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Penketh Parish Council is delighted to share the recent improvements made to our much-loved local green spaces, Greystone Rec and Withinshaw Park. Over the past year, we have undertaken significant enhancement projects to ensure these facilities can be enjoyed by the community all year round. One of the biggest upgrades has been extensive drainage works, allowing the fields to remain in use throughout the seasons. Additionally, a new perimeter footpath has been installed, making access easier for all visitors. To provide more places for residents to relax and enjoy the surroundings, we have also added two new benches. In 2024, we introduced two brand-new Multi-Use Games Areas (MUGAs) at both sites, creating more opportunities for sports and recreation. Football enthusiasts will be pleased to see the installation of two sets of goalposts—one full-size and another suitable for younger players. Greystone Rec has also received new play equipment tailored for older children, including:✅ A shelter and bike stand✅ Larger swings✅ A climbing frame✅ A spinner Meanwhile, at Withinshaw Park, we have added:✅ A new bucket swing✅ Refurbished soft-pour surfacing for improved safety It has been fantastic to see so many residents making the most of these enhanced facilities, and we look forward to seeing even more people enjoy them as we move into the spring and summer months. We appreciate the community’s support and hope these improvements help make Greystone Rec and Withinshaw Park even more welcoming spaces for all. 🔹 Have you visited the upgraded parks? Let us know what you think in the comments below or via our contact page!

This years Christmas Markets event will be held on Saturday the 30th November 2024 - 12pm - 5pm. We welcome all of the community to join the festivities. The day will involve craft market stalls, food, drink and lots of entertainment, as well as a free Santa's grotto between the 1:30pm - 3:30pm (queues closes at 3:15pm so get there early to avoid disappointment). The Markets will be followed by the annual tree lighting ceremony, with a local school choir singing all the best Christmas hits! (5pm onwards) On behalf of everyone at Penketh Parish Council, we wish you a Merry Christmas.  

It's time for a Macmillan Coffee Morning and you're invited Let's do whatever it takes to support people living with cancer. Place: Greystone Recreation Ground Dates Friday 27th September 2024 Time: 09:00-12:00 Contact: The Sugarloaf Horse Box thesugarloafhorsebox@gmail.com

What is Year End for Parish Councils? The year end provides a snapshot of the council's financial transactions, governance arrangements, and other key information. It helps to ensure that the council is operating in a responsible and efficient manner, and serves as a means of demonstrating accountability and transparency to the public. The financial year for local councils is a 12 month period from 1st April to 31st March, and is used as the basis for preparing the Annual Governance and Accountability Return (AGAR) - a mandatory document that local councils are required to complete and submit to the relevant authorities. Completing the AGAR is a legal requirement under the Local Audit and Accountability Act 2014, and failure to submit a completed AGAR can result in penalties and enforcement action by the relevant authorities. Who uses the AGAR? Internal & external auditors - to assess the council's compliance with relevant regulations and laws, and ensure that public money is safeguarded and properly accounted for. Members of the council - to assess the council's financial health and make informed decisions, and ensure it is using resources effectively and in the interest of the public. Members of the public - to understand the council's activities and financial transactions. Exercise of Public Rights The exercise of public rights involves a 30 working-day period in which accounting records must be made available for inspection to any interested person, and the AGAR must be approved and published before this inspection period starts. Within this period, electors can inspect and raise questions regarding the accounting records of the financial year in which the audit relates. They also have the right to request copies of accounting records during this period. Documents containing information that is personal or protected by commercial confidentially cannot be inspected.   AGAR Section 1 - Governance Statement FY2324 AGAR Section 2 - Accounting Statement FY2324 End of Year Bank Reconciliation FY2324 Explanation of Significant Variances FY2324 Notice of Public Rights FY2324

Our Philosophy: Learn by Having Fun At Penketh Swim, we have created an inviting and safe environment where kids can overcome their fears, learn to swim, and have tons of fun doing it. Our approach incorporates the power of  Swim Play. It is a combination of guided play and a safe environment, which science shows are two things that help little ones build upon their cognitive growth. Practically, this means that swimmers experience: Constant Encouragement Awards for Achievements & Milestones A Warm Pool for Better Learning Fun Curriculum Full of Games A Relaxed & Fun Atmosphere A Safe Environment At All Times Click here for more information and to SIGN UP

Local elections will take place across Warrington on Thursday 2nd May 2024

The interim audit of Penketh Parish Council has been published in the documents section of our website and is a great improvement of previous years results. ( This years results/comments highlighted in blue for ease of use)  Policies and Documents - The Penketh Parish Council The auditor confirmed that, in their view, the council’s system of internal controls is in place, adequate for the purpose intended and effective. This is great news, and following the implementation of Rialtas accounting software earlier this year, the RFO and Chairman (Acting Clerk) are in a good position to successfully complete the year end audit, and in a timely manner. The actions raised have already been addressed and/or implemented and feedback provided to the auditor. As ever, if you have any questions of concerns, please contact clerk@penkethparishcouncil.org.uk. Thanks Cllr Michael Potts Chairman - Penketh Parish Council.

Further remedial works to be completed. After being contacted by a few residents and seeing some of the Social Media feedback online about the recent Road Works through Penketh, I contacted the Highways Maintenance Principal Engineer. Some debris, signs and cones had been left behind, as well as some unfortunate anti-social behaviour, with two cones thrown into Penketh Brook. The signs have now been collected on Tuesday following the re-cutting of the traffic sensor loops for the Pedestrian crossing signals. The contractors will also be removing the abandoned cones but might need specialist equipment to retrieve. I have asked that the Central reservation is swept too to remove works debris. The Sunken Inspection Chamber highlighted by residents in lane two, adjacent to Greystone, is low on one side and the contractor is aware of this and will be back on site in the new year to attend to it. Drop Crossing issues identified by residents have been picked up by the Contractors, who were already unhappy with the outcome of the two at the bottom of Coronation Drive and Birkdale. This is caused by existing Utility Chambers and the Highways team will be working with them in the New Year to find a better solution. Utility grid causing the issue to levels. Further to this, the highways team clarified why these works had to be done on Warrington road with the following statement; "Independent annual surveys are carried out on Warrington’s A, B & C road network, along with 50% of the unclassified roads annually too (so every two years we have a full picture of the condition of the road). These surveys, backed up with engineering assessment, help to define our programme for each year. If we are able to ‘catch’ the road before it deteriorates too far then it is possible to replace just the surface course, rather than the foundation layers which becomes a lot more expensive to do and takes much longer. The road surface on Warrington Road was starting the deteriorate significantly with rutting and polishing longitudinally in the wheel tracks. There was also a risk that the road would have soon become potholed, which is caused by water getting into the surface through cracks, and when it freezes the water expands and then the surface breaks away to form the hole. Along with this there was an issue with some of the carriageway ironwork with the road breaking up around them or polishing of the covers which is a hazard especially when wet or icy. Damaged carriageway ironwork, with polishing and tarmac break up. Of course to you only see these defects when you study the road or footway surface. The Council’s highways inspectors have intervention levels for dealing with defects on roads and footways and until somethings are a certain size or depth there is little action they can take, www.warrington.gov.uk/potholes-or-damage-roads-pavements-or-footways gives more information on this" The highways team confirmed that this work is completed via Capital Budgets awarded by Central Government. They also confirmed the following "Funding for major road repairs, resurfacing and improvements such as new controlled pedestrian crossings comes from other taxation to the government and Warrington Borough Council do not decide how much ‘we’ get, but that funding is ringfenced for the public highways and cannot be used for other things, When we carry out major resurfacing schemes we try to carry out minor improvements, like the drop crossings, alongside the main works as we have the resources in place (traffic management, workers, machinery etc.) to deal with them all in one go rather than piecemeal as might ordinarily be the case" Overall, I think its looking great and is a vast improvement, particularly at the bottom of Greystone which has significant rutting which was a safety risk. For any other local road issues you can report to WBC via the following link https://www.warrington.gov.uk/potholes-or-damage-roads-pavements-or-footpaths. I'll be happy to support you if you have any issues with it. Thanks for your patience in this matter. Cllr Michael Potts - Penketh Parish

A massive thank you to all of those that attended our Christmas Markets & Christmas Tree Light Up events on Saturday. It was really nice to see so many of you coming out to support these two special community events - and I hope that you had a great time, if you did attend.  A special thanks to all of those who booked a stall, took part in our raffle & tombola, and purchased refreshments from us. Funds raised from these activities help to fund the event, and any residual proceeds will be ring-fenced for similar future community events. We’ve totted up the numbers, and a financial overview is available here, for transparency.  I’d also like to take this opportunity to thank the many local businesses that supported our tombola and raffle by donating prizes - details of those that were able to support us can be found in the image below. And also to The Centenary Theatre Company Choir, who led our carol singing beautifully in Honiton Way.  Events like this take a great deal of time and work in the background to make them happen. Whether that's volunteering until the early hours decorating Santa's Grotto and wrapping gifts, approaching local businesses & collecting raffle prizes, booking in stall-holders and designing site plans, manning our cafe and stalls, housekeeping throughout the day and the cleanup… the list goes on. As a Council, we are really thankful for all of the community volunteers that supported us - we simply couldn't do it without you. And of course, a huge thank you to many of my fellow Parish Councillors who put in so many hours to deliver this, alongside their other commitments. I’m sure I speak for the rest of the team in saying that we love to host events such as those on Saturday - and whilst they take a lot of work, they are definitely one of the fun strands of what we do. Please keep supporting them - I’m confident that we’ll have some exciting things coming up in 2022! Cllr Leigh Jones, Vice Chairman

Tomorrow marks the start of a return to operations for Penketh Pool, operated by your Penketh Parish Council. We’re thrilled that we will once again have hundreds of our residents returning to either vital Swimming lessons or Health and Wellbeing classes and sessions soon. I would like to take this opportunity to thank all who have been involved in helping us get to this point, including our Independent Parish Councillors, who volunteer their time to achieve so much for the community in many ways, as well as our staff members and the public in allowing us the time and space to re-invigorate our facilities and bring them up to expected standards. As communicated previously, this will be a phased approach to re-opening to allow for the relevant checks and balances to be undertaken to secure a safe return. In September we published our proposed term time Timetable which will form the basis of our future operations. Our price list will also be published shortly, once we have a confirmed date of public swim sessions returning. I just wanted to talk a little about the setup of the centre, and address some historical confusion about how we operate and the changes you’re likely to see moving forwards: We have a number of organisations and groups who hire our pool from us, mainly in times that are not commercially viable for the council to operate or that require specialist areas of expertise and Knowledge, broken down as follows. Parish Council Owned Services. Penketh Parish Swim – This includes Council run, in house Swimming lessons at peak times as well as supporting local Schools to complete their curriculum requirements. Once we return to full capacity, we will reach 7 days operation. General Public Swim – The Council have already committed to providing ample time to members of the public for general swimming, as well as lane swimming in the morning before work and family fun and adult lane swimming as well as Ladies only and parent and child sessions. This also includes spaces for Party Hire with council provided Lifeguards. AquaFit *new for 2022 - Penketh Parish Council are aiming to bring this back in house as it was previously being run by a private individual no longer returning. The Times available include two morning sessions and one evening slot, with resumption to be confirmed in due course Private organisations: Waterbabies – These classes are a private enterprise, they specialise in teaching parents to teach their babies to swim, getting children used to the sensation of water and develop their natural instincts to transform these into core aquatic skills. Ages 0 – 5 can have Waterbabies lessons Penketh Swimming Club Est 1974 – This club has been in existence since the Pool was built in Penketh in the 1970’s. The club is run via a committee of volunteers. These Volunteers have often been PSC members themselves from a young age and developed to becoming coaches and lifeguards which in turn, helps the Parish Council recruit locally for teachers and lifeguards. The sessions are operated three nights a week after work times between 7pm – 9:30pm and allow for essential water skills for our community as well as reducing the financial burden on parents allowing quality affordable lessons but later in the evenings.  Ages 5 – 16 Puddle Penguins – A private hirer of the pool at weekends which provide Swimming Lessons to children ages 4 onwards Past hirers no longer returning: Sharks Swimming Club – A private hirer of the pool who ran swimming lessons but are not returning to the pool following the sad passing of the operator. Warrington West Snorkellers Club – This club offered Water safety and skills training to be able to progress to diving. Sadly, following the pandemic and subsequent closure of Penketh Pool the group no longer felt the club could return due to the retirement of the team responsible. Aquafit – See above for more information. What’s happened so far at Penketh Pool Penketh Swimming Club Est 1974 have already conducted Swimming Club assessments, to allow them to monitor Swimmer’s abilities and needs, with many children having not been swimming since our closure back in March 2020 or having an inconsistent record with other providers. PSC will be returning from the week of the 7th November as they gradually build back up their Club. Waterbabies are back from Tomorrow morning, Monday the 7th of November. They will also have an additional Sunday afternoon session available to customers moving forwards. Next Steps Penketh Parish Council will be Contacting its previous Swimming Lessons customers, many who had refunds after the Pool Closure, to confirm if they want to return or not. Once this is completed, we will be contacting anyone on our waiting lists before moving to add new members to the queue. As this involves contact with up to 170 members, I’m sure you can appreciate this is a big task for us, and one we know will generate a lot of queries and contacts. Please bear with us while we complete this process and be assured that with the increased capacity we will be generating, we can accommodate all our previous users and more going forwards. If you have previously been with a private enterprise using Penketh Pool, you will need to contact them directly for more information. As mentioned above, public swimming is not yet available but will be returning soon once we have re-trained our staff and completed all relevant checks, so keep an eye out for further communication and the publishing of our price list shortly. We will be Cashless when we return, with the options of returning with a monthly discounted membership or the ability to pay as you go by purchasing a wristband. *Further details to follow. Our Community Hall has remained open and holds sessions from regular private hirers who offer things such as, Dog Training classes, Tumble Tots, Taekwondo, Karate, Zumba, Pilates, Kids football as well as Badminton hire and Party Bookings. For any booking enquires please contact the existing groups directly or email leisure@penkethparishcouncil.org.uk to enquire about future usage. For any questions, please contact clerk@penkethparishcouncil.org.uk or speak to one of your local representatives for more information, details of which can be found on the website at penkethparishcouncil.org.uk. Thank you and see you soon Cllr Michael Potts Chairman – Penketh Parish Council.