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

Co-Option to the Parish Council 23rd March 2023 Co-option Advert VACANCY FOR CO-OPTION OF A NEW COUNCILLOR Notice is hereby given that a vacancy has arisen in the Office of Councillor for Penketh Parish Council and we invite applicants to apply for co-option. Do you have time or expertise which could benefit your Community? Do you want to make a difference to all those around you? Are you concerned about your local area? Do you want to represent the views of local people? If you would like to make a difference, and be involved in shaping the future of your local Community, why not step forward and apply to become a Penketh Parish Councillor? Applicants should note that Councillors are expected to attend monthly meetings and to represent the electors of Penketh in raising and discussing issues of interest on which the Parish Council is empowered to act. All applications must be received by noon on Monday 3rd April 2023 for consideration at next months meeting. If no applications are received we will re-open for the following month. Any applications received with only 6 months remaining on the councils term will be refused. ( Elections due May 2024) Any person wishing to apply for this vacancy should complete the online application form at https://penkethparishcouncil.org.uk/wp-content/uploads/ppc-co-option-application-form.pdf Please sent the completed form to the Clerk by email to clerk@penkethparishcouncil.org.uk or call 01925 724515 for further information. Interested persons must be a qualifying Commonwealth or EU citizen, aged 18 years or over and: Have lived in the Parish or within three miles of it for the preceding twelve months Be a registered elector in the Parish: or Have occupied as owner or tenant any land or premises in the Parish for the preceding twelve months: or Have their principal or only place of work in the Parish for the preceding twelve months Must not be disqualified from holding office as a Councillor

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.

Please find attached the notice detailing the timings of this years' service and parade, Sunday 13th November 2022

Timetable ( Term Time) Penketh Parish Council are pleased to share the new Timetable for Penketh Pool. This is provisional and subject to change as we re-open the centre in stages, but it will form the basis of our re-opening. *Timetable displayed is for term time only, with a slightly amended version for school holidays when they occur which includes much more public/family swim time.  Swim Clubs and Water babies will be returning first, which will allow us to test out operating procedures and ensure that water quality and temperatures can, and are maintained for the expected heavy usage by the time we reach full capacity. We also plan on having a number of free, one-off events to mark the re-opening, with details to follow shortly. We’ve had a number of enquiries about Parish Council swimming lessons which will be also restarting in the coming weeks. We feel it’s important to offer child spaces to those who previously learnt to swim with us and so they will be welcomed back first. Details of how to Register interest for spaces will be announced shortly. All other previous users will be contacted once we have a confirmed re-opening date. As some of you may be aware of already, we've had issues with our Boilers which supply the pool water and air heating as well as the water and heating for the rest of the centre. Of the three boilers, one is working fully, and we've managed to get the Pool and Air to the required temperature on this one alone. The second one has received a temporary fix but the third has reached the end of serviceable life and further work is required imminently, to address the flue seals across all three. Although servicing had continued through the lock down and centre shutdown, not all of the boilers were fully operational in this time and this is why this issue has only been detected now, and they're still relatively new in terms of the rest of the centre. Obviously, in light of this, we need to build in the required continuity for the business and we have already been busy obtaining the required quotes for replacements and options for alternative solutions, with the potential to improve efficiency which is ever more important in the current energy climate. This will be debated at the next Business committee (4th October) with decisions to be ratified by full council. Re-opening could still happen in the next few weeks but we need to anticipate and plan for downtime of at least a few days for any potential replacement, which isn't ideal for our returning groups/clubs. I'm sure everyone can understand, we want to make this as smooth as possible considering all the work that has gone into the centre in recent months. I will share some updates on recent water testing and the look and feel of the centre shortly and once again, I'd like to thank the rest of the council team, contractors and suppliers for all their help and support. Kind regards, Cllr Michael Potts Chairman - Penketh Parish Council. If you have any concerns of questions please use the link on our website Contact Us - The Penketh Parish Council  or comment below.

Please be aware that as the Internal Audit for Penketh Parish Council has now concluded, were obliged to invite members of the public in to view our account in the interest of openness and transparency. Please see the attached notice which includes details of the window to make an appointment, but despite this formal process, we remain open whenever you have a question about any of our activities. Any questions please contact: Clerk@penkethparishcouncil.org.uk

As we near completion of the Refurbishment works of Penketh Pool, I wanted to say thank you to all of the hard working Parish Councillors who have soldiered on through much adversity, full time jobs, careers and family commitments, yet still achieving something amazing for our local community. One thing that's sadly been highlighted following the recent hot weather is how important Swimming is as a life skill, we've heard of far too many tragedies in open water again, and this is something especially close to many of our hearts here at Penketh Parish Council. Throughout local campaigning and speaking to residents, I'm still amazed by how many people can't actually swim. That's why we want to not only provide the vital life skills of swimming to our younger generations, but also build the community, social and wellbeing aspect for our older generation. We'll be releasing our revised timetable shortly and would welcome feedback from the community. As ever its will be difficult to accommodate every individual wish but we aim to be as inclusive as possible, whilst quite rightly maximising the profitability of the pool to minimise impact to the Penketh precept (the surcharge of our council tax which funds PPC) Every effort will be made to re-instate our former swim scheme members first, before opening up a larger number of slots to the wider public and to new members who have reached teaching age whilst we have been closed. Please be mindful though, that some of our time is taken up by private hirers and clubs, and they will be in touch with you separately and may have their own challenges in returning after such a long period of time. I look forward to welcoming you all back soon, you will notice some changes, and likely be able to suggest further improvements to come but we'll endeavour to consult with you wherever possible, Once again thanks for your patience and kind messages of support. Below you'll find the latest statement from Cllr Kieran Layfield, Chair of the Business Management Committee Kind Regards, Cllr Michael Potts Chairman Penketh Parish Council.   Swimming Pool Update – Cllr K Layfield 13/06/22- Statement on works to the pool- openness and transparency There have recently been some public allegations and untruths raised regarding the works to the pool, particularly on the matters of costs, openness & transparency. This statement is in response to these. As is well known, the pool has been neglected for a large number of years. The facility was initially shut at the start of the covid-19 pandemic (March 2020). Whilst the hall has reopened for use, the pool has remained closed due to several issues including a failed filtration system, leaking pipework and cracking of the pool walls. In 2021 the recently elected parish councillors commissioned an optioneering review to determine the long-term future of the building and its use in the community. This exercise looked at several possible high-level options ranging from doing nothing, refurbishment / remodelling through to demolition and new build. The intention of the study was to review these options and decide which should be developed further with possible input from external consultants and contractors. These options (10 in total) were costed for by an external professional cost consultant. The options were presented and discussed at several public full council meetings between October 2021 and February 2022. In parallel a business plan was produced and issued to all councillors in December 2021. Following input from councillors, the business plan was presented for approval at the February 2022 public full council meeting. The options study report (including costs) and business plan are both available to view on the parish council website. At this meeting it was agreed (with no votes against) to approve the business plan and proceed with a phased approach for refurbishing the facility, effectively starting with the pool, and appointment of a specialist pool contractor. This would cover options 4-6 and give time to develop options for the refurbishment / redevelopment of the changing rooms at a later date. The estimated cost of Phase 1 of the works (effectively Option 3) was initially priced at £384,174 including VAT, although it was acknowledged that a significant amount of savings could be made against this figure. For the annual parish council budget, a capital spend of £129k was agreed with a £50k allowance made against possible loan repayments, if a loan was needed in the future. It should be noted that this budget was agreed by all councillors with no votes against. We have to date committed to spend £100,500 (inclusive of some of the survey works undertaken in the previous financial year). There are a number of further items needing to be purchased and installed ahead of reopening (including lighting, disabled hoist, and a new pool cover) which, based on current quotes, is under our £28,500 budget limit. The parish council press release in March 2022 referred to figure of £80k. This figure referred to the work being undertaken by the appointed specialist pool contractor and this element remains under budget (although it is acknowledged that they may undertake some of the other items noted above, if they are found to be best value) Future phases have not been decided beyond appointing an architect to develop some proposals for the redevelopment of the changing rooms. It is our intention to present these for public review ahead of any decision to proceed (or not) with them. Whilst there will always be commercially sensitive information that we are unable to share in Part 1 of the public meetings (such as when discussing quotes and cost estimates of individual items) we always strive to be as open and transparent as possible. As chair of the business management committee, I would be more than happy to sit down face to face with any member of the public and run through the costs and decisions made to date.