The Executive Leader of the Council is calling on the Government to take action against train operator Northern Rail after almost two weeks of chaos on the railways.

Bosses at Chorley Council are demanding immediate improvements for residents who have been delayed getting to work and appointments and stranded at train stations across the region.

The authority is calling on the Government to ensure Northern Rail fulfils its new timetable and if it can’t the franchise should be taken away.

A number of places are still available for the Mayor’s Charity Golf Tournament taking place at Duxbury Park Golf Course on Monday, 18 June.

Places are £25 per person which includes coffee and a bacon roll on arrival and hotpot or chilli after play. Vegetarian options also available.

To enter please contact Paula Brindle on paula.brindle@chorley.gov.uk no later than 8 June.

Voluntary, community, or faith sector groups operating within the borough of Chorley can now apply for Chorley Council Small Community Funding

The application process for 2018/19 Small Community funding is now open, and will remain open until Friday 6 July 2018. More information and the application form can be found on the Chorley Council website by searching for Grants and Funding.

Organisations searching for larger amounts of funding are encouraged to use the Chorley 4 Community database which can also be found via a link on the Chorley Council website.

Chorley Council is putting on the Taste of Chorley event on Saturday, 9 June which will showcase Chorley’s local food and drink culture, give cooking tips and provide healthy eating advice. The event, which is now in its second year, will see market traders and local businesses set up on Fazakerley Street between 11am-4am with a variety of food and drink available.

The event is free to attend and people can get some top tips from local chefs giving cooking demonstrations, whilst they enjoy some delicious food and live music. Plus there will be a wide range of local artisan producers selling mouth-watering produce for you to take home and create your own delicious dishes.

Members of the public can also get involved by entering the Chorley Cake competition and baking Chorley’s favourite cake. There are three categories to enter for the competition which are; professional bakers, 16 or over adult bakers and under 16 junior bakers.

We have partnered up with the North West Ambulance Service and their volunteers to host six defibrillator awareness sessions across our community centres.

The aim of the sessions is to target residents, young and old, to come along and learn more about how a defibrillator works and will provide people with the opportunity to have a go at using a defibrillator and performing CPR.

The sessions will last for an hour, and there are a variety of venues and times to make them as accessible as possible. People can book their place via Eventbrite, via the links below. If you would be interested in supporting a session in your area and there is not a session already listed in your area please contact abi.obrien@chorley.gov.uk

This is a fantastic free course taking place in partnership with Jobskilla to enable residents to gain valuable computer experience.

This thirteen day course for the unemployed will start on Wednesday, 6 June at Cotswold Supported Housing. A laptop is provided for the duration of the course and on completion of the course the laptop is the learners to keep to continue to develop their skills, apply for jobs etc. A nationally recognised qualification will also be received.

Booking for this event is essential and can done so by contacting Simon Charnock on getonline@chorley.gov.uk.

South Ribble Partnership Strategic Board would like to invite you to attend the launch of a new campaign against Coercive Control, that has been designed in a project by students from Runshaw College. The Launch will be taking place on Friday, 8 June at 11.00am at South Ribble Borough Council, Leyland, PR25 1DH.

At the Launch you will hear from the Lancashire Police and Crime Commissioner why the funding of victim services is so important, as well as from Victim Services themselves on how raising awareness of issues such as coercive control is important and that we can take small actions to help.

In partnership with Chorley Community Housing, Chorley Council, local Councillors and Residents we have been working to develop a community Orchard on the site off Dickens Road/Poets estate.

We are looking to create a Community Action Group in the Coppull area. Local residents interested in joining the group can attend an event on Thursday, 21 June, 6.30pm at Springfield Park Leisure Centre to gain ideas for improving their local area and ideas for the Poets Community Orchard. For more information contact bernie.heggarty@chorley.gov.uk

In partnership with Google and AgeUK we are running a Stay Safe Online session from AgeUK lifestyle centre on Monday, 18 June 9.30-10.30.

In this session you will:
• Learn cyber-safety basics and discover some simple steps you can take to stay safe online.
• Learn how to keep yourself and your personal data safe when using the internet.
• Identify the common threats online today and how to avoid them – How to stay safe when you’re internet shopping or online banking.
• Learn how to manage different accounts, passwords and family controls securely

The session is suitable for computer, smartphone and tablet users across a range of levels. For more information email getonline@chorley.gov.uk

Are you interested in supporting local young people? Have you heard of the NCS Challenge? We will be supporting the challenge locally, and are looking for as many people as possible to get involved.

The NCS (National Citizen Service) Challenge will be taking place over summer, for 3-4 weeks. The NCS offers young people the chance to attend residential trips, to plan and deliver community action projects, and to help fundraise for local community projects. There are three ways you can get involved;

• NCS Community Partner – Saturday, 7 July
• NCS Enterprise Challenge Partner – Monday, 9 July; Monday, 6 August; Monday, 20 August
• Pitch Advisor- Friday, 17 August; Tuesday, 21 August; Friday, 24 August

More information can be found by following the link below or contacting Abi O'Brien on abi.o'brien@chorey.gov.uk

We have been notified of a change of email address for Heskin Parish Council.

The new email address is heskinparishcouncil@gmail.com