Parish and Town Council Newsletter - Summer 2022
County Councillor Paul Rigby
A word from our Parish and Town Councils' Champion CC Paul Rigby…
Summer is officially here, and I hope that you are enjoying the better weather and can make the most of being outdoors in the wonderful countryside that Lancashire has to offer. One of the ways of enjoying our great outdoors is cycling, and I'd encourage you to have a look at the article in this newsletter about Love 2 Ride, an online cycling encouragement platform designed to get more people riding bikes. Please do have a look at the many resources available through the project and help us to raise awareness and champion the benefits of cycling.
Communities across Lancashire, and especially Parish and Town councils, were very much at the forefront of the recent Platinum Jubilee celebrations. Many of you organised wonderful events, bringing everyone, old and young, together for street parties and celebration events to mark this once if a lifetime occasion. We've included some photos from Jubilee events from parish and town councils across the County and it looks like a great time was had by all. My son came home for the occasion which was super, and I hope that you also managed to spend some time with family and friends over the Jubilee weekend.
We recently circulated the revised Parish & Town Council Charter 2022-2024: Better Working Between Lancashire County Council and Parish & Town Councils. As many of you will know, we've been working together on the updated Charter for several months and we hope that you will find it useful and helpful in building relationships going forward.
One of the ways that we'd like to work with you is to support the health and wellbeing of your communities through local projects including environmental improvement schemes, and we have just launched a new grant scheme for parish and town councils to support small scale biodiversity projects. There's more information on this in the newsletter, as well as other funding opportunities including my Parish Champion Grant.
Finally, I'd like to thank Amanda Downes who as Partnership Development Officer has been wonderful, supporting me in my role as Parish Champion. I wish her well in her new role and for the future.
With good wishes for a lovely Summer
Paul
County Councillor Paul Rigby
Email: paul.rigby@lancashire.gov.uk
Mobile: 07779 596592
Love to Ride
Love to Ride are working in partnership with Lancashire County Council’s Public Health Team to enable as many people as possible to ride bikes for fun, fitness and transport.
Love to Ride is an online cycling encouragement platform designed to get more people riding bikes.
Love to Ride has a proven track record of enabling new riders to build the confidence to start cycling and for existing riders to ride even more! They’ve worked with over 600,000 riders worldwide and have been running cycling campaigns in the UK for over 10 years.
There are fun events coming up later in the year such as Cycle September and Winter Wheelers, which will provide a great opportunity to get more people riding and winning prizes. We also have access via Lancashire County Council to a variety of free cycling services, including free adult cycle training and bike maintenance sessions for all levels. With more people on bikes, we can create a healthier and happier future for all!
We are asking all Town and Parish Councils to champion the brilliant benefits of riding by introducing Love to Ride to as many local organisations and businesses as possible.
Why do we want you to get involved with Love to Ride?
We know that Town and Parish Councils know their local communities better than anyone. You can influence and raise awareness in your area better than anyone else!
How can you help?
We are asking you to raise awareness amongst local groups, organisations and businesses such as neighbourhood groups, local libraries, housing groups, local sports groups, schools, community associations, family groups, mental health groups, and youth services (age 13+).
First off, make your own Love to Ride account! It takes just a few moments – lovetoride.net/lancashire
Then we will help you to spread the word!
There are lots of resources available for you to use, including posters, social posts, pre-written messages and more. To get a pack of promotional materials to share Love to Ride in your area contact Helen Fairhurst –Community Engagement Manager: helen@lovetoride.net and she will provide you with everything you need to get more people riding and smiling in your area.
Better working between Lancashire County Council and Parish and Town Councils
Parish & Town Council Charter 2022-2024
A new charter aimed at improving the working relationship between Lancashire County Council and the County's parish and town councils has been approved. The Charter has been revised in conjunction with parish and town councils and sets out how we aim to work effectively together for the benefit of local people, whilst recognising our respective responsibilities as autonomous, democratically elected, statutory bodies.
The charter has been fully revised and updated, working together with representatives of the parish and town councils and the Lancashire Association of Local Councils (LALC) though a working group. It is the result of experience and local consultation about establishing better ways of working and to confirm existing good practice.
The charter was endorsed at the Parish and Town Council Conference in March 2022 and ratified by Lancashire County Council Cabinet in May 2022. Parish and Town Councils are also requested to give consideration to discussing, and if appropriate, ratifying the charter. Thank you to those councils that have already done this.
The Charter has been sent to all parish and town councils, and can also be accessed at: Parish and Town Council Charter - Lancashire County Council
Parish Champion Grant
Parish and town councils are encouraged to bid for a grant from the Parish Champion to support projects and initiatives in their locality. Each year the Parish Champion has a budget of £10,000 for such activities and we have previously supported a range of community assets including a defibrillator, a life belt, picnic tables, playground equipment and memorial stones.
If you would like to apply for a grant, please download the application form or email parishcouncils@lancashire.gov.uk for further information.
Community Fund from the Lancashire Police and Crime Commissioner
Launched in March 2022, the Community Fund strand of the Safer Lancashire Neighbourhoods Fund provides the opportunity for community organisations, including parish and town councils, to access small and medium grants of between £1000 and £10,000, to deliver projects in their local area which support the priorities in the police and crime plan, including anti-social behaviour and road safety.
Community Fund - Lancashire Police Crime Commissioner (lancashire-pcc.gov.uk)
Lancashire County Council 4 Community - Communities Grant Portal
Registering with the Portal provides immediate, free and unrestricted access to a comprehensive database of funding opportunities and business advice services. You can browse or search for funding, generate reports, access news items in full and set up alerts to receive updates regarding suitable funding opportunities.
It is accessed at Lancashire County Council 4 Community.
New biodiversity grant for Parish and Town Councils
Lancashire County Council has approved £58,000 for a new biodiversity grant for parish and town councils. Under the scheme annual grants of £300 will be available for all parish and town councils to support small scale biodiversity projects such as:
- Nest boxes
- Bird feeders
- Bug hotels
- Hedgehog houses
- Bat boxes
- Log piles
- Communal gardens
- Pollinator nest sites
- Planting wildflowers
- Creating ponds
- Living walls
- Rain gardens
The new grant will be made available through the Public Rights of Way Local Delivery Scheme. Parish and Town Councils will be able to opt in for the Biodiversity Grant whether or not they choose to opt in for the Public Rights of Way Local Delivery Scheme. Details will be sent to all parish and town councils shortly.
Levelling up fund
The government's Levelling Up agenda is designed to invest in infrastructure that improves people's everyday life across the UK. In order to support Lancashire's bid to the government's Levelling Up Fund, we carried out the Levelling Up Fund Bid survey. The online survey helped to capture residents' views on the issues faced in their communities and potential transport interventions.
If Lancashire's bid is successful, it could secure up to £50 million to develop a range of complementary projects that would significantly improve the quality of life and opportunities for people across East Lancashire. The county council has already assessed which areas would be helped most by the fund, looking at levels of employment, health, physical activity, air quality, car ownership, road accidents, walking and cycling, and bus and rail services. Lancashire's bid to the Levelling Up Fund is being finalised for submission by the 6th of July. If successful, more detailed proposals will be developed with input from partners and with close engagement with residents, organisations, and businesses.
Walking and cycling survey
Following a successful bid to the Department for Transport, Lancashire County Council were awarded £2.8m to create an environment that is safer for both walking and cycling. We recently carried out a 6-week county-wide walking and cycling survey to get feedback from people on current cycling and walking provisions in their area. The online survey ended on the 6th of May and is the first of two engagement exercises we plan to carry out.
The response rate was good – over 3,600 responses, with roughly a third coming in from Lancaster. Overwhelming a majority of the respondents have access to a car/van, and the main mode of travel was driving (80%), followed by walking (66%), then cycling (44%). The main barrier to cycling was busy roads (64%), while lack of available time and distances to key trip attractors were the main barriers to walking. "Cycle routes separated from other modes of travel" was cited as the most important factor to enable more people to cycle (68%), while "better maintained footways/pavements" was viewed as the most necessary change to enable more walking (39%).
The interactive map, which allowed users to drop a pin onto a map of Lancashire in relation to a cycling or walking infrastructure issue, received over 4,000 pins – most related to cycling (60%). 44% of users dropped a pin requesting new or improved cycle routes at their specified locations, followed by surface improvements (18%). A second engagement exercises is set to be launched in September 2022 and will focus on the proposed network plan and programme of interventions.
Jubilee celebrations
Thank you to everyone who sent in photographs of your local events and celebrations ...too many to include them all, so here's a small selection. Looks like everyone had a wonderful time!
Wishing everyone a lovely summer from the Partnerships Development Team parishcouncils@lancashire.gov.uk
