Saving £2 million
Local people and stakeholders were
invited to give their views on proposals to save £2 million next
year in a consultation exercise in September 2011. The Council
considered all the responses at its meeting on 19 October 2011 and
formally approved a series of proposals.
Your West Lancashire 2027
The Council carried out a major consultation on how West
Lancashire should develop over the coming years to
2027. Consultation on the Preferred Options ran from Thursday
12 May until Friday 24 June 2011. Special exhibitions and
events were held where people came to find out more
and give views. West Lancashire 2027 is also on Facebook.
Design Awards 2011
The Council invited people to nominate their
favourite building or development for the 2011 West
Lancashire Design Awards. The winners have now been
announced.
New play area at New Church Farm, Skelmersdale
Consultation with local residents was held about the new
play area. Staff spoke to residents to gather their views and
staged a public viewing of the designs. Residents chose their
favourite design and it was installed in time for summer 2011.
Citizen's Survey
The Council carried out a survey in autumn
2010 to gather people’s views on a range of issues including the
Council’s budget, contacting the council and community safety. The
survey results will assist the council during the coming year as it
makes plans to deliver services and make efficiency
improvements.
Travel for elderly and disabled people
The Council carried out consultation on an important issue.
There will soon be major changes in the way councils provide bus
passes for elderly and disabled people. The consultation
closed on 28 January 2011.
Face the people
For the third year running, the West Lancashire Community
Safety Partnership organised a special public
meeting - Face the People - on Wednesday 2 March
2011.
Planning charges
The Council invited comments on plans to introduce charges for
planning advice. Following the consultation, charges were
introduced.
Local Offers
The Council invited people to give views on the services
offered to council tenants by West Lancashire Borough Council.
A group of tenants reviewed comments received and the final Local
Offers document was agreed in March 2011.
Tenants invited to have their say
Council tenants were invited to have their say on how housing
services are delivered and reviewed in West Lancashire. The
Council’s Corporate Overview and Scrutiny Committee is
investigating how tenants can get involved in monitoring and
reviewing the services they receive. The committee asked tenants to
write in with their ideas on how improvements can be made to
involvement processes.
Linear Park Feasibility Study
Consultants have carried out out a feasibility study of the
proposal to provide a linear park alongside the river and canal
between Tarleton and Hesketh Bank. The study began in October 2009
and is was completed in June 2010. The consultants spoke to a
number of organisations, businesses and landowners to gather views.
A report on the study will be presented to Cabinet, and more
information will be provided here when it is available.
Improvements to Halsall Lane Park
Work has been completed at Halsall Lane Park in Ormskirk, after
the Council asked residents to vote for the top three
improvements they would like to see. The Council
allocated £40,000 to spend on refurbishing the park on the corner
of Halsall Lane and Cottage Lane and worked with the local
Residents’ Association and community to find out what type of
facilities they would like to see.
Repair priorities review
When a repair to a council home is reported we assess its
severity and the length of time it’s going to take to do the
repair. We recently invited tenants' views on our repair
priorities.
West Lancs HomeFinder
Following initial consultation with tenants, a draft Choice
Based Lettings Policy was prepared and the Council once
again invited people to submit views. The final
policy has now been published and West Lancs HomeFinder was
launched in April 2011.
Housing strategy
A range of surveys and research studies are carried out by
the Council in relation to housing strategy. These include
research to understand housing need, housing markets and
economic issues.
Skelmersdale town centre
Extensive consultation has been carried out on
the proposals to regenerate Skelmersdale town centre.