Minutes

Youth Forum Meeting Minutes 01.12.2015

The latest meeting of the Youth Forum took place recently, read the full meeting minutes HERE.

Highlights included:

Review of the ‘Uth’Festival.

Glen thanked both the subgroups and everyone who had helped to make the Festival the success it was. He commented on the number of members /partners that got involved in delivering the event , over 500+ young people plus families attended throughout the day and he was not aware of any negative comments.

CH felt that although it was a good event she did not feel that we had not quite reached the target audience we would have like, that is despite social media, leaflet, handouts in the street, school visits and the like.

JM commented that she had come across an opportunity with one of her projects to be able to get into secondary schools and meet virtually all the six formers during a morning and this may be an opportunity for informing them and recruiting some members / volunteers.

On the plus side GW commented that the event had helped encourage new members the The Bromley Farm Youth Centre.

JM felt that the music element created a nice atmosphere and some of the bands names had been passed to Vince Cutcliffe who is organising the Congleton ‘Unplugged’ next spring.

It was suggested that we made the ‘Uth’ Festival a bi-annual event and perhaps have some involvement with The Congleton Carnival (Youth Zone) in the alternative years.

GW to raise the ‘Youth Zone’ idea with the Carnival Committee at its next meeting.

Basketball Hoops (Budget set aside £1000)

GW to go to the next Town Council Youth Committee meeting to discuss their involvement in this project.

 

Congleton Youth In Bloom (Budget set aside £1000)

3 Organisations got involved in this project CHS, EBA and Bromley Farm.

One invoice still to come in, any surplus will then be returned to The Partnership main fund.

 

Chav Fashion Show (Budget £500)

 

GW to discuss with both of the secondary Schools and CTC Youth Committee and try get buy in to the project before Xmas.

 

If indications are that there is real interest in the project by the young people then a subgroup will be set up in the new year to steer the project through. This may feature at The Carnival.

 

Skateboard Park (Budget £500)

Initially part of the ‘Uth’ Fest, but could not find local coaches to support this.

Leohna France believes she may be able to help with a contact here, she will send information to Mike Smith.

 

 

GW to raise the issue with Lee Malkin / Everybody Sports & Leisure

 

Bridleway Maps.(budget £500)

 

Once we know exactly what The Partnership is doing regarding Walking/ Heritage and Cycling Maps then we will approach young people for their input.

Senior Forum meeting minutes 18.11.2015

The latest meeting of the Senior Forum took place recently, download the full meeting minutes HERE.

 

Highlights included:

Senior Health Fayre 1.10.15.

 Please find below a report received from Usman Ashiq:-

“I’ve sent the stats for the event to Mike Smith. I can report that we had a good turnout from residents and a good variety of organisations in attendance that provided a range of information and advice. Feedback was well received and we are hopeful of running a similar event next year and would welcome everyone to be part of the planning process. The event this year was organised by Plus Dane, Cheshire East Council and Age UK Cheshire East. Funding was a big barrier initially however Cheshire East kindly funded in excess of £600, Age UK was successful in gaining sponsorship from Siemens and Pus Dane paid for the marketing and promotional materials. The main aim of the event was to highlight what health and wellbeing services were available to senior residents. Every year we tend to do something different so next year’s event could have specific themes which I believe should tie into current priorities of the GP’s, NHS CCG’s and the local communities to help insure that senior residents are aware of key health and wellbeing services.”

Members also reported favourably and the general consensus was for running another event next year. MS to send out a copy of Usman’s report with these minutes

V.Lockett to contact Donna Peddie (CEBC)  and L.Malkin (Everybody Leisure) re support and a venue (Leisure Centre suggested).

Next Meeting 12th Jan 2016

 

Projects & Finance Committee meeting minutes 28.09.15

The Projects and Finance Committee meeting took place recently, please download the full meeting minutes HERE.

Highlight’s included:

New Project Ideas.

Community Orchard Accessibility.

Pathway, Signage, Improve accessibility. Partnership working with In Bloom / Astbury Mere Trust /CEBC rangers. P.Pinto and M.Axford working on design and costs.

Cycle Shelters.

This is being picked up by Phil Mason CEBC Environmental. 1 shelter to be sited at or near the Library, other sites to be considered. No action required currently by The Partnership.

Heritage / Bear / Town Walk Trails.

P.Aston to chair this through, also to involve Congleton Museum. The Every Step Counts trail map is a good place to start. P.Pinto looking to incorporate a gardens trail. Trail map to be sited on one side of the town destination boards.

Car Park Destination Maps / Signage. Get Involved Booklet.

Jackie showed the meeting a selection of maps currently being used. Price ranges from £2k to £3k for the artwork. Possible approach EPH artist as an alternative designer. Looking at 5 sites, boards cost around £1.5k each (double sided) Jackie to find out about the requirement for planning permission. A project cost / proposal to be put together, Glen Williams will then take to Cheshire East.

Moody Street Green Area.

Once Antrobus St Gardens is completed there should be some S106 money left to refurbish the Moody St ‘green area’ up to Antrobus St Gardens standard. Partnership to work with CEBC (Julie Byrne) on this.

Mountbatten Way – Green Boulevard.

BE suggested this project to remove the railings and create a green boulevard. BH to discuss the idea with David Brown. This will now be raised at the Public Realm meeting 28.9.15
Youth Hub / Transport.

 

Youth Hub.

This subject is currently on the backburner.

 

Transport/ Mini Bus.

Issues regarding long term admin and parking/storage being dealt with (may have a second bus soon) currently.

New bank account being opened at Natwest as a standalone minibus account. We can then start invoicing organisations for usage and also promote the scheme.

Monday 23rd November, Spencer Suite , 9.30am

Congleton Partnership Executive Meeting 15.09.15

The latest Congleton Partnership Executive meeting took place recently, view the full minutes HERE.

Highlights included:

A special mention for our new Executive Members:-Peter Houldsworth ( Buglawton Community Group), Stuart Halliday & Vince Cutcliffe (Congleton Creative)

  1. Town Centre – Continue to have a change in shops but overall occupancy figures are remaining fairly static at town centre occupancy of 85% (91% without Capitol Walk) and over all Town occupancy of 87% which is 220 occupied shops and 34 empty units (some of which are in discussions). I think everyone continues to be frustrated at the lack of movement on the Princess Street/Market site and lack of any action from Clowes on Capitol Walk.

 

  1. £1 million public realm

The Town Council officers, partnership members and councillors working on the Public Realm have been chasing and waiting for an update meeting with Cheshire East. This has now been arranged for the 29 September. The previous meeting was on the 12th May and so hopefully there will be some positive progress to report

  1. Christmas

Planning is well underway for the Christmas Lights Switch on – Friday 27th November. We are advising in this week’s Chronicle for the charity stalls and craft stalls – so if you want one for your charity get the forms in quickly! We have purchased 5 new bigger lamppost lights to create more of a statement in the High Street. The partnership has agreed to sponsor some 12 ft penguins which will perform 3 x 20 minute slots at the Lights Switch on. As usual we would love help on the night (or in advance). Road Closures from 2-8.30 and event 4-7pm. If anyone is able to help for an hour or more please let me know.

4. Maps for the Town Centre

The Town Council and Congleton Partnership are working together on a project to get location and feature maps into the Town Centre car parks – and into the pedestrian area as part of the Public Realm works. We have had quotes from one company and are waiting for two others to come back. We also need some confirmation from Cheshire East that they can put into the pot and erect on their land.

5. Gas Works

I have had confirmation from Cheshire East that Balfour Beattie will not now be allowed into the Town Centre in 2015. Not sure what the programme looks like for next year. There appears to be communications issues with the company.

6.Bear Necessities

The Autumn edition will be distributed from the 12th October – with all the copy being sent off next Friday (25 November)

7. Neighbourhood

Neighbourhood Plan is getting back into gear with a Steering Group meeting on Wednesday. The second questionnaire will come out in October. We received 1400 responses from the first questionnaire – the results of which are on mycongleton.org and will feature in a double page spread in the next Bear Necessities .

8.In Bloom

Thank you to everyone who helped with the In Bloom efforts. As a town we have had lots of compliments this year. The results of the NW in Bloom competition will be known on the 30th October and the Community Pride Awards on the 15 October.

9. 150 Years Celebrations

The Town Hall first opened to the Public on the 10th July 1866 – and so next year we are looking to host a number of celebrationary events – including a High Tea for descendants of those who attended the original opening, a grand exhibition – providing that the schools are interested. Investigating whether there is a way of replicating the original intention for the shields on the outside of the Town Hall to represent significant local families, and a number of other ideas are still being explored. Anyone that wishes to help with the project or has ideas please get in contact with Jackie MacArthur .

Congleton Partnership AGM 2015

The Chair Steve Foster opened the 9th Partnership Annual General Meeting by welcoming everyone to the event and invited them all to stay to the Executive Meeting that followed on from this meeting if they so wished. Download the full minutes HERE.

Overview 2014/15.

Steve gave a brief overview of projects that had taken place / were still active across all of the subgroups. This was not an exhaustive list but a sample/range of the activities The Partnership is involved in.

Neighbourhood Plan

Get Involved Directory

New Website

Food & Drink Bike Park

Back to Back Gardens

Art Workshops

Festivals Open Space / Hidden Places etc

Apple Juice / Cider (990 / 500)

Established Senior Forum

Eco Schools (14 green flags)

Hydro Scheme (Havannah)

SLIC courses

Cenotaph Restoration

Uth Festival

Cycleway Signage

Xmas lights ( Lawton St Lights / Penguins)

Congleton Learning Centre

Commenting Team / Planning / Developers

MMW Memorial Project

 

Steve closed the AGM by reminding everyone that bringing in new volunteers remains a key challenge.

He talked about the new Partnership dedicated website and the need for all subgroups to play their part in updating information on a regular basis to help improve public awareness of The Partnership.

Succession planning was highlighted, in particularly in Steve’s case as he felt that whilst he would still be involved with The Partnership in some form another, he had served his time as Chair (4 years) and would be working on recruiting a new Chair for 2016/17.

Steve remarked on the importance of continuing to deliver projects and support of community activities that benefit Congleton. He then outlined some of the new projects planned for 2015/16. These included:-

 

Heritage/Bear/Cycle Trails

Town Centre Destination Maps / Carparks

Community Orchard –Pathway / Accessibility

Moody Street Greenspace

Mountbatten Way – Green Boulevard

Hydro Scheme – CSG

Congleton Sustainability Group Meeting Minutes 7.09.15

The latest meeting of Congleton’s sustainability group met recently, download the full meeting minutes HERE.

Highlights from the meeting included:

Neighbourhood Plan Questionnaire Results.

The results are now on mycongleton.org website the link is http://www.mycongleton.org/public/uploads/pdfs/24891436366350.pdf

Town Hall 150 years celebration 2016.

Glen advised the meeting that Congleton Town hall would be 150 years old during 2016. As part of the celebrations CSG may like to consider how we help make the Town hall more sustainable for the future. PA to add a discussion around this item to the next CSG meeting.

Eco Schools – P.Pinto.

We have 13 schools with Green Flags in Congleton & District Eco cluster, three schools at silver (W. Well, EBA, CHS) working towards GF.

  • Schools due to renew their Green Flag status in 2015 are:

Marton (expecting assessment in September), Astbury (to renew by 10 October),

Havannah, Bosley, Daven (working in the Autumn term)

  • Schools working towards their first Green Flag: Congleton High School, Eaton Bank Academy, Woodcocks’ Well Primary
  • PP assessed two schools in West Midlands for eco-schools in June

News:

Scholar Green and Saint Mary’s were in the Cheshire East annual JRO finals.  Scholar Green won with Saint Mary’s Runners Up

Astbury St Mary’s were runners up in the CE Fibre Guys competition and were invited to display their models at the Tatton Show.

Saint Mary’s Catholic Primary is one of only seven eco-schools to have won a ‘Bees needs’ award from KBT Eco-schools.

Next Meeting:-

Monday 5th October.

Astbury Mere Visitor Centre. 10.00am to 12.30pm

 

Congleton Senior Forum meeting minutes 25.08.2015

The latest meeting of Congleton Senior Forum took place recently on 28.08.2015, download the full meeting mintues HERE.

Highlights include:

The meeting began with a talk by Peter Broome (New Life Community Partnership) about the formation of this joint project with New Life Church, Mattroe Ltd and Plus Dane. He outlined the operating procedures for supplying families who are in financial, social ,physical and mental need. He explained the ethics and link up with The LOL Foundation and how training and involvement helped in the rehabilitation of the ex-servicemen. A tour of the facility followed.

Forget me not service – Karen Mellor & Chris Birch Plus Dane

 

Karen and Chris took us through a presentation on the Forget-Me- Not- Scheme that Plus Dane run for both their residents and the wider public alike. The scheme offers a wide range of applications / alarm systems from Pendants, Wrist Straps, Movement Detectors, Panic Buttons, Bed/Chair Sensors etc. A price and product brochure is available on request (MS has sent a copy out although the file is quite large and some mailboxes will not be able to take it) If you wish more information please contact Karen or Chris at:- support@neighbourhoodinvestor.com

 

Louise will blog this out in The Chronicle once the Format and agreement with The Chronicle is agreed.

Senior Health Fayre 1.10.15

 

The event which will celebrate Older People’s Day on 1st October will be held at New Life Church from 1 to 4pm. The event is being organised by Cheshire East with support from AgeUK CE / Plus Dane.  There will be a main hall exhibition with breakout rooms to facilitate various activities (Tai Chi, Massages, Music etc).

 

If any of our organisation would like to be there please contact Victoria on 01625 612958 as soon as possible.

 

Usman is putting together an advert to support the event, MS to circulate once received. Please get this out to all your clients/ members, also display wherever you can.

Congleton Sustainability Group meeting minutes 03.08.15

Congleton Sustainability Group latest meeting took place recently, please view the full meeting minutes HERE.

Highlights included:

Partnership Project suggestions. A number of project suggestions were received, the following were accepted:-

Community Orchard Accessibility.

Pathway, Signage, Improve accessibility. Partnership working with In Bloom / Astbury Mere Trust /CEBC rangers.

Cycle Shelters.

This is being picked up by Phil Mason CEBC Environmental. 1 shelter to be sited at or near the Library, other sites to be considered. No action required currently by The Partnership.

Heritage / Bear / Town Walk Trails.

N.Hood plan suggests that this would be a good idea to encourage healthy living and visitors to the town. Need to put a team together involving:- Museum, Jo Money, P.Aston, Matt Axford. Could well tie into the next project (Town Centre destination maps/signage). Long term may also consider trail leaflets. This could also become a 5 Towns Partnership project similar to the Cycle Map project. Map for each town and then a linkage between them all.

 

In Bloom / RHS Tatton.

 

  1. In Bloom.

Town looked fantastic on judging day. A lot of hard work went into weeding and litter picking by a great number of people including painting of some of the street furniture. Judges commented on improvements they noted from previous visit, and appreciated new sites brought in (Moody St, Antrobus St ,Bath House etc)

PP advised the group that the Schools ‘Space Garden’ display in the Polytunnel is now open to the public (Sat / Sun 2 to 4.00pm throughout August and hopefully into September)and receiving some great comments.

 

  1. RHS Tatton.

High winds resulted in the tremendous trees having to be removed from our display, therefore our entry was not eligible for judging. We did however get some good comments generally about the site.

 

The Trench Garden created by LOL not only drew many favourable comments and gained a Merit Award for ‘Interpretation of a World Event, but also resulted in many good contacts being made with other allotment holders and a potential sponsorship opportunity generated.

 

For all the news download the minutes at the top of the post!

Projects & Finance Committee meeting minutes 27.07.15

Projects & Finance Committee meeting took place recently, download the full meeting minutes HERE.

Highlights include:

Project  Update.

Cycleway Improvement. Whilst there is still some snagging still to be carried out on the towpath the project is close to completion. New signage has been sited, MS to check clarity of signage and report back to J.Mills if issues. Consultation to be carried out on improving access from Lawton St to Park Lane.

Antrobus St Gardens. Good progress, Gym Equipment, Apple Core, New Seating and Pathways complete. Some snagging and soft planting still to be done. We will then need signage to encourage community usage and a story board around its development.

River Dane Walkway .Town Bridge to Scout Hut. Neil Farnsworth has confirmed that the work orders have been signed and he is planning the work schedule to complete the pathway resurfacing, painting of the railings, steps and handrail in the next few weeks.

Community Orchard Accessibility.

Pathway, Signage, Improve accessibility. Partnership working with In Bloom / Astbury Mere Trust /CEBC rangers.

Contact Vince Cutler, this was started as a memorial to his wife.

Cycle Shelters.

This is being picked up by Phil Mason CEBC Environmental. 1 shelter to be sited at or near the Library, other sites to be considered. No action required currently by The Partnership.

Heritage / Bear / Town Walk Trails.

N.Hood plan suggests that this would be a good idea to encourage healthy living and visitors to the town. Need to put a team together involving:- Museum, Jo Money, P.Aston, Matt Axford. Could well tie into the next project (Town Centre destination maps/signage). Long term may also consider trail leaflets. This could also become a 5 Towns Partnership project similar to the Cycle Map project. Map for each town and then a linkage between them all.

Car Park Destination Maps / Signage. Jackie MacArthur raised the idea for this joint project with Cheshire East Car Park Team, Congleton Town Council and The Partnership. Could be double sided boards that have the destination map on one side and the trails on the other.

Get Involved Booklet.

Joint project with Community Projects to reprint and update the booklet during 2016.

Moody Street Green Area.

Once Antrobus St Gardens is completed there should be some S106 money left to refurbish the Moody St ‘green area’ up to Antrobus St Gardens standard. Partnership to work with CEBC (Julie Byrne) on this.

Mountbatten Way – Green Boulevard.

BE suggested this project to remove the railings and create a green boulevard. BH to discuss the idea with David Brown.

Congleton Sustainability Group Meeting Minutes 01.06.15

The latest meeting of Congleton Sustainability Group took place recently 01.06.2015, download the full minutes here.

One area of discussion was public transport:

Congleton Buses Role in Sustainable Transport Plan- J.Mills & C.Kiffin

Peter open the discussion by commenting on the current bus service operating in and around Congleton and the lack of services between the Railway Station and the current Employment Sites, Radnor Park and Barn Road.

JM explained that bus services were delivered in basically 2 separate ways:-

(a)  Commercial aspect / pay their own way

(b)  Supported / subsidised services EG.:-

38  Crewe / Macclesfield  – Evenings / Sundays

42 Crewe / Middlewich / H.Chapel / Crewe – All the time

315 Rode Heath – All the time

Beartown Bus (Total Operation) – All the time.

PM suggested that a simple travel survey at Congleton Station may be a starting point for gauging potential usage on the station /employment sites link.

The issue of school travel was raised JM to look at what data is currently available although it may be circa 2011 ( School Traffic Survey / Bus and Railway travel figs)

 

JM suggested that it may be worth PM having a discussion with Tom Evans (CEBC) regarding how other towns are tackling the sustainable travel element.

PM sees a sustainable travel survey being part of the next Neighbourhood Plan Consultation Questionnaire.

 

Next meeting Monday 6th July, Plus Dane Boardroom, 10.00am.