Looking after communities’ interests

Jun 27 2008 by David Norbury, Chester Chronicle

THE new Cheshire West and Chester Council is due to decide arrangements in the autumn to allow local people and organisations to have their say.

The council’s executive has had a preliminary report on initial ideas and boundaries for areas working across the authority’s area covering nearly a third of a million people.

Director of corporate and economic affairs for Vale Royal Borough Council, Noel O’Neill, who is a lead officer for the new council, is suggesting a number of options for consultation as to how the council could engage with communities.

Area programme boards are suggested which could influence the plans of the council, the police and the primary care trusts.

They could develop regeneration initiatives and area action plans, provide a “port of call” for resolving community issues, and monitor the local delivery of mainstream services.

Mr O’Neill points out that neighbourhoods throughout Cheshire West and Chester vary and there are already a number of well-defined partnerships including town and parish councils, neighbourhood management areas and market town initiatives.

He suggests that where these are effective they should be retained and should be included within the area programme boards.

One approach could see eight programme boards across the council’s area.

Minutes suggest the boards would not have their own budgets in the same way as Chester City Council’s area committees.