shropshire Council want to pass responsibility for some services down to Town and Parish Councils.
Across the County this may include responsibilities for leisure centres, galleries and museums, libraries, bus services etc. In our Parish it is the transfer of responsibility for maintaining our play areas and green spaces – Doctors Meadow, Birch Grove, Marches Meadow, Dunning Close, Bridge Inn Field and contributing to the Cliffe and Nesscliffe Heritage Site. These plans are in the early stage of discussion with Shropshire Council. If the Parish Council do not take over responsibility, Shropshire Council will continue to maintain them, but at a very reduced and basic level for example they will carry out statutory safety checks, but will reduce the grass cutting and maintenance of equipment, leading to the risk of accidents and the loss of our facilities over time. Shropshire Council will not be transferring any funding to our Parish, even if we choose to take on responsibility of any services.
In parallel with this, Central Government has plans to also limit future Town and Parish Council Precept increases to 2%. It is not clear when this change may be imposed or even if it ever will be. But it has been under discussion for some time now.
After much discussion at our meeting, the Parish Council concluded that it did not wish to lose our existing facilities, and ensure that it had the funds available to take on these extra responsibilities, and sustain them, even if precept increases are limited in the future, the Parish Council had to increase our precept this year.
The increase is, on average, an additional £14 over the year for each household, paid over 10 monthly instalments, or less than a cup of coffee a month. Councillors appreciate that this increase is substantial; Shropshire Council will be increasing their portion of council tax too, including the extra percentage for Social Care across the county.
Councillors hope that all Parishioners can understand the reasons for this increase, and will support this prudent approach, none of us will want to risk our play areas and green spaces falling into disrepair. If it turns out that these extra funds are an over-estimate then future precepts can be adjusted accordingly.
Report by Ros Slowley (Chairperson)
Councillors' contact details can be found on the website together with Council Minutes http://www.rxit.org.uk/pc/
PACE CAR STICKERS NOW AVAILABLE - A Local Iniatiative
Many who attended the Safer Roads Meeting on 19th November 2016 or who have read the last Parish Council Newsletter ( http://bit.ly/RXIT_PC ) will be aware that we have been considering the use of Pace Car stickers. These go in the back window of cars in the community so that following cars know that we are complying with our Speed Limits. These have now been delivered - email Mick Berry to get one; their FREE! (mick.berry@sky.com)
Ruyton-of-the-XI-Towns Independent [United Reformed Church] Chapel (Located in the lane opposite the Old School in School Road.)
This chapel, costing £500, was erected in 1832-3, with seating for about 200 people. The chapel was still in use c. 2004. The Chapel and the grave yard are now for sale. The United Reform Church are asking people to contact them if they have any graves there which they are concerned about. The Parish Council will continue to maintain the graveyard for the time being. URC can be contacted at the following address: Synod Office Digbeth in the Field URC Moat Lane Yardley Birmingham B26 1TW Tel: 0121 783 1177 E admin@urcwestmidlands.org.uk
Have Your Say About the New Shropshire Council Bus Strategy
Public transport provides access to essential services, including those more vulnerable and living in rural areas. Shropshire Council is facing considerable challenges and needs to set a strategy which ensures available budgets are spent in line with clearly defined local bus priorities.
Shropshire Council is currently asking for peoples' views on a new bus strategy. This proposes a number of objectives and priorities which will determine how budgets are allocated across countywide services and provide a robust process for decision making.
Closing date for your responses is 13th February 2017
Healthwatch Shropshire wants to find out how well home care services are working across the county and whether people feel that the care they or their loved one receives is appropriate and effective.
The number of people, especially older individuals, being helped and supported to live independently at home is increasing. This is especially true in Shropshire where latest population projections suggest that just over a third of county residents will be aged 65 or over by 2033.
Healthwatch Shropshire's priority is to find out how well home care is working locally in order to establish what needs improving and how examples of good practice can be shared.
People can let Healthwatch Shropshire know what they think about local services by phone 01743 237884, by email enquiries@healthwatchshropshire.co.uk or online www.healthwatchshropshire.co.uk. The more comments received the more influence Healthwatch Shropshire has to improve services for local people.
Healthwatch Shropshire is the independent health and social care champion for people in Shropshire. It gathers the views and experiences of patients, carers, and the general public about services, including hospitals, GPs, mental health services, community health services, pharmacists, opticians, residential care and home care services. It then makes reports and recommendations about how these services could or ought to be improved based on the information received from members of the public. This is shared with providers and commissioners of services who have a statutory duty to listen to Healthwatch and act on the information it shares with them.
For further information contact Jane Randall-Smith, Chief Officer using the contact details provided above.
Experiencing a Power Cut !
You can now telephone the new 105 service for help and assistance.
News on the Commissioner's investment in body-worn cameras
The government funding announcement
Community engagement round-up
Launch of drink-drive campaign
A good news story from a grant recipient in Worcestershire
Police and Crime Commissioner John Campion is proposing significant new investment in local policing, alongside a freeze in the policing element of council tax for West Mercia in 2017/18. The Commissioner's budget plan has gone out for consultation with communities and partners until the 23rd of January. If approved by the Police and Crime Panel, it would represent an increase of £4.5m compared to this year's local policing budget. The Commissioner is proposing a budget which will ensure continued investment in West Mercia police, enabling greater efficiencies for the future whilst addressing the issues that matter most to the communities and ensuring better value for public money. He promised that he would make sure policing budgets were spent as wisely and efficiently as possible, before ever asking the communities of West Mercia for any more. With that in mind, he is proposing a freeze in the policing element of council tax for the coming financial year because he believes there are greater efficiencies that must be achieved. However, by utilising the healthy reserves the force has, 2017/18 would see a considerable increase in spending. The Commissioner also promised that he would reform and modernise the West Mercia police service. His budget proposals include major positive investments designed to improve police visibility in the communities, ensure better customer service and protect the most vulnerable people. It will also provide new fit-for-purpose technology that will bring it up to date and in-line with other forces in the UK, giving officers the tools they need to do their difficult jobs better. The Commissioner is consulting on his proposals and would welcome views from as many people as possible. To take part in the short survey, please follow this link - http://bit.ly/2iPnDdp West Mercia Police and Crime Commissioner Tel: 01905 331 667 / Mob: 07976 865 264
(Apologies for the short notice; this is partly due to the issue of the newsletter.)
YOUR NEXT RUYTON XI TOWNS PARISH COUNCIL MEETING
All Parish Council meetings usually commence at 7.30p.m. and are held at the Victoria Room at Ruyton. A public session is held at the beginning of the official meeting, which is intended to encourage residents of the parish to bring up any local issues. Parish Council meetings are scheduled to take place on:
Monday 13th February 2017 and Monday 13th March 2017
Agendas for the meetings are uploaded to the website approximately a week before the meeting or can be found on your local council notice boards.
For further information please contact the Clerk Sue Hackett on Tel 01743 719012 E mail: ruytonxitownspc@btinternet.com
Ruyton XI Towns Parish Council now use e-newsletters, which contain the latest local news and information relating to our Parish. Hard copies of the newsletter can be found at Elevens Cafe, The Victoria Room and displayed on several public notice boards. For your own printed copy please apply to the Clerk Sue Hackett on Tel 01743 719012; however a charge will be made for printing and postage costs dependent on the length of the newsletter.
The Parish Council are very grateful in the excellent work carried out by Yoland Brown and Margaret Lycett who keep residents informed and would like to say a special thank you them both for their efforts.
If you would like to sign up to this official Parish Council Newsletter mailing list then you can do so by clicking the link below.
