INTRODUCTION
Lower
Peover Parish Council last signed off a Parish Plan in 2022.A parish plan is an in-depth survey of a community
undertaken by that community itself for its own benefit, to find out how it
wants to see itself develop. This often can be over a five to ten year
timescale but the challenge the Parish Council have set is to work on up to
four key initiatives that will have deliverables with a far shorter timescale
to complete (up to a maximum of one year). This will include an action plan to
make sure all this actually happens. It provides an opportunity for people to
take stock of their community and to decide which aspects of their community
they like and wish to preserve, and perhaps enhance, and which aspects they do
not like and want to change.
There
are three core principles that define parish planning and distinguish it from
other methods of community engagement. These are:
· Plans are owned, managed and led by
the community. This is different from other consultations where people are
asked for their views by local authorities and other service providers, largely
on pre-determined projects or programmes. Parish planning provides our
community with the opportunity to set its own agenda and bring about positive
change without the need to wait for others to get things done.
· Everyone in the community should
have an opportunity to get involved and have their say. This is achieved
through Residents Surveys. These surveys hopefully enable the production of a
high quality and robust plan that has the support of everyone locally and
delivers actions that are based on a sound understanding of local needs and
aspirations.
· Actions will be based on evidence
and address a range of different issues important to our community. Parish
planning can cover social, economic, environmental and cultural issues. We can
produce a plan which covers anything you want, within reason!
In
order to ensure we adhere to these principles; a survey of residents was
completed in 2019. The Work Streams identified below very much aim to bring to
life the hopes and aspirations residents shared in that survey as well as
easing concerns.
AIMS
AND OBJECTIVES OF PARISH PLANS
A
Parish Plan is aguiding
document, drawn up by the community, which generates a vision of the social,
economic and environmental development of the Parish. It identifies local
problems, issues and opportunities, sets out achievable aims for the future and
provides a plan for the development of the Parish.
The
recommendations as to how life in the Parish may be improved and the village
itself developed are the result of input by the residents, as recorded in
completed questionnaires.
The aim is
not to replace established planning guidance at a County or local level but to
supplement and complement that existing planning framework,
so as to conserve and enhance those individual and sometimes unique local
village and Parish features that the community values.
STEERING GROUP
In 2020 the
Lower Peover Parish Council agreed that a Steering Group be established to
prepare a new Parish Plan. As documented earlier, the aim being to harness what
residents would like to see happen in our village.
The Parish
Plan was refreshed in 2022 and there is now a need to review the makeup of the
Steering Group and the progress against the work streams previously established.
There has been significant progress in achieving the aims of most the work
streams. For example, Super-fast fibre broadband is now becoming available to
residents and businesses and the biodiversity workstream has seen tremendous progress
in the restoration of Barrows Brow Pond. This means that there in this iteration
of the plan new workstreams can be introduced to further enhance the Parish.
WORK STREAM 1. ROAD SAFETY AND
HIGHWAYS
Lead Councillor; Paul Binyon
Scope:
·
All
matters relating to highways and road safety in the Parish.
Goals /
objectives:
·
The Parish Council will continue to
monitor road safety in and around the village, and how safety might be improved
along the main road arteries in the village. Hopefully, this will lead to the
village being safer for pedestrians and that more parents will feel confident
to use pavements to walk their children to school.
Examples
·
Provide a minimum of 4 Speed-Watch sessions in and
around the village and report the results back to the Parish Council.
·
Monitor the progress on the installation of new
road speed limit road markings along Middlewich Rd and Crown Lane up to the
Cobbles.
·
Following the report provided to the Parish Council
on traffic speeds noted on Hulme Lane, continue a dialogue with Cheshire West
and Chester and work to agree an approach that satisfies the aim of reducing
speed on Hulme Lane and into the village.
·
Investigate the option to adopt 'quiet lanes' in
appropriate areas of the village and report the findings back to the Parish
Council.https://www.cpre.org.uk/wp-content/uploads/2019/11/quiet_lanes_1.pdf
·
Investigate the installation of ‘Village Gateways’
at road entry points into Lower Peover and provide a report back to the Parish
Council. See this site for further information.www.jacsukltd.com
·
Review of purchase of ‘Smiley Syd’ mobile speed
warning alerts.
WORK STREAM 2. BIODIVERSITY AND
ENVIRONMENTAL SUSTAINABILITY
Lead Councillor: Alison Painter
Scope:
·
All
matters relating to biodiversity and environmental sustainability in the
Parish.
Goals /
objectives:
·
The Parish Council will identify,
promote and implement projects to improve biodiversity within the Parish.
·
Engage the community in the
implementation and ongoing upkeep of biodiversity projects.
·
Identify opportunities to increase
environmental sustainability and where possible reduce carbon emissions.
Examples
·
Pond restoration.
·
Projects to protect and support wildlife, flora and
fauna.
·
Introduction of charging points for electric
vehicles.
·
Projects to protect the natural environment.
WORK STREAM 3. PUBLIC REALM / PARISH BUILT
ENVIRONMENT
Lead Councillor: George Dutton
Scope:
·
All
matters relating to the built fabric of the parish and all parish assets (e.g.
benches, phone box, village signs (non-highway signage), defibrillator, Parish
Council owned land)
Goals /
objectives:
·
Ensure
that the built environment of the village is maintained to a good standard.
·
Initiate
and coordinate focused community projects on a case-by-case basis to restore,
repair and upgrade assets of the Parish as agreed by the Parish Council
Examples
·
Restoration
of village signs, repurposing of the phone box.
WORK STREAM 4 REGIONAL PROJECT LIAISON
Lead Councillor: Louise Corlett
Scope:
·
Primary
point of liaison regarding matters involving local, regional or national
infrastructure, commercial, planning or transport projects where the residents
of Parish may or may not be directly impacted.
Goals /
objectives:
·
Act
as the initial point of contact to assess the scope of the project.
·
Ensure
that the Parish Council is consulted about such projects and possible impacts
on Lower Peover
·
Establish
working groups or other relevant mechanisms to evaluate proposals, collate
community responses or feedback on public consultations.
·
Recommend
appropriate responses to the Parish Council and advise on further action
relating to any such project.
Examples
·
Future
Airspace project at Manchester Airport, HyNet, gas storage facilities west of
the M6, water treatment works.
