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.