Work has been progressing well on the Market Walk extension and wider town centre improvements. As you may have heard we now had a local operator which is planning to bring an adventure golf and tenpin bowling offer to complement the M&S Foodhall and six-screen Reel Cinema, which are already signed up to the scheme.

The work to improve Union Street is on-going and we expect this to be completed in August.

Meadow Street Play Area in Wheelton has been resurfaced as part of Eastern Parishes identified Neighbourhood Priorities. The play area is a popular site in the village and this improvement has pleased families as we head into the summer period.

Over the last few months Parish Councils, volunteers and local groups with the support of Chorley Council have been helping keep Chorley tidy. There has been a range of activity taking place from large skip day events to local clean ups and litter picking.

There are also so many other residents and groups carrying out local clean ups and Chorley Council are committed to supporting individuals who want to take pride in where they live and make a difference to their local community.

On Thursday, 4 July, electors living in the borough ward of Eccleston and Mawdesley will be going to the polls to elect a new councillor to fill the seat made vacant following the sad death of Councillor Henry Caunce in May.

The elected candidate will hold the seat until the next local borough elections in May 2020, at which time all the council seats are up for grabs when the new ward boundaries come in to force as a result of a recent electoral review.

Astley Hall's application to Arts Council England for a project to bring an artist in residence to the Hall to will look at how the outside and inside spaces connect to each other has been given the green light.

Within the Hall there are lots of representations of the outdoors within tapestries, carvings, panelling, plasterwork, paintings etc. some are mythical creatures such as The Green Man, others pure nature. What this project will try to do is tie the inside of the Hall with its surroundings in a contemporary art way. The details of the project are currently unknown as, with all such projects, what will actually unfold has yet to be explored.

The contemporary artist we will work with is Lancashire-based Rebecca Chesney who comes with a great portfolio, working across the UK as well as North America and South Africa. Lots of outreach opportunities with this project and we are thrilled to have been successful. The project, entitled 'Astley Denatured - Controlling the Greenman' will start in the autumn 2019.

The total project costs are £15,000 funding from Arts Council England matched with a further £3,000 from Astley’s Arts Development budget.

For more information contact David Tetlow on david.tetlow@chorley.gov.uk

Two Wheelton residents received some fantastic news recently that they had been successful with a funding bid they submitted to England Table Tennis.

They had been planning to organise a village club since last Autumn so this funding will now make their idea reality.

There is currently no indoor sport recreation group in Wheelton and they are confident from the response from local residents young and old that a table tennis club would be popular and sustainable.

Table Tennis is a great activity to bring people together as it is intergenerational and inclusive. The club aims to run two sessions per week initially, and feel confident of increasing to four sessions within a short space of time.

For more information contact Bernie Heggarty on bernie.heggarty@chorley.gov.uk

Chorley Council in partnership with Lancashire Adult Learning are offering free computer, tablet and other digital skills courses to Chorley residents

Manchester to Blackpool charity cycle ride is taking place on Sunday, 7 July 2019.

The start and finish venues are:
Start - The Piazza, MediaCityUK, Salford, M50 2EQ
Finish - South Promenade, Blackpool (opposite the mirror ball) and at Solaris Centre (FY4 1RW)

The riders will leave the start venue in staggered groups in order to avoid any congestion. Start times are 7.30am – 9.30am.

The event (which is not a race) will be fully supported with a signed route, marshals, first aid, mechanics and pick-up vehicles. The event will not involve any road closures in Chorley and participants are expected to follow the rules of the road as they would do on any other day.

Please note that Chorley Council is not involved in the organisation of this event.

Lancashire’s Police and Crime Commissioner Clive Grunshaw is asking residents for their views on policing priorities as demands on the service continue to grow.

For more information contact the Commissioner via his website https://www.lancashire-pcc.gov.uk/