A MID Cheshire community has been the first to take advantage of new measures to give residents a stronger voice.

County, borough and parish councillors joined Cheshire County Council officials to go out and about in the community this week - to walk the streets and talk to people in order to discover problems first hand.

The county councillors recently approved the formation of six pilot Locality Boards to give their communities a strong voice on local issues.

Made up of local members, the Boards will work closely with parish and town councils, residents groups and voluntary organisations in order to better reflect local opinion when making decisions.

Weaverham Cllr Nora Dolphin put the new approach into practice for the first time when she linked with Vale Royal and Weaverham parish councillors and officials to go 'walkabout'.

Cllr Dolphin said: 'Many local highway concerns stem from local complaints about traffic, potholes, flooding and such, so it really is important to have good relations to ensure all three levels of local government work together. By walking their patch, talking to local people, councillors can experience the issues and difficulties direct.

'The public also appreciate the concept of parish, borough and county councils all working together to get things done.'

Cllr Dolphin pointed to earlier examples of joint council and community initiatives such as the Community Safety Action Group and another formed to discourage young people's involvement in arson attacks in the Weaverham area.