The Community Council has temporarily suspended its Council meetings normally held at Sealand Primary School and will be replacing them with On Line meetings.
Details can be found on the Council’s agendas available on this website.
A community safety clinic is being held to help engage with the local community – a variety of indoor activities will be held for all ages including security coding.
Many thanks
County Councillor Chris Jones
2nd October 2017
Tuesday 17th October 2017 starting at 6.30pm at The Hub on Sealand Avenue
A further meeting will take place meeting on Tuesday 17th October 2017 starting at 6.30pm at The Hub on Sealand Avenue.
This will enable residents to be updated on actions that were taken sine since the previous meeting that was held on Tuesday 19th September 2017.
Many thanks
County Councillor Chris Jones
Tesla Exploration International Limited acting for IGAS who hold petroleum Exploration and Development Licences for Chester and surrounding areas have given notification that they will be carrying out a geophysical survey under permitted development provisions during September and October to make a two dimensional image of the rock formations underlying the area. This will assist IGAS in evaluating the rock structure which will help establish the probability of the presence of any naturally occurring gas, and which locations, if any, are best to carry out further exploration.
The southernmost part of the survey area includes Ferry Lane. The survey will cover some 80 kilometres, mostly in Blacon, Ellesmere Port and Stanlow areas, with 1 kilometre being in Flintshire. The survey will progress at a rate of 3 kilometres per day, so should only take about ½ day to complete the Ferry Lane section before they move on to the next location.
The survey uses tractors equipped with a vibrating plate which puts a low frequency vibration into the ground, and separate sensors manually placed along the length of the survey route will detect the vibration that is reflected back from the rock layers below. The survey mainly takes place along public highways and hard surfaced private tracks, but on soft ground such as agricultural land, small charges buried in shallow boreholes are detonated to provide the vibration instead. Any drilling is usually carried out using a land rover mounted shell and auger or rotary drill, and holes are sunk 6 metres deep and usually take a few minutes to drill. Once detonated, the land is made good. These are tried and tested methods of carrying out geophysical exploration surveys, and present minimal risk to people and the environment.
The operators have to comply with pre-set vibration limits and minimum stand off distances from utilities such as underground water/gas/power supplies, and residential buildings. These surveys are designed to be carried out in built up residential areas as well as open countryside. Any disruption associated with the survey is likely to be limited to traffic management, as the tractors will have to occupy narrow roadways and be stationary for the short period that they are operating the vibration unit. The vibration lasts for less than 30 seconds and then the tractor moves 20 metres along to the next survey point. A separate traffic management company is being employed to minimise any such short term traffic disruption.
Any follow up exploration drilling to take rock samples, or for gas testing, would have to the subject of a planning application made to the respective local planning authority. This survey is an initial part of the exploration programme for onshore gas, and the future locations for any exploration and test wells are unknown at this time. The main focus of current exploration activity falls within the Chester and Cheshire West administrative area
Huge cuts to the council budget have prompted the launch of a public consultation to find out residents’ views on local council services and how they should be protected.
Flintshire County Council is currently preparing for between 1.5 per cent and 4.5 per cent cuts in its funding from Welsh Government for next year. At 1.5 per cent the Council would need to find savings of £12m to meet the budget gap. If the cut is as large as 4.5 per cent the gap grows by £6m and £18m will need to be found. The Council is looking to people who live in the County and use council-run services to find out whether they support the choices that will need to be made over the coming months.
The Big Budget Conversation is open to everyone and people will be able to feedback their views and opinions. Information will be made available on the cost of services and how much the Council contributes to those services.
Eventually choices will have to be made including prioritising some services over others, reducing or even stopping some services, expecting people to travel further for a service, expecting people to pay more where there is currently a charge and introducing new charges for services which are free. All the services the Council provides will come under scrutiny including education, social services, leisure services, libraries and waste collections.
Councillor Aaron Shotton, Leader of Flintshire Council said: “In the Big Budget Conversation we set out the growing risks to local services because of national budget cuts, and set the scene for the big choices Flintshire County Council will have to make for next year and the years to come.
“We also explain how and when we plan to open up those choices for public debate, and how local communities and local organisations might help plan the future with us. There are two opportunities for residents to join the conversation and it is important that everyone has their say.”
The first step will run from 18 August to 12 September and is designed for residents to tell the Council whether or not they support some of the choices that will need to be made in the future. This will include a live Twitter debate with the Leader of the Council, Cllr Aaron Shotton and Chief Executive, Colin Everett on 1 September.
The second part will happen in late Autumn when a series of public consultations are being planned to share options for the future and the budget choices. The dates and locations of these events will be widely publicised.
People can join the conversation by visiting www.flintshire.gov.uk/FCCBudget where they can also subscribe to the Council’s new emagazine www.flintshire.gov.uk/emagazine or follow the conversation on Twitter @FlintshireCC.
People can also give their views by completing a form available from libraries, Connects Centres or other council reception areas. The closing date for forms, on-line and by post is Friday 12 September 2014.
The outcomes of the conversation will be published later in the year on the Council’s website and in the Council’s e-magazine.
I had a meeting with reps from Royal Mail last week in regards to the lack of privacy for customers, especially the elderly, at the refurbished post office counter in Garden City Spar. There has been a great deal of concern about confidentiality & lack of privacy by the residents. I explained this to the management but they were quite dismissive of my claims. However after a lengthy discussion they admitted that their could be an issue at times for some customers. They have therefore agreed to put up better signage & mark out an area on the floor by the counter, as to where people should stand. This hopefully will give an adequate distance between customers being served & help with the concerns regarding privacy during transactions.
After the meeting I took the Spar management & Royal Mail rep, outside the shop & showed them the terrible state of the access road, at the side of the premises. There have been numerous complaints to FCC in regards to the pot holes along this road & how dangerous it is. However this road does not belong to FCC, it is Spar’s responsibility, as it is unadopted , The rep from Spar at the site visit seemed aware of this & said complaints had been received at Head Office. I have asked for some repairs or resurfacing work to be done ASAP before their is a serious accident. This has been taken away for consideration.
As approved at Cabinet on 18 February 2014, from the 1 April 2014 the revised summer opening hours at all the Council’s Household Recycling Centre (HRC) sites will apply. The sites will be open from 9.00am to 7.00pm Monday to Sunday. The sites will continue to offer residents the opportunity to recycle a wide range of their waste and staff will continue to be on hand to provide any assistance necessary.
From the 1 April 2014, residents with the appropriate permit to use private vans to carry material to HRC sites will be accepted only at the Mold and Greenfield HRC sites. Additional staff will be available at these sites to monitor the arrangements and provide assistance to van owners when they use the sites.
Last week a planning application was approved for the derelict Snooker Hall site in Sealand Ave, Garden City.
The application is for 6 no two bedroom houses, 6 no one bedroom apartments & 4 no two bedroom apartments. This development is to be a housing association scheme ( Pennaf) & all accommodation will therefore be affordable to first time buyers. This development will provide much needed new properties for our local people, especially young families & those trying to get on the property ladder. It will certainly create a pleasing street scene at the site, which has been an eyesore for far to long. The building will not commence until the flood defence works on the river bank have been completed. These works should be starting in the next couple of months.