Granting the Freedom of Frodsham to the Royal British Legion Frodsham Branch

February 25, 2015, 3:05 pm

≫ Next: Celebrating Frodsham and our wonderful community

≪ Previous: Peel's latest statement on fracking

Tonight we held a special meeting of Frodsham Town Council. For the first time in Frodsham's history we granted the Freedom of Frodsham. We bestowed the honour on the Royal British Legion Frodsham Branch. We also granted them the Freedom of Entry to the Town as they are a military detachment.

I had the honour of formally proposing the award and Cllr Fran Sutton seconded the motion. This is what was said in proposing and seconding the motion:

Cllr Andrew Dawson:

'Mr Chairman, Mr Mayor, Fellow Councillors Honoured and distinguished guests it is a great honour for me to be the one called on to propose the awarding of this council’s first civic honour. The granting of the Freedom of Frodsham to our very own Royal British Legion Frodsham Branch.

The power to confer the honour of the ‘Freedom of Frodsham’ was granted to us in January 2010. The granting of the freedom of a town or Borough is a great honour – and we can only grant it to:

Persons of distinction or to

Persons who have in the opinion of this council have rendered eminent service to Frodsham.

We are also going to grant the Freedom of Entry into Frodsham to the Legion too. Something that can only be conferred on a military detachment. We are going to give them the right to attend all our civic occasions as well as marching through Frodsham with drums beating, colours flying and bayonets fixed – so everyone be warned!

I truly believe that the Frodsham Branch of the Royal British Legion represents all that is good about Frodsham, and in fact all that is good about our country.

We are all acutely aware I’m sure of the sacrifices made by the armed forces of this country over the years and centuries – especially when commemorating the 100^th anniversary of the commencement of the First World War.

We see the members of our branch of the legion at the Town’s events and celebrations as well as our acts of collective remembrance in November at St Lawrence Church and at the top of the Hill. For me it is their calm, quiet dignity that stands out on these occasions – even when it might be a fun day in Castle Park. They are always well presented - even if I may not be!

It is very much the case that when they stand they stand not only for themselves and the work that they do – but also for their and our countless comrades who never came back from serving our country.

But of course much of the work of the legion is what we don’t see on the public occasions.

The Royal British Legion is an organisation that stands for peace and that seeks to relieve suffering caused by war. It stands for welfare, comradeship, representation and remembrance and by granting our branch of the legion the freedom of Frodsham we are saying, in my view, we wholeheartedly support you in your vital work.

Now I’ve always been one to participate in acts of remembrance – and I’ve done this from my youngest days. But for me what the Legion is all about, why they are so important and why it is right that we honour them with our first honour struck home to me in an event in the nearby Brindley Theatre.

It was nearly 4 years ago when I was Mayor. I was proud to represent Frodsham at a concert organised by the Legion.

During the evening I was asked to present a framed photograph to a young lad. The photograph was of his father – a soldier. A soldier who wasn’t coming home.

The small act of commemoration I participated in was part of the much greater support the Legion was offering that bereaved family. The Legion was there for that family – helping them in their darkest days as they have done for countless other families up and down the country since they were formed.

I wish the need for that work wasn’t there, but it is, and regrettably the need for their support looks set to continue for the foreseeable future.

I now turn to the formal proposal to this council which is before us all in writing which allows me simply to say.

Mr Chairman, Mr Mayor, Fellow Councillors, Honoured and distinguished guests I propose:

that Frodsham Town Council grant and bestow to the

Royal British Legion, Frodsham Branch

the Honorary Freedom together with the Freedom of Entry into the town and parish of Frodsham in the County of Cheshire.

Thank you Mr Chairman.'

Cllr Fran Sutton, Deputy Mayor of Frodsham said:

Mr Chairman, Mr Mayor, Fellow Councillors, Honoured and distinguished guests I have great honour in seconding the proposal.

The certificate commemorating the granting of these Freedoms also explains why we are conferring these honours.

It says that the granting of these freedoms are

in consideration of:

the eminent service and sacrifice of members of the Royal British Legion both past and present to our Sovereign Lady the Queen and her predecessors, to our country, and to and for the community and town of Frodsham;

And in recognition of the long standing association between the

Royal British Legion and the community and town of Frodsham;

And in due recognition of their eminent service and sacrifice made in the

defence of freedom, in relieving suffering and in advancing the cause of peace

The Council of this Town and Ancient Borough of Frodsham

is pleased and proud to grant the honour and admit the

Royal British Legion, Frodsham Branch to the

Honorary Freedom of the town and parish of Frodsham

And also to grant to it the full right and freedom of entry together with the privilege, honour and distinction of marching through the streets of Frodsham on ceremonial occasions with drums beating, colours flying and bayonets fixed and to be represented henceforth at all civic occasions.

I second the motion.

As one would expect the motion was carried unanimously.

The formal presentation was then carried out by the Mayor of Frodsham Cllr Allen Wales and our Junior Mayors.

Lots of photographs were taken - and here are just a few of them... as you can tell, not all taken by me!

Me proposing that the Council awards both the Honorary Freedom and the Freedom of Entry to Frodsham

The response for the Legion - suggesting that they will enjoy exercising their freedoms in Frodsham!

Mayor, Deputy Mayor and Junior Mayors of Frodsham conferring the Freedoms on the Legion

signing the Certificates conferring the Freedom of Frodsham on the Royal British Legion Frodsham Branch.

The commemorative certificate and Badge commemorating the bestowal of the Freedom of Frodsham

The formal certificates

It was a wonderful first for Frodsham and I look forward to the Town honouring many others over future years who have served Frodsham and the wider community with distinction.

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Celebrating Frodsham and our wonderful community

February 26, 2015, 12:36 am

≫ Next: Keeping the Council Tax low in Frodsham

≪ Previous: Granting the Freedom of Frodsham to the Royal British Legion Frodsham Branch

Earlier this week, we as a town, conferred the Freedom of Frodsham on our own branch of the Royal British Legion. We gave them both types of Freedom - the Honorary Freedom conferred on someone who has performed 'eminent' service for Frodsham, and the 'freedom of entry' that is given to military detachments.

We are only the second town in the entire country to confer this honour on the Royal British Legion... and if I had had my way a few years ago we would have been the first.

I am very proud of Frodsham. It is my home and in fact the only place that has felt like home for me. I am very proud of my Manx heritage. I have great respect for Liverpool - the city I spent my formative years in - but it is Frodsham that is my and my family's home. I tease my wife, and particularly my mother-in-law by saying that I am only respectable because I married into their Frodsham family!

Frodsham is a wonderful place, and a great community... and if we are to remain so, if we are to attract investment we need to be a little less coy about it. We need to let people know just how great we are, what a wonderful community we are and why investing in Frodsham and the surrounding area make such sense. We all need to be ambassadors for Frodsham. And shouldn't all our councillors take on that ambassadorial role as part of the job - along with everyone else who thinks the same?

I'm delighted that so many of my fellow councillors on Frodsham Town Council agreed with me. Over the last 4 years or so we have been expanding the civic roles in Frodsham. We have split the role of Mayor and Chairman of the council. This allows the Chairman to run the business and the Mayor to perform all the important civic and representative roles entirely free from the malestrom the leading the town council can be. I have to say that 2011-12, the year I was Mayor of Frodsham and the last year that the Mayorship and Chairmanship vested in the same person, was the most taxing and wearing year of my life so far. Asking one person to do everything - leading and chairing the council and perform all the civic roles is, in my view, too much, especially as the town council's role is expanding and it takes on more functions and responsibilities.

Cllr Allen Wales, our present Mayor, is absolutely brilliant. He is a credit to the town. He works really hard representing the town outside Frodsham and the council within Frodsham. I'm also delighted that we now have junior mayors alongside Allen. It is fantastic to see youngsters alongside our Mayor at civic occasions - they are, after all our future! It is also wonderful to see their evident pride and joy in representing Frodsham too.

Separating the Mayorship from the Chairmanship, having Junior Mayors and establishing local honours such as the granting of the Freedom is, in my view, all part of a growing self-confidence in Frodsham - and most of the town councillors agree.

However we have not been unanimous and here lies the rub. When it comes to granting honours, such as the 'Freedom of Frodsham' the council can only do so on the basis of a 2/3rds majority. Of course one would expect that the council would be unanimous when conferring any such award. I would have been able to have proposed the awarding of the Freedom of Frodsham 3 years ago were it not for the opposition of certain Councillors. I was not prepared to split the council over the issue at that time. I hoped that the passage of time would bring them round or offer some other solution.

Circumstances did change somewhat following a series of by-elections but we were still left with a 'rump' of disgruntled councillors. Fortunately when I proposed that we grant the freedom again last summer the council readily passed the enabling resolution which led to this week's wonderful cermonial with the Royal British Legion.

Now I ask the people of Frodsham to look carefully at the minutes of the meeting where we granted the Freedoms. The minutes for the meeting of 25 February. The minutes will show the council was unanimous. But we didn't have all 16 members present. Some were away on business, some were gracious enough to apologise for their absence. Others were not so gracious.

Those councillors who chose not to attend will have to answer themselves as to what their motivations were and are and what else they put as a priority ahead of the granting of Frodsham's first civic award. However from my point of view it is all very straight forward. When you enter public service - the idea is one of service. You put the community ahead of your own personal interests. If you can't do that - if you put your own personal agenda first - you are not fit to be a councillor and certainly not a fit representative for our fantastic community. I expect better, and I think the vast majority of Frodsham residents would agree too.

↧

Keeping the Council Tax low in Frodsham

March 2, 2015, 5:31 am

≫ Next: Child sexual abuse - Government announcements

≪ Previous: Celebrating Frodsham and our wonderful community

Last Thursday night, at CWaC we set the council tax for the year. CWaC chose to freeze its element of the council tax again.

Within our Borough there are 5 elements and 4 authorities that contribute to our council tax bills. They are:

1. Cheshire West and Chester Council. This charge is are made up of 2 elements:

the main charge and
special expenses;

2. Cheshire Police and Crime Commissioner;

3. Cheshire Fire and Rescue Authority; and

4. Frodsham Town Council.

Frodsham is one of only 3 communities in the entire Borough where the special expenses figure is zero. This is because we pay for things like play areas, our Christmas lights and our Police Community Support Officer via the Town Council. Elsewhere these services which can be provided by a parish council are provided by CWaC - hence those communities being re-charged for those services. If this didn't happen communities like Frodsham would end up paying twice.

The good news for all of us in Frodsham is that CWaC kept the council tax at the same rate it was last year. Frodsham Town Council made a small reduction in its charge. Both the Police and Crime Commissioner and the Fire and Rescue Authority increased their charges by just under 2%.

So all this means the Band D charge in Frodsham for 2015-16 will be £1,532.99

When one compares council tax rates one uses the Band D charge.

There are 8 council tax bands from A to H. The charge is set at the Band D level - and the amount paid by those in the other bands (before any discounts) is a number of ninths compared with the Band D charge. So, for example, a Band A charge is 6/9ths of the Band D charge, Band B is 7/9ths; Band C is 8/9ths. Band E is 11/9ths, Band F is 13/9ths, Band G is 15/9ths and Band H is 18/9ths.

Now Borough councils like CWaC have 3 main sources of income. Grants from Government, part of the Business Rates and the money raised by the council tax.

In a Borough like CWaC half the money is raised through the council tax and a third comes from government grants. In Cheshire East the percentage raised through the council tax is more than 60% of what that council spends with government grants only being around a quarter of that council's spending However in places like Liverpool more than half of the money spent by that council comes by way of Government grants.

I was astonished during the debate when Labour Cllr Paul Dolan stood up and argued for places like Liverpool and councils in Manchester to be given yet more central government support - especially when it would be at the expense of apparently more affluent areas. He said this even when those areas already receive far more than us per head in any event. In saying this, however, he was echoing what Hilary Benn MP has already said.

Hilary Benn is Labour Shadow Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government. In August 2014 he wrote to all councils telling them that if Labour was to form the next Government they would keep to the same size budget for central government support for councils as a whole - but that money would be moved from the more affluent areas to the less affluent areas. In my view this means a direct threat to areas like Cheshire West and Chester. Assuming I am right Labour will look to remove more government grants from us inevitably increasing the pressure on the council tax.

The Labour councillors voted against the budget resolution on Thursday - even though it included an additional £1m of spending on the Borough's play areas.

Since 2009 all residents of Frodsham have seen their council tax fall by 14% in real terms. Have a look at this Video for more of the details. Labour also remains opposed to the special expenses arrangements which, as I mentioned earlier, protect us in Frodsham for paying twice for the same services.

↧

Child sexual abuse - Government announcements

March 3, 2015, 12:06 am

≫ Next: Frodsham Station Car Park and the Halton Curve

≪ Previous: Keeping the Council Tax low in Frodsham

The news media is full of plans being discussed by the Prime Minister to make it a criminal offence for teachers, social workers, local authority officials and councillors to 'wilfully neglect' suspicions of child abuse.

Any one in such position that does 'wilfully neglect' such suspicions will face the risk of being imprisoned for up to 5 years.

However you look at this issue it must be right that everyone involved in keeping our children safe knows that this is both a legal and a moral duty - and it is a duty that, if breached, brings with it personal consequences such the risk of imprisonment.

Now I do hope when the Prime Minister makes his announcements later on today that he expands the list of people who may be subject to criminal sanctions to include civil servants, MPs and Ministers, police, doctors and nurses etc.

I would have thought that if the scandals recently unearthed have taught us anything it is that everyone involved in looking after our children should be under the same duty to report their suspicions. So if the media reports are true - Mr Prime Minister - make sure your plans are broad and all encompassing. Protecting our children goes beyond local government.

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Frodsham Station Car Park and the Halton Curve

March 17, 2015, 4:23 am

≫ Next: Frodsham Transitions Debate on Energy

≪ Previous: Child sexual abuse - Government announcements

Lynn and I have been working hard behind the scenes now for many years on seeking to get Network Rail, Arriva Trains as well as Cheshire West and Chester Council and the Government to invest in our station car park. We've had debates at CWaC Council meetings, I've met the Transport Secretary of State Rt Hon Patrick McLoughlin MP and specifically raised the importance of the car park. The Secretary of State has even visited Frodsham Station and seen the situation for himself. The latest developments include an exchange of correspondence with the Secretary of State's office and Lynn and I writing to a raft of other interested parties.

We all know that the car park is full by around 8am most weekday morning and the parking in Frodsham for shoppers can be something of a problem. We all welcome Frodsham's free car parking and Lynn and I are pledged to do what we can to ensure that car parking in Frodsham remains free for shoppers and residents. We both see this as important for keeping Frodsham as the most successful retailing location in the Borough.

The re-opening of the Halton Curve is literally around the corner - the summer of 2017 is the suggested date for the works to take place. When the curve is re-opened to two way passenger traffic Frodsham station is likely to become even more popular. Car parking pressures in the town as a whole are likely to increase.

The obvious solution is, of course to increase car parking capacity at the station car park.

In addition to the continual lobbying:

In July 2014 I proposed the following motion to CWaC Full Council. The council resolved to adopt it:

This video shows extracts from that debate and from the subsequent debate in December 2014 when rail projects were again considered.

The unanimous resolution from July 2014 was:

DECIDED:

That this Council welcomes the recent announcement by the Chancellor of the Exchequer the Rt Hon George Osborne MP of the Government’s investment of £10.4 million in the restoration of the Halton Curve. The council also congratulates all who have campaigned so hard and for so many years for the Halton Curve to be restored.

The council notes in particular the successful work of Graham Evans MP, that of the North Cheshire Rail Supporters Group ably led by its Chairman Janet Briggs and even those who caught the Parliamentary Trains from time to time.

The prospect of the Halton Curve being open to regular and frequent two-way rail traffic brings with it fantastic opportunities and some challenges. The benefits of the curve being re-opened will be felt both within and outside the Borough. The prospect of easy rail journeys from North Wales, Chester, Helsby and Frodsham to Liverpool Airport beckons as well as the wider travel opportunities to Liverpool and all stations on the West Coast Main Line.

The Council calls on the Executive to undertake the necessary preparatory and planning work that will bring the maximum benefit to the Borough from the Halton Curve re-opening – including opening a dialogue with Network Rail and other stakeholders so as to ensure that our local infrastructure (including the station car parks at Frodsham and Helsby) will be able to manage the expected growth in rail travellers.

In December 2014 CWaC Council again debated the planned rail improvements that will have an impact on the Borough. The Halton Curve is one of the 11 schemes. In the debate I again raised the importance of investing in the associated infrastructure - such as car parking.

On 6 February 2015 the Secretary of State visited Frodsham, was shown the station car park by Graham Evans MP. I met him later that evening and pressed on him the importance of investing in our station car parks.

Me, Secretary of State Patrick McLoughlin, Cllr Alan McKie, Graham Evans MP
discussing car parking at Frodsham and Helsby stations

Secretary of State at Frodsham Railway Station with Graham Evans MP with Janet and Philip Briggs
of North Cheshire Rail Users Group discussing the prospect of the Halton Curve for Frodsham

Following our meeting I wrote to the Secretary of State on 10 February 2015 in the following terms:

DearSecretaryofState

Re:HaltonCurveand associatedinfrastructureneeds:

Frodsham&HelsbyStations-carparking

ThankyouforvisitingFrodshamStationon6February2015andforspeakingwithGrahamEvansMP,CllrAlanMcKieandmeabouttheHaltonCurveandourassociatedinfrastructureneeds.

LocallywearedelightedthatyouandtheGovernmenthaverecognisedtheimportanceof reinstatingtheHaltonCurveandmakingthelinksbetweenthenorthernCheshirerailwaylinesandLiverpool. Overrecentyearswehaveseensignificantgrowthinrailusageatourlocalrailway stations-notablyatFrodshamandHelsby. Manyofthepassengersarriveatthestationsbycar-andparktheircarsatorneartheseStations.

Frodshamstationcarparkisfulleveryworkingday byaround 8am inthemorning.Thisisproblematicforthetownasthestationcarparkisone of ourprincipalcarparksforthetownasawhole.TheSituationatHelsbyRailwayStationcarparkisalsoparticularlypressured.

OurcommunitieswanttheinvestmentintheHaltonCurvetobemaximisedbutweneedtomakesuretheassociatedinfrastructuresuchascarparkingcapacityatFrodshamandHelsbyrailwaystationsissignificantlyexpandedtosupportthegreaternumberofpassengersanticipated.Wealsoneedtoensurethatourcommunitiesavoidtheworstconsequencesofhavinginsufficientcarparkingspaces. Frodshamisthemostsuccessful retaillocationinCheshireWestandChesterintermsofitslowretailvacancyrate.Suchapositioncanonlybemaintainedifvisitorscanparktheircarseasilyinthetown.

At mybehestCheshireWestandChesterCouncilresolvedtosupporttheexpansionoftherailnetworkinandaroundourBorough.Thecouncilalsonotedthattheexpansionoftherailnetworkbringswithitdemandstoimprovetheassociatedinfrastructuresuchasstationcarparks.

We'dverymuchwelcomeanannouncementfromyouastowhentheHaltonCurveworkswillbecommencedalongwithaStatementindicatingthattheGovernmentandNetworkRailwillbe investinginourlocalcarparkstoo.TheobvioussolutionforFrodshamisasmall multi-storeycar park.ForHelsby,landadjacenttothestationcouldreadilybecomeacarpark.

Yours sincerely

Cllr Andrew Dawson

On 10 March 2015 I received the following reply:

With this reply - and following up on the information in the letter on 16 March Lynn and

I wrote the following letter to:

(1) First Minister, Welsh Assembly Government

(2) Chief Executive National Rail

(3) Chief Executive Arriva Trains Wales

(4) Chief Executive Merseytravel

(5) Cheif Executive Cheshire West and Chester Council

Dear Sirs

Frodsham Railway Station Car Park – likely impact of restoration of Halton Curve reopening

We have been in correspondence with the Secretary of State the Rt Hon Patrick McLoughlin MP regarding the re-opening of the Halton Curve railway line and in particular the importance of investing in car parking capacity and other associated infrastructure at Railway Stations such as Frodsham. In his reply to us the Secretary of State’s office has pointed to the role of each of your respective organisations in the Halton Curve scheme – hence our correspondence with you now.

As we are sure you already recognise this short stretch of railway joins the main Chester & North Wales to Manchester Line with the Liverpool-London line. When completed it will be a strategic link giving main line rail access to Liverpool and the Liverpool-London line for those of us living in north Cheshire and north Wales.

There has been significant and welcome growth in rail passengers using Frodsham station in recent years. Many rail commuters travel to Frodsham by car and park at our Cheshire West and Chester Council owned station car park. Typically this car park is full by 8am on a weekday morning. This inevitably means that the car park is not available for visitors and shoppers to Frodsham. It also means that some rail commuters have to park elsewhere in the town. Problems are most acute on Thursdays when Main Street in Frodsham hosts the weekly market. Frodsham is also the most successful retail location in Cheshire West and Chester.[1]

Whilst we very much welcome the announcement of funding for these works and the indicative timetable suggesting that the Curve could be re-opened to two-way passenger traffic by the summer of 2017 we are very conscious that if the use of the service is to be maximised and the vitality of Frodsham as a successful shopping centre is to be protected additional car parking capacity associated with rail travel will need to be created. The obvious solution to this very obvious issue is to create additional capacity at the station car park where Network Rail also own land.

Given your identified and pivotal role in the restoration of the Halton Curve we call upon each of you individually and collectively to tell us what plans you have to invest in Frodsham’s infrastructure in advance of the curve re-opening.

Whilst the likely effects in Frodsham are readily identifiable and predictable there are already acute problems at Helsby Railway station car park ever before one considers the additional traffic that will be generated by the re-opening of the Halton Curve. Given this we would welcome sight of your all your risk assessments, plans and proposals for all affected stations in North Cheshire and North Wales.

As Cheshire West and Chester Councillors we have already have had Cheshire West and Chester Council debate the Halton Curve and we have participated in other debates where the investment in Cheshire and North Wale rail infrastructure has also been very much welcomed. We have also sought to ensure that our council plays its part in investing in our infrastructure – and we call on all strategic partners to do the same.

Extract of minutes from the most recent council meetings have been appended to this letter for ease of reference. Should you wish to view the debates you can review the webcasts or ask the council for any archived videos.

We see investing in Frodsham’s infrastructure both as a key component in ensuring the success of the Halton Curve re-opening as well as safeguarding Frodsham’s future as a successful and welcoming retail location where rail commuters and shoppers can park without harm to the town or its residents. We seek assurances that you share our ambition and recognise the importance of this issue to Frodsham and that you are committed as we are to see the necessary investments made in advance of the curve re-opening to regular two-way passenger trains.

Yours faithfully

Cllrs Andrew Dawson & Lynn Riley

[1] As measured by vacancies in retail units. Current figure less than 3 percent as measured by CWaC LDF annual monitoring report

We've also written specifically to CWaC asking them to put the station car park before the LEP - the Local Enterprise Partnership - and to investigate whether additional land could be made available for expanding the station car park too.

We live, as they say, in interesting times.
As we get replies from the various organisations involved we will publish them for everyone to see.

↧

Frodsham Transitions Debate on Energy

March 18, 2015, 4:06 pm

≫ Next: Planning committee meeting 31 March 2015

≪ Previous: Frodsham Station Car Park and the Halton Curve

We have a debate tonight at the Community Centre in Frodsham considering the country's energy needs and future. We will consider fracking.

I'll be speaking for 5 minutes ...

If you want to know Lynn and my views on these things these are the views we put forward last month to CWaC's unconventional oil and gas panel.

As you can see (and hear) Lynn and I put the community front and centre...

Apologies that the sound quality isn't the best. I'll try and deal with this over the following days.

↧

Planning committee meeting 31 March 2015

March 30, 2015, 5:46 am

≫ Next: Air Quality update

≪ Previous: Frodsham Transitions Debate on Energy

There are two interesting planning applications to be considered by CWaC's planning committee tomorrow. They are:

The proposal to build 12 houses on land near Forest Hills hotel; and
The continuation of the Bear's Paw proposal to use part of the pavement on Main Street for al fresco dining and drinking.

Lynn and I have called-in these applications for determination by the planning committee given the local controversy that each, in their own way invites.

You can see both proposals if you click this link:

http://cmttpublic.cheshirewestandchester.gov.uk/ieListDocuments.aspx?CId=827&MId=4285&Ver=4

and look towards the bottom of the agenda.

As you can see the officers are recommending both proposals for approval.

Do be in touch if there are any representations you would like Lynn or me to make on your behalf.

↧

Air Quality update

March 31, 2015, 1:44 am

≫ Next: In Flanders Fields - visit to the Menin Gate, Tyne Cot Cemetery and the Ypres Salient

≪ Previous: Planning committee meeting 31 March 2015

We had an interesting Air Quality forum meeting last night. This forum is a sub group of the Ince Resource Recovery Forum with the specific remit to look at Air Quality. We had representatives from CWaC, Environment Agency and Public Health England present at the forum along with community representatives, councillors and representatives from Peel. That said I was the only CWaC Councillor present.

I was very pleased to hear the praise given both to CWaC and to Lynn and me personally on this issue from the Environment Agency, Public Health England and CWaC's environmental health officer. The Environment Agency see the CWaC continuous air quality monitoring and near instantaneous on-line reporting as being an example of what other councils should follow. Halton, Knowsley and Liverpool City Council take note! A representative of Peel also thanked me privately - and for helping Peel 'do the right thing.'

Public Health England are delighted to be taking part in a real forum bringing together industry, independent experts and community representatives. They, like me, recognise that the issue is not just a matter of monitoring data, it is also a question of community perception and community confidence and crucially independent assessment of the air quality data.

Since April 2014 we have had continuous air quality monitoring in Frodsham. Lynn and I part funded the equipment being brought to Frodsham out of 'our' members' grants. We wanted to get baseline data ahead of the Ineos incinerator being commissioned and ahead of any of the Peel Holdings incinerators being built at Ince. We've achieved both of these things.

The monitoring station is at Manor House Primary School on Langdale Way. If you are interested in seeing the data you can on-line at:

http://www.cheshirewestandchester.gov.uk/residents/pests_pollution_food_safety/pollution_and_air_quality/real-time_monitoring_graphs.aspx

The green cabinets show the continuous air monitoring locations and the tube shows a background pollutants monitor. If you click on the cabinets etc whilst on the CWaC website you can see the current air monitoring data

This snapshot shows the pollution data and Manor House school at 07:00 this morning

On the website you can find real time data on Nitrogen Oxides, Sulphur Dioxide and particulates (PM10s).

You can also find diffusion tube data too showing the 17 locations in Frodsham where we either have or are monitoring air quality - especially the air quality associated with traffic pollution. Ever since I was elected in 2007 air quality in Frodsham has been a priority for me - hence the 17 air monitoring locations! You can find that data here:

http://www.cheshirewestandchester.gov.uk/residents/pests_pollution_food_safety/pollution_and_air_quality/air_quality_monitoring/diffusion_tube_sites_frodsham.aspx

The blue tubes show monitors within 5m of the kerbside, the orange one is a tube within 1m of the kerbside

Frodsham's air quality is amongst the most closely monitored in the Borough.

All the data shows that our air quality is very good - and typical of what is expected in the country as a whole. The only issue we have is traffic pollution with the Fluin Lane/A56 junction being our pollution hotspot. I also monitor air quality via an app on my iphone linked to the European Citeair index and netatmo weather sensors I have around the place. It is always interesting to see the correlation between the different indicators.

It would appear that industry isn't an issue for us. That said we can't be complacent about these issues and we do need to keep monitoring so we are in a place to detect any potential problems in the future.

I checked with Public Health England that we were monitoring the right parameters. They confirmed that we are - although there is an increasing awareness that we should look to monitor even smaller particulates - the PM2.5s. If I am in a position to influence this going forward I will be looking to have our air monitoring improved further - such as monitoring for these very small particles.

Incidentally CWaC will be producing an annual report on air quality which will include Frodsham later this year.

Peel have just submitted their proposals for continuous air monitoring in and around the Mersey Estuary to go along side their Ince Resource Recovery Park development. They have said they are committed to permanent off site air quality monitoring. They have accepted the representations Lynn and I have made to them that it is important for them, their clients, and more importantly all of us who live in and around the Mersey Estuary to have off site monitoring and public access and public scrutiny of the air quality data.

Practical politics delivering for Frodsham when and where it really matters.

↧

In Flanders Fields - visit to the Menin Gate, Tyne Cot Cemetery and the Ypres Salient

April 11, 2015, 2:27 pm

≫ Next: The new warding arrangements in Frodsham

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My wife and I have just come back from a short holiday in Ypres, Belgium. I was honoured to be asked by our Mayor Cllr Allen Wales to join him and his wife and Geoff Abnett from the Frodsham Branch of the Royal British Legion in being part of the party laying two wreaths at the Menin Gate for Frodsham.

The Menin Gate commemorates the British and Commonwealth soldiers who died 'in Flanders Fields' and who have no known grave. There are more than 54,000 names recorded on the monument. They ran out of space there - there are a further 34,000 names recorded at Tyne Cot Commonwealth War Graves Cemetery.

Menin Gate, Ypres

The Menin Gate schedule for 9 April 2015

Every evening the road is closed and at 8pm the last post is sounded to commemorate the fallen. This has been done every evening since 2 July 1928 other than when the Germans occupied Ypres in the second world war. The ceremony restarted even when only part of Ypres had been liberated in the second world war.

The buglers who sound the last post come from the local volunteer Fire Brigade.

The ceremony is carried out with respect and is very moving and humbling. I was very struck by the involvement of the local people - who wear 'our' Royal crown with pride and sing 'our' national anthem with us. People come from all over the world to lay wreaths.

Royal British Legion Frodsham's wreath

Wreath from Mayor of Frodsham

wreaths laid on 9 April 2015 including from Mayor of Frodsham and the Frodsham Branch of the Royal British Legion

This is only part of the crowd that gathers for the commemoration

Before the ceremony: Geoff Abnett, me, Cllr and Mrs Wales

Laying the wreaths for Frodsham

After the ceremony - Allen was asked to take the march past of an RAF contingent.

We also went to some of the Ypres salient battle sites. What really struck me was just how many men died over such a small area of ground. If ever you needed a clear demonstration of the futility of war go and visit the sites and the cemeteries.

Hooge Crater Commonwealth War Graves Cemetery

St George's Church Ypres

St George's Church, Ypres is an Anglican church where you can find memorials to individuals, regiments and even several schools commemorating those who never came back from the first world war.

I took photographs of the Cheshire Regiment plaques on both the Menin Gate and Tyne Cot. The names of men from Frodsham can be found on them. If anyone would like any of those photographs please let me know.

Just to be absolutely clear - no public money was used to pay for any aspect of Cllr & Mrs Wales or my and my wife's trip or attendance.

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The new warding arrangements in Frodsham

April 12, 2015, 6:23 am

≫ Next: Latest Employment figures

≪ Previous: In Flanders Fields - visit to the Menin Gate, Tyne Cot Cemetery and the Ypres Salient

This map shows the boundary for Frodsham parish which came into effect on 1 April 2015 and the new warding arrangements for Frodsham Town Council for the 7 May 2015 elections.

The CWaC ward of Frodsham remains unchanged on the old Town boundaries - although it is likely to be changed to co-incide with the expanded Town Boundaries before the 2019 council elections!

The hatched areas on the map show where Frodsham has expanded. There are really only two changes. First the eastern boundary is now the Weaver Navigation as opposed to the River Weaver. This change is shown in two pieces simply because the blue hatched area is being added to the northern ward (Frodsham Waterside) and the green hatched portion is being added to the eastern ward (Frodsham Lakes). Secondly Kingsley Green and Lady Hayes have also moved into Frodsham.

As before Frodsham Town is divided into 4 wards for the town council elections and the
However unlike the previous arrangements this time all 4 wards have 4 members. It is this change, and the need to ensure electoral parity between the wards that has given rise to these changes. All 4 wards are within 10% of each other in terms of size - so each voter's vote effectively counts the same.

The ward boundaries are shown by the gold lines. The wards have also been renamed - and are now no longer simply 'compass points.'

The boundaries, in the main go down the middle of major roads or follow clearly defined physical features such as the railway line.

Frodsham Waterside - the northern ward - is by far the largest in land area because it takes in all of Frodsham marshes. The boundary with Frodsham Lakes ward is the centre-line of the A56 from the swing bridge to the junction of Fluin Lane. Frodsham Waterside's boundary with Castle Park ward is the A56 from Fluin Lane to Greenfield Lane. Then it is Greenfield Lane and then the Chester - Manchester Railway line.

Castle Park ward - incorporates all of the old West ward - and more besides. Under the old arrangements this ward only elected 3 councillors so, in round terms, its population has expanded by around 25%.

Castle Park ward takes in everything on the western side of Frodsham between the railway and the A56. One of the few 'kinks' in this ward boundary is to take in the park homes on the south side of the A56 near our boundary with Helsby. This ward also encompasses virtually everything in the town centre. The eastern most extent of Castle Park ward is Fluin Lane - where the boundary runs up the centre line before it follows the centre line of Lime Avenue. That boundary line then runs onto and then up Red Lane to the junction with Church Road-Howey Lane. Most of the Howey Lane properties lie in Overton and Five Crosses ward - although there are a few in Castle Park ward. Netherton Drive is in Castle Park ward too. The A56 becomes the boundary again at the Netherton.

The Frodsham Lakes ward is perhaps the easiest to describe. Its boundaries are, in essence the centre lines of Bridge Lane, Fluin Lane (albeit with a dog-leg taking in the top triangle from Lime Avenue) and Bradley Lane.

Overton & Five Crosses ward takes in all the rest! Everything south of the A56 from our boundary with Helsby. Everything south of Howey Lane and Bradley Lane.

For electoral purposes CWaC recognises Frodsham's four wards under the following codes:

Frodsham Lakes ward - MB1
Frodsham Waterside - MB2
Castle Park Ward - MB3
Overton & Five Crosses - MB4

If you want to check which ward you are in - consult the electoral roll. Locally both the library and Frodsham Town Council should hold the current electoral rolls or be able to access them.

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Latest Employment figures

April 17, 2015, 4:09 am

≫ Next: Review of Mersey Crossing Tolls to be announced

≪ Previous: The new warding arrangements in Frodsham

The Office of National Statistics have published the latest employment data today. It shows just how well the economy is doing and the significant further growth in jobs both nationally and regionally.

In the north west of England the unemployment claimant count rate has dropped to 2.2%. We already know that CWaC is outperforming the north west of England figures too.

These charts have been produced by the ONS:

There is also excellent news showing the continuing growth in wages - and this at a time when inflation has been 0% for the last 2 months.

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Review of Mersey Crossing Tolls to be announced

April 17, 2015, 11:03 am

≫ Next: Swimming Pool proposals - an update

≪ Previous: Latest Employment figures

As is often the way of things advance news is emerging of a statement to be expected from Rt Hon George Osborne MP regarding a review of the toll charges to cross the River Mersey.

The reports indicate that the Chancellor will announce a review as to whether the scheme designed to allow Halton Residents to cross the new Mersey crossing and the Silver Jubilee Bridge free of charge can be extended to Cheshire West and Chester and Warrington. The review is also set to encompass the Wirral and use of the Mersey Tunnels.

The reports note and praise the 'persistent' lobbying by our MP Graham Evans and his colleagues Esther McVey and David Mowatt.

I'm delighted that the pressure Graham has exerted is set to pay off ... and the pressure that I and others have been exerting on him about this issue for many months now.

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Swimming Pool proposals - an update

April 19, 2015, 12:04 pm

≫ Next: David Cameron comes to the Constituency

≪ Previous: Review of Mersey Crossing Tolls to be announced

Lynn and I are committed to a full consultation with residents over whether there is support for a community swimming pool. Personally both of us would like to see a community pool built somewhere along the A56 - potentially at Helsby High School. It would be a pool that would serve Frodsham, Helsby and the surrounding villages and communities. In essence it would be a pool for the Helsby High School catchment area.

However as such a pool would cost of the order of £3m as well as having substantial on-going running costs - we have to be clear that such a pool would be both affordable and that it would be used, if built by the community.

Sport England (and Active Cheshire) advise that the minimum catchment area for a community pool is a population of 13,000. They also advise that around 90% of community pools run at a loss. The population of the High School catchment area is of the order of 18,000. Frodsham's population is around 9,000. Frodsham is not in a position to 'go it alone.'

Now whatever we may think of Peel's various plans us and the land on the Mersey Estuary - there will be substantial community benefit funds being made available. However even though these funds will be substantial - they do not cover the capital and running costs for building a pool. Peel is currently considering offering around £2,000 per MW of nominal output of their wind farm for each of the next 25 years. The nominal capacity is 50MW. Therefore the minimum offered payment each year for 25 years would be £100,000 per year. £100,000 is around the parish council budget for Helsby Parish, or around half of the Frodsham Town council annual budget. If we are to have a community pool - we will have to find funds elsewhere too.

Lynn and I have already secured the interest in the scheme of CWaC. CWaC are carrying out a feasibility study. The initial thoughts from CWaC are that the community benefit funds would need to be invested in the pool. However the decision about how such funds are spent is not for CWaC to decide. Also even if all these monies are put into supporting a pool it is clear that additional resources would have to be raised.

In our view - the starting process for this has to be learning what the community want in a comprehensive consultation.

Lynn and I want to see the community asked specifically whether they support the community benefit monies being spent on a single project - like a swimming pool - or on other lots of other schemes. One of the attractions of investing in a single project is that it would minimise the costs of administering the funds. From the discussions we have had it is clear that whilst there is significant support for a pool there are also lots of other good ideas out there for these monies.

You may recall that at Frodsham's Xmas Festival on 30 November 2014 Lynn and I, with Graham Evans MP ran a stall that sought to test the level of support for a community pool. Nearly 400 people signed the petition - saying that they would support a community pool for Frodsham.

In addition to this local support we have support from Graham Evans, our council colleagues in the adjacent wards in Helsby, Kinglesy, Gowy and Elton.

In January 2015 we set out on our page in Frodsham Life what we saw as the potential 'route map' for securing a community pool. This is what the page said:

The good news for the community is that all the Conservative candidates - whether for Parliament, or for the Borough Council wards of Frodsham, Helsby, Kingsley, Gowy and Elton - all support the idea of a community pool - and that it is and must be for the community to decide whether or not there is support for the community benefit monies being spent on a pool.

The other 'news' is that in addition to the community benefit funds for the wind farm there will also be further community benefit funds if Peel builds the Ince Resource Recovery Park and the Hapsford Solar Farm. Whilst Ince has planning permission - the solar farm does not.

Lynn and I secured a commitment from Peel to provide a community benefit fund for the Ince scheme (none of the Labour Cllrs for the adjacent areas or the Labour MP for Ellesmere Port & Neston seemingly sought this nor did the Labour Secretary of State who granted the original planning permission.) We do not yet know the size of those funds.

If there is community support for a pool, a business case for it will have to be developed. If there has to be a subsidy from the council tax to support a pool we will also ensure that local residents are consulted again.

[promoted and published by Andrew Dawson & Lynn Riley on behalf of themselves - all of WVCA Unionist Buildings, Nicholas Street, Chester CH1 2NX ]

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David Cameron comes to the Constituency

April 20, 2015, 10:00 am

≫ Next: Cheshire West and Chester Election Result 2015 - Frodsham

≪ Previous: Swimming Pool proposals - an update

David Cameron, our Prime Minister came to the constituency today as part of the Conservative party's national campaign and also to support our excellent candidate Graham Evans.

The Prime Minister was welcomed by Graham Evans to Sandymoor school where the Prime Minister met staff and pupils as well as well wishers and party members.

David Cameron gave a 'barn-storming' speech highlighting just how much progress has been made in the country over the last 5 years. He pointed out how the deficit had been halved and how we as a country had created more than 2 million jobs over the last 5 years - more than the rest of the EU combined. Much work had been done - but much more also remained to be done.

The Prime Minister also highlighted the dangers of a weak Labour party being held in thrall to the SNP on a vote by vote, issue by issue basis.

Prime Minister listens to Graham Evans!

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Cheshire West and Chester Election Result 2015 - Frodsham

May 8, 2015, 12:01 pm

≫ Next: Labour take control of CWaC

≪ Previous: David Cameron comes to the Constituency

This afternoon the votes were counted in the Borough Council elections. I am honoured and delighted to report that Lynn and I were elected to serve for Frodsham for another 4 years.

The election result was:

Candidate	Party	Votes	Share	Elected
Beesley, Sue	Green	409	4.34%	No
Dawson, Andrew William	Conservative	2,456	26.08%	Yes
Fletcher, Deborah	Labour	1,305	13.86%	No
Garvey, Michael	Labour	1,435	15.24%	No
Pendlebury, Jonny	Green	421	4.47%	No
Pusey, Michael John	Independent	493	5.24%	No
Reynolds, Tom	Independent	477	5.07%	No
Riley, Lynn	Conservative	2,178	23.13%	Yes
Roberts, Vera Sandra	Liberal Democrats	242	2.57%	No

A total of 9,416 votes were cast - not counting any spoilt ballot papers.

If you like your data per party then the result is:

Conservatives - 49.2%
Labour - 29.1%
Green - 8.81%
Lib Dem 2.57%

Many thanks to everyone who voted and who participated fairly in the democratic process.

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Labour take control of CWaC

May 11, 2015, 2:04 pm

≫ Next: Labour rides roughshod at CWaC's annual council meeting

≪ Previous: Cheshire West and Chester Election Result 2015 - Frodsham

In the local government elections that took place on the same day as the General Election Labour took control of CWaC.

The new council comprises:

38 Labour Councillors;
36 Conservative Councillors; and
01 Independent.

Labour therefore has a majority of 1.

One of the interesting quirks of this election is that Labour took the majority of the council seats but didn't take the majority of the votes:

Party		Votes	% Share
Labour	38	115,473	38.09%
Conservative	36	120,477	39.74%
Other	1	6,620	2.18%
Green	0	15,802	5.21%
UKIP	0	20,882	6.89%
Liberal Democrats	0	23,887	7.88%

The turnout for these elections varied from 55.7% in Ellesmere Port to 78% in Chester Villages. In Frodsham our turnout figure was 71.4%

We all face a difficult 4 years now. With the numbers being so tight everyone will be expected to attend every meeting. There will be little opportunity for holidays, business meetings or illnesses. It will be interesting to see whether control shifts again before the next round of 'all out' elections in 2019. A couple of by-elections is all it would take.

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Labour rides roughshod at CWaC's annual council meeting

May 22, 2015, 2:43 am

≫ Next: CWaC Statement of Accounts for 2014-15 .

≪ Previous: Labour take control of CWaC

Every year each local authority has to have an annual council. In most years this is nothing more than a yearly formality. However last night's meeting at Chester's Town Hall was one of the most brutal I've ever witnessed. Constitutional norms and conventions were swept aside - along with any attempt at consultation.

Labour took control of the council at the elections with, what appears on paper at least, to be the slenderest of margins:

38 Labour
36 Conservative
1 Independent

In theory this gives them a majority of 1.

The reality on the ground, at least so far as those of us on the Conservative benches are concerned is that we suspect the independent will largely vote with Labour - in effect giving the ruling party a 39-36 majority. Slim - but workable. Actions will show whether, in fact, our suspicions are justified.

When CWaC was created there was a desire to keep the Lord Mayor of Chester. However as the Government at the time indicated that the Royal Prerogative would not be exercised to enlarge the Lord Mayorship to the entire Borough something of a compromise had to be created. There was no desire to have a Mayor of CWaC and a Lord Mayor of Chester side by side - so CWaC would be represented by the Chairman of the Council, who on the basis of the convention established would also be Lord Mayor of Chester.

The Lord Mayor would be a-political - and by convention the Chairman of the Council would and should be a-political too. This compromise kept the historic Lord Mayorship of Chester and allowed CWaC to minimise cost by having one person and one civic team representing the Borough. Whether he or she wore the Mayoral Chain at any particular event would depend on whether the event was within or outside the old Chester District boundary.

These arrangements have been maintained throughout the 7 years since CWaC was created. We have had Labour and Conservative Chairmen and women who have also served as Lord Mayor of Chester.

For the 2015-16 year, under the convention, the next scheduled Chairman and Lord Mayor of Chester was to be Conservative Cllr Hugo Deynam. Last night Labour threw that convention away and created a political Chairman of the Council. Last year's Lord Mayor and Chairman Cllr Bob Rudd was re-appointed Chairman. Cllr Deynam did become Lord Mayor.

To my mind this step was unnecessary constitutional vandalism - that will breed resentment and difficulties for years to come. It may also have increased the costs of civic representation in the Borough. We don't know whether it has or not - as this appears to be one of those details which has not yet been worked out. There is also the question whether those of us living outside the old Chester district would value a political figure attending our events as opposed to an a-political figure.

An a-political Chairman rarely, if ever votes at Council meetings. This would mean that a Conservative Chairman would, in effect put the Conservatives 1 down - entrenching Labour's majority. Now Labour would be worried whether the Conservative Chairman would ever be called upon to exercise a casting vote. However the convention followed by most councils and Parliaments is that the a-political Chairman should vote to support the status quo - or vote to support the ruling group.

To my mind Labour could have negotiated this, and further entrenched their majority. However they chose instead to create a political Chairman... and we saw that last night where Cllr Rudd, exercised his vote on several occasions. He even commented that he was doing it - sensing internally I'm sure, that this was a departure from last year when he was an a-political chairman. Labour also appointed a Labour Deputy Chairman. In my view this was a mistake as Cllr Deynam could have been retained as Deputy Chairman and thus been allowed to act as the civic representative for the entire Borough by being the Deputy. This would have been a workable compromise - and in fact is the model we followed in Frodsham when separating the Chairmanship of that council from the Mayor of Frodsham role.

Now the decisions about who will be the Lord Mayor of Chester, the Deputy Lord Mayor and the Sheriff of Chester are not made by CWaC - but are made, instead by the Charter Trustees. These Charter Trustees are in essence the councillors from the old Chester District part of the Borough, who have the power to co-opt Councillors from outside the old Chester area onto the Trustees - thereby enabling these 'outsiders' to become Lord Mayor or Sheriff of Chester.

CWaC can proffer nominees for co-option and as part of the brutalist approach by Labour they nominated 3 Labour Councillors to join the Charter Trustees - and no Conservatives.

Until last night the Charter Trustees had a 15:13 Conservative Majority. The Charter Trustees last night declined to accept 2 out of the 3 Labour nominees. So whilst this allowed the expected incoming civic team to take their places (two of whom are Labour Councillors) this also meant that 'business as usual' was not maintained.

Personally I want to see sense prevail rapidly and with a return to the conventions. This would see Cllr Hugo Deynam placed as Chairman of the Council and the honour of fulfilling the civic roles offered on rotation to the next senior councillor who had not fulfilled the role before irrespective of party. If this doesn't happen we could have the bizarre situation of someone attending a council meeting expecting to leave as an ordinary member - however instead they may leave as Deputy Lord Mayor or Sheriff of Chester!

Now not everyone sees the performance of civic roles as important - and I can understand the point of view... but the vandalism didn't end there.

The Labour group brought in, without any meaningful consultation, or any semblance of explanation wholesale changes to the committee structures. They greatly reduced the number of scrutiny committees - dispensing, at stroke, with detailed scrutiny of the finances, children and vulnerable adult safeguarding. They also dispensed with a tradition I fought hard to create - giving Chairmanships of scrutiny committees to the opposition party. The Conservatives have been given no Chairmanships in spite of the fact we are the largest ever opposition group on CWaC.

The Labour group has appointed the one independent member as Chairman of Overview and Scrutiny. However, if we are right, and that this independent isn't really as independent as he might at first sight appear, then this would appear to be nothing more than further cynical manipulation by Labour. I hope I'm wrong about this.

It would have cost Labour nothing to have followed the norms and conventions. They could have used the first 2-3 months to work out what they wanted to do - and made the necessary changes at the July Council, or indeed a special council meeting called for that purpose. They could have generated goodwill by doing so. Instead we have seen a brutal ripping up of conventions, norms and niceties.
With such a slender majority working by consensus would have made sense in my view. Clearly Labour have signalled that they have no intention of seeking consensus or the middle ground.

Now that we have a political chairman I wonder how I will address him? Is it comrade, commissar or perhaps convenor? Whatever it is, it is with a great deal less respect than was due to the a-political Chairman he once was. It was and is all so unnecessary. It was and is so disrespectful.

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CWaC Statement of Accounts for 2014-15 .

June 24, 2015, 2:17 am

≫ Next: Frodsham Windfarm update

≪ Previous: Labour rides roughshod at CWaC's annual council meeting

At CWaC's Audit & Governance Committee last night we got the first overview of CWaC's accounts for the 2014-15 municipal year. The accounts are in the course of being audited - and the committee will have the audited accounts presented to it in August 2015.

These provisional accounts showed just how well CWaC has performed financially. Here are some of the highlights from the report presented:

CWaC saved an additional £2m on its revenue expenditure more than had been budgeted for.
'Overall the Council continues to demonstrate a healthy financial position, a strong balance sheet with net assets of £508m (up £24.5m) and a General Fund balance of £21.8m (up £0.5m).
'The General Fund balance reflects the Council's core reserves and these increased from £21.3m to £21.8m; this value represents 8% of the budgeted cost of the services in 2014-15. During the year the Council approved a Reserve Strategy which included a risk adjusted assessment of the target level for the general fund. This indicated that the Council should seek to retain the reserve between £18.8m-£21.8m to be prudent and give the Council flexibility in future decision making. The position at 31 March 2015 is at the top of this range and will therefore provide the Council with some flexibility in the future.'

I pointed out to the Committee what a 'golden legacy' had been bequeathed to the incoming Labour administration notwithstanding the public sector austerity of the last 5 years. I hope they won't squander it for all our sakes.

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Frodsham Windfarm update

June 26, 2015, 2:30 pm

≫ Next: Frodsham Windfarm - Map of the turbines

≪ Previous: CWaC Statement of Accounts for 2014-15 .

Cllr Lynn Riley and I were shown around the wind farm construction site on the marshes today. Most of the access roads, crane pads and turbine locations now have their access tracks built. The next stage, likely to start in early July is the piling stage for the turbine foundations.

I'm pleased to report that, so far at least, there have been no complaints associated with the building works - even if many of us may still complain that the wind farm is being 'imposed' on us.

As someone who has cycled a lot on the marshes - and hopes to again soon - I was pleased to see the miles of access track that will be available for cyclist to use in the future. I was also pleased to see that cyclists on national cycle route 5 that crosses the marshes have priority over the construction traffic.

Peel and their construction partners CHC were at pains to point out the quality of their environmental stewardship and how they are protecting the bird habitats, and badger sets. In fact the need to protect the badgers have led to an access ramp being built near Grow How so as to leave the badgers undisturbed.

We were given the full tour of the construction site. I took lots of photographs. However as there is little to see above ground at the moment they are not that interesting to view - however I was interested in the way in which the access ways are being constructed on the soft ground of the marshes.

Most of the marshes are, in fact land that was reclaimed when the Ship Canal was contructed. The land has been used as 'deposit grounds' for the silt dredged out of the Ship Canal and as such the land if very soft. The road contractors have had to use a fibre membrane reinforced with plastic mesh to suppport the compacted stone roadway. You can see elements of this in the photograph below.

This is the access ramp being contructed near Grow How showing the membrane and the mesh.

This is the site of the turbine pad closest to Frodsham

This is a roadway that has subsided and showed that the road contractors had to use a stronger membrane on the soft silty ground. The 'failed' roadway has been replaced with a new access track parrallel to the original one. The original one will be lifted in due course.

The contractor has 24hr security on site and a whole series of security measures I'm not going to describe. Lynn and I have asked Cheshire Police to ensure to keep the marshes under scrutiny - and they have agreed to increase their surveillance.

Lynn and I also took the opportunity to have a lengthy discussion about the potential arrangements for the Community Benefit Fund and the Liaison Panel.

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Frodsham Windfarm - Map of the turbines

June 27, 2015, 11:24 am

≫ Next: Marsh Lane parking

≪ Previous: Frodsham Windfarm update

I asked Peel to produce this map. It shows the position of the 19 turbines and the distances between the turbines and the nearest occupied house in each of the surrounding parishes.

All of the turbines are phyiscally in Frodsham. The turbine to be sited near Marsh Lane, Frodsham is the closest of all to any housing.

This map is useful when considering which communities have an interest in the turbines, the construction work and any community benefit fund. It sets out clearly the underlying facts.

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