Parish Plan

Updated November 2008

Update on Parish Plan Activities

You will have all received a copy of the Ulnes Walton Parish Plan Review.  Click here if you wish to view an electronic copy.

Apart from updating you on the progress achieved since the 2004 Plan this was written to provide residents with information on Health, Welfare, and Activities within the Community.

The information was provided so you, the residents, could access activities and services provided by your Councils and Community Groups. The ball is now mainly in your court to use to enhance your quality of life.

Should you need any help please do not hesitate to contact any Parish Councillor who will do their best to assist. This applies should you have an idea such as starting a Mother and Toddler Group or a Scout Group or other activity for any age group.

Sometimes one of our existing community groups can help but if we need to look further afield such as Lancashire County Council we can start the ball rolling for you.

It may be that people at different ends of the village have the same idea but have no way of conferring so if you get in touch with a Parish Councillor they may have already had that idea from someone else and can help you get together.

As with the original Parish Plan this will be a living document and will evolve as the community goes forward.

The review of the 2004 Parish Plan is now complete and you should all have received a copy of the new document. The Review Group have attempted to provide useful information to our parishioners to enable them to interact within the village, where possible, and, therefore, bring a closer sense of community.

The Gala Day on Sunday 31^st August is an excellent example of this and we hope that the weather will be kind to us and make it a day which we will all remember and wish to repeat. Remember any profit made from this day will go into a fund for future community get-togethers and not to any one organisation.

The Parish Plan review grant also provided us with funds to improve facilities at the Old School by installing a telephone line and Broadband so that we can run computer training classes for our more senior residents for free. This will be an excellent chance for those a little frightened and wary of technology to start from a level of no experience and proceed to internet awareness and e-mailing within a few months. Further details of this will be advertised within a few weeks although, as the courses are limited to 10 pupils, we have quite a few interested even now.

The grant also provided new items of technology to help any courses run at the Old School should they so desire. Further on this later.

We are very pleased that this review of the old Parish Plan has produced benefits for the community far beyond just a book to read and it is hoped that you will all join in when and where you are able and bring our communities together as one Village.

The Parish Plan Review, which is concentrating on the Health and Wellbeing of the community, is now beginning to take shape. 

Emerging from the process and following the Community Health Day, is the new Village Information leaflet which will shortly be issued to all households in the parish. This is intended to provide our residents with the means to access help on matters outside the scope of the Parish Council. Of course if there are areas of concern relating to the Parish or its residents, the Parish Council is always ready to help.

One of the objectives of the Plan is to provide residents with information in order to support activities for all age groups across the community. The Parish Council itself cannot take on the responsibility of doing this and is looking for partners to push the ideas forward.

At the senior end of the spectrum we have groups such as The Elderberries who already do excellent work in organising activities for their members and it would be good if between us we can encourage more to take part.

There will be a focus on transport with possibly an introduction of the Community Car Scheme which works well in Eccleston and Mawdesley. If this takes off we shall be asking for volunteer drivers in the near future. Various other Community schemes are available and we shall be highlighting these soon.

At the younger end we are looking for a dedicated resident, who may already be working with young people, to encourage and filter requests for activities and liaise with the authorities to make things happen. This does not necessarily mean organising the activities but just passing the request to the appropriate person at Lancashire or Chorley councils. This person would be known as a “Cultural Champion” and will receive all possible assistance from the relevant council department. So come on anyone who has complained about lack of facilities and activities and make a difference – it could even be a small group.

For the very young, most activities are outside our remit but the newly refurbished Village Hall at the Old School on Ulnes Walton Lane is quite happy to host Mother & Toddler groups if someone would like to get a few young mums or grans together. We may even be able to help financially. If anyone is interested in viewing the school, or checking on available days, the best person to contact is John McKie who is a Trustee. His number is 01704 821350.

Please bear in mind that the Old School is used by various local community groups as well as some from outside the Parish so be prepared to be flexible, although the centrally heated rooms together with new toilets and kitchen make this a desirable venue.

Finally the Plan aims to bring a wide variety of health related information and even dedicated sessions dealing with practical issues such as how to minimise your risk of stroke, coronary disease, diabetes etc. We are hoping to work closely with our local Primary Care Trust to focus on health improvement in our community so please let us know what your priorities are and support the health related activities we plan to run in the coming months.

This is just the basic concept of our Parish Plan Review and much more detailed information will be produced at the end of the process.

Please give these initiatives a chance and get involved if you can for Ulnes Walton is a Village and it should really come together and as one.

What's Been & What's To Come - Review Time

The Ulnes Walton Parish Plan of 2004 was meant to be a living document, not a shiny book to be put on a shelf and forgotten.  It is only appropriate after three years to review what has been achieved and look to the future. The Parish Council has obtained a grant from Community Futures to help the community plan for the next three years and beyond.

The underlying theme of the Parish Plan Review will be "Community Well-being".  It will focus on improving social concerns such as care for the elderly, healthcare, crime prevention, housing etc.  A steering group has been formed to seek opinion and recommend changes (if any) to the Parish Plan.

The review has similar aims to the original plan.  A series of public meetings of the steering group are intended to piece together a questionnaire to be distributed to every home  in the parish.  Once the replies have been collected and analysed, the steering group should be able to provide recommendations for the Parish Plan.  The outcome should identify further improvements to life in our village and should form the basis of community and parish council action.

The steering group welcomes input from all parts of Ulnes Walton. It is appreciated the needs of different localities may vary and this exercise should reflect the opinion of whole village.  If you have something to say about this or feel you can help (a lot of help is needed!!) then contact the Parish Council.

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Steering Group Minutes

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To Date in Brief:

• Spring 2007 - The Parish Council decide to start a review process.  The steering committee is reborn!
• December 2003 - Members of the Ulnes Walton Parish Council and the Parish Plan Steering Group presented the draft Parish Plan to the public.
• Autumn 2003 - "Focus Groups" were created to concentrate on specific aspects of the proposed Parish Plan.
• June 2003 - A highly successful "Past and Present" day was held at the Old School, highlighting the Parishes Viking connections with the present day.  
• Spring 2003 - A consultation exercise has taken place and there was an outstanding response to a questionnaire received by every household in the Parish.

More information about the original Parish Plan can be found here.