Following the recent announcement of the General Election due to take place on 8 June 2017, some key dates are highlighted below;

• Notice of Election – 5 May
• Delivery of Nomination Papers – during office hours 8 May to 4.00pm on 11 May
• Poll Cards start to be delivered – 8 May
• Deadline to go onto the register – 22 May
• Deadline for a applying for a postal vote – 23 May (5.00pm)
• First postal votes to be delivered around the 23/24 May
• Anyone who applies for a postal vote after the 2 May will only receive it around the 30 May.
• Count to take place over the night of 8/9 June

A reminder that major changes to waste collections began on Monday, 1 May. If you live in the borough, or know family and friends that do, please make sure everyone is familiar with these changes.

As a reminder from 1 May the changes will be;
•The garden waste service is now a voluntary opt in service at £30 per year, per bin – people who have opted in will have or will be receiving a grey bin for garden waste
•The brown bin, previously for garden waste, will now be used for paper and cardboard and collected every four weeks.
•There will be no changes to the domestic/non-recyclable (green bin) or the plastics, cans and glass (blue bin).

For information, the Our Health Our Care Public Engagement event due to take place on Tuesday, 9 May has been cancelled. This is in line with the forthcoming General Election and the period of Purdah.

The event will now take place as part of the planned July 2017 engagement event on Tuesday, 11 July between 4.30pm-7pm.

If you have any queries, please contact the programme co-ordinator, Tanya Edgar on ohoc.enquiries@nhs.net

The Tea Dance which was due to take place on the afternoon of Tuesday, 6 June 2017 has been cancelled as The Lancastrian is required for work linked to the forthcoming General Election scheduled for 8 June.

Please contact Nicola McIntyre on nicola.mcintyre@chorley.gov.uk for further information.

Adactus and CCH, who have been supporting community groups for the last eight years, have launched this years 'BIG' Investment Grant Scheme and are now inviting you to apply for up to £2,000 from their grant for your community. To apply for this grant you will need to fill out an application form which can be accessed by following the link below.

Projects supported in previous years have included trips out for young and older carers, activity classes, IT and play equipment, community cafes and community fund days to name but a few.

A Panel of Residents from the Adactus 500 involvement group will vote on the applications. Bids are invited throughout the year, however once the funding in the pot has gone, that is it for the financial year. For further information contact the BIG Team on BIG@adactushousing.co.uk

Under the Public Service Reform Partnership, Chorley Council are aiming to work more closely with other organisations.

The Public Service Reform Partnership sees people from a number of services come together to work as the PIVOT Team. This stands for Partnership, Integration, Vulnerability, Outcomes, Transforming, and aims to work in partnership to provide integrated services to tackle vulnerability, enabling outcomes and transforming future.

The team meet three times a week at Chorley Fire Station to discuss complex cases which need a multi-agency approach. They have already seen benefits of the service being together in one place.

The community centre at Buttermere Green is now open despite a number of construction issues which has delayed the opening.

We are keen for the local residents to be very involved in the shaping and delivery of activities and events at the centre and we are working through the process of building links and contacts with those who are interested to be involved. We are keen to hear from members of the community who want to be part of this process and the future functioning of the centre.

If interested, please contact the Community Development Team on community.development@chorley.gov.uk or call 01257 515151.

Looking for something to do and somewhere to go for a great day out? Visit CheckOutChorley for inspiration!

Check out Chorley's beautiful countryside, historic houses and fabulous food and drink. From stunning cycling and walking routes through picturesque villages to wildlife spotting in parks and amazing attractions, there's plenty to do in Chorley this spring!

To find out more about what's going on this spring, follow the links below.