Did you know that if you are organising an event in the community you will have a number of legal responsibilities?

As the organiser, you will be legally responsible for the safety and wellbeing of those people attending and also working at the event. No matter where an event takes place, it is the event organiser that is responsible for seeking permission from the land or venue owner and delivering and managing all aspects of an event and this includes events that are organised by parish councils or parish councillors.

In November 2016, Chorley Council implemented a new external events policy, which details new procedures for event organisers who wish to hold an event on council-land. The relevant information and advice for anyone who wishes to organise an event on council land can be found on the council’s website along with some useful templates like an event proposal form, an event safety management plan and a risk assessment template.

The Council will shortly be starting its annual canvass of electors, which will involve us sending out just over 50,500 Household Enquiry Forms to households across Chorley. These forms will be hitting doorsteps around 11-16 August.

Residents will be able to respond to the canvass by returning their completed paper form, by phone, text, or on-line (any changes in details can only be updated by completing the form on-line or returning the paper copy).

Details of the next Planning in Practice session have been announced!

The session will take place on 13 November at 5.45pm until approx. 7.45pm. The topic for this session will be on the Householders Design Guidance Supplementary Planning Document which was approved at a Council meeting on 24 January 2017.

The session is open to all borough councillors, and two representatives from each parish/town council.

If you are a parish/town councillor and would like to attend your parish/town clerk will be co-ordinating attendance at the training on behalf of your council.

Residents and visitors to Chorley’s landmark tourist attraction are being asked for their views on a dramatic change to the front of Astley Hall.

The Grade I listed historic house, owned and managed by Chorley Council, is in need of major repair and a £2 million Heritage Lottery Fund (HLF) bid is being prepared to transform the building and secure its future for generations to come.

The conservation work would focus on the front of the building with proposals to take off the render and expose the brick frontage.

Councillor Hasina Khan, Chair of the Equality Forum is encouraging parish/town councils, voluntary, community, faith groups and residents to attend the next meeting of the Equality Forum and help shape it's future.

One of the ways we are looking to develop the Forum is to hold an event or conference with a focus on community cohesion, providing an opportunity for local groups and organisations to come together and share their practices and principles to support stronger relationships.

The next meeting will take place this Thursday, 10 August at 6.30pm in The Lancastrian at Chorley Town Hall.

The Get Up and Go team are back this Summer with an action packed programme of sports, play and arts activities! To find out more, check out the links below:

Under CIL regulations, Councils are required to pay parish/town councils 15% of any CIL receipts from development within those areas.

A quick guide to CIL has been developed and contains details of -
How CIL is allocated
Payment periods
How the funds must be spent
Reporting

Make a note in your diary for Saturday, 23rd September. This is when the Chorley Health Mela – a family friendly festival of health-related ideas, activities, information and fun, together with a comprehensive range of free health checks for everyone, takes place in the All Seasons Leisure Centre, Ringway (Water Street), PR7 1EX. Open to the public between 11.00 am and 4.00 pm. Entrance, parking and the ‘Health MOT’ are all completely free!

Delivered by the National Forum for Health and Wellbeing and supported by the Integrated Community Wellbeing Service (Chorley Council and Lancashire Care NHS Foundation Trust) this event will bring together resources and advice to help residents of all ages, from all the communities in Chorley, make the right choices to promote and maintain their own and family health and wellbeing.

Thousands of people enjoyed a record-breaking Chorley Flower Show with the borough living up to its burgeoning reputation as the Northern Flowerhouse.

Astley Park was turned into a riot of colour with everything from beautiful begonias to resplendent roses and special guest appearances from TV stars Carol Klein and Chris Beardshaw.

Almost 15,000 people packed out the park for the award-winning event, organised by Chorley Council, which is now rivalling established shows as the best in the North West.

Visitors to Chorley town centre can now enjoy an impressive walk to Chorley Little Theatre after improvement work was completed on the alley between Peter Street and Market Street.

The alley, which will now be known as Theatre Walk, has been cleaned up with new paving and an archway installed. The work has been commissioned by Chorley Council as part of a £4million project to improve the public realm in the town centre.

Theatre-related quotes line the paving and notice boards will soon be installed along the walls to tell people what is coming up at Chorley Little Theatre.

The notice boards will be accompanied by Peter Wink street name plaques at either end of the alley to recognise the fact that many local people know the alley as that name.

Work is also nearing completion on nearby Fazakerley Street with new paving laid to create a flatter surface allowing more space for market stalls and entertainment activities. New seating has been installed with decorative finishing touches set to go in shortly.

We have had notification that the email addresses for the following Parish Councils have changed -

Withnell Parish Council - withnellparishcouncil@outlook.com and

Clayton-le-Woods - clerk@claytonlewoodsparishcouncil.org.uk

To find out what else is happening in the Council and across the borough click on the links below -

Find out other news taking place across the borough with news from our partners.