From Friday, 9 December Chorley's Flat Iron car park will be transformed into a magical winter wonderland for the festive period, and the town's first real ice rink will be the be the centre piece.

The 60ft by 40ft rink, brought to the town by Chorley Council and sponsored by Botany Bay and FI Real Estate Management, will be joined by children's rides and some festive food and drink stalls selling everything from German sausages, hog roast carvery, waffles, treats, hot chocolate and more.

Chorley's Real Ice Rink will open this Friday, 9 December at 12 noon and will be open every day, except Christmas Day, until Saturday, 8 January. Tickets can be purchased at the entrance to the Rink and are priced at: £6 for adults, £3.50 for children under 14 and senior citizens and £15 for a family ticket for 4 people (two adults and two children).

Chorley Council will be hosting a community funding event in conjunction with the Big Lottery Fund, which will take place in the Lancastrian on Wednesday 7 December 2016 at 6pm.

This is a great opportunity for voluntary, community and faith sector organisations in Chorley to get details of the latest funding available from grant providers including Big Lottery. There is also the chance to network with other like-minded groups and share ideas.

Doors will open from 5.30pm, with refreshments served, and groups must ensure that they book to secure a space via the link below.

Christmas Gift Donations Needed!

Cotswold Supported Housing would gladly welcome donations of any of the following:
• Toys for babies, toddlers and children
• Gifts for teenage boys and girls
• Gifts for men and women (from late teens upwards)
• Christmas wrapping paper (lots needed please!)

You can drop off any donations at/with:
1. Cotswold Supported Housing, Cotswold Road
2. Union Street – Natalie Holt
3. Town Hall – Brendan Spear
4. Town Hall – Members Room
5. Bengal Street – Box will be left in the main office

Following the last Our Health Our Care public information session on 9 November, the next public engagement event has been arranged for Wednesday, 14 December in the Lancastrian Suite at 2pm-4pm and 6pm-8pm.

This will provide further opportunity to ensure the views of the community are captured and provide the chance to ask any questions regarding the progress of the programme.

You can register for a place at one of the 'Our Say' events via the link below.

There have been some changes to Parish Council contacts which are detailed below:

• Donald Hesketh has been appointed the new clerk for Anderton Parish Council. Donald’s email address is donhesketh@aol.com

• The email address for the Clerk of Clayton-le-Woods Parish Council has changed to clerk@claytonlewoodsparishcouncil.org.uk

• The role of Clerk to Cuerden Parish Council has become vacant. Until a new Clerk is appointed please direct your enquiries to the Chair of the Parish Council, Matthew Lang on email mattlang00@msn.com

Abbey Village War Memorial:
The restoration work at Abbey Village War Memorial has now been completed as part of the Eastern Neighbourhood Priorities. The main improvement was the resurfacing around the memorial and also included cleaning works. The improvements have made a significant difference to the site and were achieved in good time as the community came together for Remembrance Sunday.

New Public Access Defibrillator in Astley Village:
As part of the Euxton, Astley and Buckshaw Neighourhood priorities the need for the provision of a Defibrillator around the Astley Village area was identified. After looking at different sites it was agreed to install this at Astley Village Commmuniy Centre. As part of the project, Community Training will be delivered to raise awareness and give people the confidence to feel more comfortable in using the defibrillator and help save lives.

Installation of a Handrail - Euxton, Astley and Buckshaw:
The installation of a handrail alongside Ravensthorpe (Astley Village) has now been completed. This will assist disabled and elderly access through the underpass and towards the bus stop.

One of the country's most precious landscapes has been given special legal protection for its nationally important wildlife and habitats. The West Pennine Moors is the largest new site of special scientific interest (SSSI) notified by Natural England since 2004, covering a total of 76 square kilometres between Chorley, Blackburn, Bolton and Haslingden in Lancashire and Greater Manchester.

This move reflects the national significance of the area and its combination of upland habitats, moorland fringe grasslands and woodland, which support an impressive array of breeding birds. Merlin, curlew, snipe, lapwing and redshank nests in the area and there are large breeding colonies of both blackheaded and Mediterranean Gulls.

Natural England will work with owners and land managers to continue to protect and enhance the wildlife importance of the area, whilst maximising the other benefits of the moors. Chorley Council owns a small area of land around Rivington Pike. To read the full article and for further information please refer to the web link. A copy of the document and maps is available in the members room for reference.

How safe do you feel in your neighbourhood?
Safer Chorley and South Ribble Community Safety Partnership want to support their communities to create a safe, cleaner and sustainable neighbourhood by providing access to first class coordinated public services. Community Safety is about helping communities feel safe, it is important that you feel safe where you live, work or spend your leisure time.

We would like members of the public and our partners to tell us how safe they feel in their neighbourhood so that we can tackle the problem together. By completing the questionnaire you can assist the partnership to plan and shape future community safety initiatives to meet the needs of Chorley and South Ribble, the questionnaire should take no more than 5 minutes. The questionnaire will be open until 20 January 2017.

The annual Chorley and South Ribble Community Safety Partnership Conference will be held in the Lancastrian Suite of the Town Hall on Wednesday, 8 February at 9.30am until approximately 12.30pm.

The conference is open to all partner agencies with an interest and obligation to work in partnership to address community safety issues, including local, parish and county councillors. It will enable attendees the opportunity to inform the 2017/18 Community Safety Partnership Action Plan, based on the identified priorities for Chorley and South Ribble.

In order to attend you must confirm your attendance to Rachel Austen on rachel.austen@chorley.gov.uk no later than 16 January 2017.

Chorley Council have received an informal consultation request from Lancashire County Council regarding a proposed rail crossing diversion order. The proposed Order affects the Heath Charnock and Rivington ward.

To view the proposal for review please following the link below. Please note that any comments need to be submitted to Lancashire County Council by 21 December 2016. We will receive a formal request for consultation in the New Year.