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It's been almost two months since myself and my colleagues were elected as your parish council, and I was elected as the chairman of the council. Since the election results were announced, we’ve been working really hard to get set up, understand our current position and make some changes to ensure that we are working in the most effective way over the next three years. We’ve been focused on ‘getting our house in order’ and to give us the much-needed framework and governance to enable us to ensure the smooth and effective running of the council moving forward. I know that a number of you have been looking to us for updates – and I’m glad to be updating you on a number of points today, now that we’ve got a clearer picture of where we are at. I think it’s fair to say that this has not exactly been an easy process and has took longer than we’d like. We’ve been working against the lack of handover from the outgoing chair and members, and the existing temporary clerk and proper officer to the council being absent from work from the start. As an urgent action and to allow the business of the council to take place, we appointed a new temporary clerk. We’re in the process of recruiting a new permanent clerk, and are currently shortlisting applicants, having recently advertised to fill this position. Whilst this procedural activity has been taking place, including modernising our standing orders and operational policies and procedures - we’ve also been working on a number of more practical matters. These include: As soon as we practically and safely could, we reopened the ‘dry-side’ of Penketh Pool to allow community groups to resume. We’ve appointed a new HR & Health and Safety contractor, Peninsula, to work alongside us to improve the service we give to our employees and to help us ensure we are compliant with law. Initial enhancements to the live-stream for our meetings, now they are back in-person to allow meetings to be accessed by as many people as possible. Introduced Microsoft Office 365 into our organisation, to ensure data is held securely and to improve our internal communication and updated our website to reflect the new administration and added a section to house our policies, standing orders and other important documents for transparency. PENKETH POOL We know that many of you are eagerly awaiting the reopening of Penketh Pool, to bring vital swimming lessons and leisure activities back to Penketh. I believe that I speak for all members when I say that this is of the highest importance for us to address. Unfortunately, we’re not in a position to reopen the facility at this time. Since being elected, myself and colleagues have been working to understand what the position is with the pool, including several meetings with contractors. The previous controlling group had very much kept us in the dark with regard to the status of the pool, and although the venue closed (due to COVID-19) in March 2020 and the pool drained, a structural engineer’s report was only completed in April 2021, the month prior to the election. The issues had been present, unbeknown to us, for a considerable amount of time before this. There are significant issues with the pool itself and the plant systems associated with keeping it running and safe. These need to be rectified before we can look to reopen. These issues include, but are not limited to: Leaking through several visible cracks and holes to the pool wall, which also gives concern that the ground material beneath and to the sides of the pool will be saturated and washed away, causing possible instability. The seal to the deep end collection filter has failed which is now allowing groundwater to get into the pool. The filtration system is not working. The previous council appointed a contractor to fix this, but pressure testing has indicated that the pipes which supply the pool are leaking and will require replacement at the same time as the plant equipment. As I’m sure you can appreciate - this isn’t an overnight fix and will require a considerable amount of funding and project management to put right. We’re in an unfortunate position where our work is taking longer, due to the lack of existing information. Our Business Management committee will be leading a crisis management workstream to fully investigate, work with contractors and report to the full council. As previously mentioned, we’re in discussions with contractors to identify and quote for the repairs that are required. We’ll utilise this information, as well as taking an overall view of the site & business, to populate a project plan to give us short-term and long-term objectives. Alongside this, our Marketing and Communications committee will be working to ensure that we deliver regular updates on the plans and progress to you. In regard to refunds, we’ve been made aware (that despite previous reassurances from management), there is a considerable amount of users that have paid for lessons that have not been able to be fulfilled. We’re in the process of identifying these individuals – and we will make contact with you within the next 14 days to arrange a refund. I know that this isn’t the greatest of news (it wasn’t to us either) but rest assured that your council will do whatever we can to deal with this. FINANCIAL POSITION Understanding the financial position of the council has also been of critical importance to us. Again, it’s unfortunate that this has also proved challenging without any proper handover. Based on the current position, the accounts do not make for good reading. Our temporary clerk has not been able to find budget information for the current year, on which the requested Precept will have been based. Looking through last year’s accounts, there are several concerns. Despite the Audit and Interim Audit recommendations, previous Councillors have continued to make decisions without following the Financial Regulations or considering the Financial Risk Assessment. We’re still working to regain full access to our accounts – and as soon as we have, we’ll of course be releasing the accounts for full transparency. A Finance Management committee has been established to get us back on track – including working on our responsibilities in respect of Annual Governance & Accountability Return (AGAR) and our budgets. I’m very confident that we’ve got the right people sat around the table to fix these historical issues, to get our business fully reopen for the community and really drive positive change in Penketh. With the introduction of our new committee structure, I believe that we are set-up for the hard work that’s ahead of us. I promise that you will see more updates from us as we progress – and our Marketing and Communications committee will be working on a wider communication strategy for the council. If you’ve got any feedback, questions or concerns, please don’t hesitate to get in touch. Best, Cllr Dale Solan-Cooper Chairman of Penketh Parish Council

Penketh Pool and Community Centre was forced to temporarily close in March 2020 due to the Covid-19 pandemic. This was necessary due to the risks posed to public health throughout this crisis, these real risks remain. Councillors have been updated on the facility on several occasions including meetings of 11th March, 8th April, 13th May, 10th June, 8th July and a full update was intended on the 9th September but was unable to proceed. Prior to the retirement of our long-term general manager, advice was sought on behalf of the Council as to options for the future management of Kingfisher Leisure. As is common practice and to meet an emergency need, a temporary manager was sought. This was agreed by the Parish Council and a contractor was instructed and commenced work on 22nd June. This contractor left on 24th July after submitting a report to Cllrs on 7th July and 20th July on the concerning state of the facility. Inspections at Penketh Pool and Community Centre have revealed a number of operational and Health & Safety concerns. Further to the departure of this temporary contractor, a further temporary manager was engaged (under the same process and arrangements agreed prior) to take matters forward. Work has been ongoing in the assessment and processes to resolve these concerns. The temporary manager will report to Cllrs with a substantial update along with recommendations that the Council take a number of decisions which will allow necessary works for the facility to re-open safely in due course. The temporary manager had prepared to report to Cllrs for the 9th September meeting of the Council but was prevented from doing so (waiting for over one hour to be admitted on the Zoom meeting). He later found himself removed and unable to re-access the virtual meeting. The Council notes that some other leisure facilities have opened under limited operations and strict guidance and that all facilities are different in terms of their age and characteristics. The closest comparable facility in Warrington (to Penketh) is Broomfields Leisure Centre which is operated by Livewire and remains closed. Warrington is still in the top five nationally for confirmed cases of Covid 19 with a recent outbreak within a local Penketh school. For this reason, the decision to open the pool should not be taken lightly. All Cllrs are aware of the additional health and safety matters which need to be addressed and we are committed to re-opening as soon as possible. We understand that there has been some public misinformation regarding the circumstances around Covid-19 and the temporary closure of the facility and hope that this update will assist in understanding the challenges faced. Penketh Parish Council remains committed to the re-opening of Penketh Pool and Community Centre as soon as possible and will continue to prioritise health and safety and minimise risk despite any social media pressure.

Annual accounts have been published for the Parish Council and are available at the Parish website. This year's accounts were accepted and signed off at a meeting of the Council in August 2020, noting the auditor’s recommendations. All recommendations have been supported for implementation by the Parish Council. Lois Bury - Clerk/RFO

Penketh Parish Council is proud to be investing in new play equipment at Greystone Rec following many requests from our local community. The impact of Covid-19 meant this did not happen in the timescale we had initially planned. However, these facilities are now open and safe for the children of Penketh to enjoy. We do hope they will bring fun and enjoyment for many years to come. The replacement of play facilities has been an aspiration for Penketh Parish Council and local residents for some time with many noting that Penketh seems to be one of few areas where Warrington Borough Council does not provide play equipment. Unlike many neighbouring areas WBC does not own any park or recreation ground in Penketh. These are managed by Penketh Parish Council on behalf of local residents. The Parish Council also holds responsibility for grass cutting, hedge trimming and litter picking etc. The Parish Council made the decision to replace the play equipment in May 2019 and it was agreed in the annual budget. The Council sought quotations over a period which were circulated to all Cllrs on 2nd December 2019. The decision to proceed with the work was made on 8th January 2020 at a meeting of the Parish Council. The work was to commence in March but was delayed due to Covid-19. The work commenced later in the year on the 20th July and the playground is now safe and open for use. Further painting work to the railings to finalise the project will be completed in due course. There has been some mis-information with regard to the support of grant-funding. The Parish Council searched for opportunities with SSE, WREN and VEOLIA but to no avail and individuals and local organisations had extensive time to search for such, following discussions at meetings at the Parish Council. No opportunities or details of opportunities were presented to the Council within the decision making time frame. There have been some issues with the contractors arrangements which the Parish Council have sought to resolve as promptly as possible within the confines and limitations of the Covid 19 period. We are pleased that we now have renewed play facilities for families in Penketh.