Kelsall Village, near Chester, Cheshire, UK

Many objections to Rowland Homes Planning Application: CWaC's website lists 21 objections to Rowland Homes Planning Application to build 12 houses off Willington Lane and 9 affordable houses off Green Lane. Many issues are raised by those objecting, including concerns about the scale and character of the proposed development, traffic implications, the inability of Kelsall Primary School to absorb more children, and the capacity of existing drainage/sewerage systems. Kelsall Parish Council is also strongly opposed to the proposed development and has submitted this excellent synopsis of its objections.

The following petition rejecting the proposed development has been signed by 89 residents:

CWaC's website states that the 'Target Determination Date' for the application is 14th February 2012.

New Guide commemorates Kelsall Men who served in Great War

Kelsall men who gave their lives in the Great War (1914-18) are commemorated on the War Memorial on the Green opposite the Methodist Church and on memorial plaques in Kelsall Methodist Church, St Philip's Church and St Peters Church Delamere. In 2010 the members of the Kelsall Family History Group decided to research the names of the men on the Kelsall War Memorial and to publish their findings to raise money for the Royal British Legion and the 'Help for Heroes' campaign. The scope of their project was substantially extended by the discovery of the Kelsall Roll of Honour, which includes the names of all those who had served in the forces during the war. Using techniques that are used to research families, the Family History Group has produced an excellent illustrated Guide that commemorates 136 local men. The Guide can be purchased (£5.00) from Ruth (01829-751463), Lyn (01829-751659) and Anne (01829-751836).

Alex Staniforth to be Olympic torchbearer! Many congratulations to Alex Staniforth, Kelsall's teenage wildlife enthusiast, on his selection as one of the London 2012 Olympic torchbearers. Alex will be running his 'leg' on Tuesday 29th May, somewhere between Beaumaris and Chester. More details are expected in March. Alex started running in March 2011, and is now 'hooked' on the sport. He has taken part in a few races, the most recent being the Tatton Park 10km Yule Yomp, where he achieved a remarkable 11th position in a field of 873 runners! He has several local races lined up for 2012, including Helsby Running Club's Four Villages Half Marathon on 22nd January and the Chester Half Marathon on 13th May. We'll let you know how he does.

'Some Like it Hotter' coming to Community Centre

The next KADRAS promotion is 'Some Like it Hotter' by the renowned Oxfordshire Theatre Company, a brand new fast moving comedy that reunites Monroe, Lemon and Curtis as they are forced once again to don heels and stockings and go backstage during the making of the classic Hollywood comedy 'Some Like it Hot'. With razor sharp wisecracks, sparkling musical numbers and red hot jazz.

Tickets £7.00 from John Gray (01829-752833) and Anne O'Donnell (01829-751836).

Cheshire Constabulary advises owners to register their bikes for FREE

PC Steve Trow's most recent newsletter advises owners to register their bikes for FREE on the Immobilise website. Other items such as laptops, iPods, iPads, cameras etc can also be registered, thereby allowing police officers to identify stolen property and return it to the rightful owners. Immobilise also offers numerous security products that are well worth considering.

Quest to find a corporate sponsor! Following his recent 3 Peaks Success, Alex Staniforth, Kelsall's teenage wildlife enthusiast and A-level student, has his sights set on climbing Mont Blanc next year. The cost of his flights will be covered by his mum and he is working all the hours he can to cover the cost of insurance and equipment. The cost of the 5-day course with Dream Guides, amounting to £1720, will however be a struggle unless Alex manages to get financial assistance from local businesses or individuals. Are there any potential sponsers out there? In return for sponsorship Alex will seek publicity through local newspapers and online blogs, both before, during and after the climb. Mont Blanc is just the beginning of his high-profile mountaineering ambitions!

Rowland Homes planning application to be discussed by Parish Council

Rowland Homes planning application for housing developments off Willington Lane and Green Lane will be discussed at the next Kelsall Parish Council meeting on Monday 12th December at 7:30pm. The application comprises 42 documents, all of which can be downloaded from CWaC's website - plenty of information for you to assimilate over the next couple of weeks!

Volunteer tutors needed to work with Delamere Academy

'Passion for Learning', a not-for-profit service for schools, provides trained and supported volunteer tutors to work one-to-one with children. Four volunteers are needed to work with Delamere Academy to provide enrichment activities with their children. Please contact Diane Clark (Volunteer Manager, 07966-404355) if you think you might be able to help. 'Passion for Learning' is looking for people who will pass on their zest for life, their knowledge of the world and their interest in reading and literature, to the children.

Crash site reinforces concerns about Rowland Homes proposed development

An accident at the junction of Kelsborrow Way and Willington Lane on 2nd November was exactly where Rowland Homes intend to locate the entrance to its proposed housing development, and reinforces local residents' concerns about the safety of both developments. Rowland Homes is proposing to "introduce measures to increase safety on Green Lane and Willington Lane as an added benefit to the local community". We'll find out more about these measures when Rowland Homes' submits its planning application.

Rowland Homes proposed developments - update: Rowland Homes latest proposals are summarised in this letter that was sent to residents who had responded to their consultation leaflet and/or attended their exhibition on 2nd September. The proposed 'shared ownership' development off Green Lane has been reduced from 14 to 9 houses, 3 of which are bungalows for the over-55s. The letter addresses many issues, including highway safety, sewer capacity, and how the proposed developments relate to Kelsall's Parish Landscape and Design Statement (an SPD). More information will be included in Rowland Homes' planning application, which is expected shortly.

New shop in Kelsall! ZOZO'S Magical Toy Emporium, the first new shop in Kelsall for many years, is now up and running! Located in Flat Lane, it opened its doors for the first time on Friday 18th November. The timing of its opening, as Christmas approaches, and its location, close to Kelsall Primary School, bode well for a successful future.

Food Hygiene Ratings for Kelsall's food businesses: CWaC's official hygiene ratings for food businesses in Kelsall can be found on the 'Scores on the Doors' website. We last reported on the ratings of Kelsall establishments around the middle of 2010, most achieving 4-star or 5-star ratings. There were a couple of laggards, but we're pleased to note that the rating of the Boot Inn has now risen from 2-star to 4-star, and the rating of the Farmers Arms has shown a big improvement from a zero-star rating to 3-star. The only establishments to be rated this year are the Farmers Arms, Sable Cottage Care Home (still 5-star) and The Lord Binning, which was rated at 4-star a few days after it opened in August.

CWaC's Budget Consultation closes on 15th December: Cheshire West and Chester Council's draft budget proposals for next year (2012-2013) provide details of 18 specific proposals for delivering services in a different way. CWaC would love to know your views on these proposals by 15th December. Click here for information about the draft proposals and to download a feedback form.

Yet another entry on our Businesses Page: Cheshire Pony Parties, located off Willington Road between Willington and Oscroft, was started in 2008 by Cheshire mum of two and long-term horse enthusiast Amanda Keech. Amanda initially provided the ponies to attend children's birthday parties but now offers a range of parties, experiences and holiday activities for the whole family. More information here.

Theft of metal doors on lamp posts "downright dangerous": A CWaC Press Release urges people to be on the lookout for thieves who are stealing the metal doors off lamp posts in the Chester and Ellesmere Port areas. There have recently been numerous instances of the covers being removed from entire streets. Apart from the cost the Council's main worry is one of safety as the thefts could result in someone being electrocuted. A missing lamp post door is classed as an emergency and a temporary one is fitted as soon as possible. A new door can take up to six weeks to be made and, to date, the thefts have cost the Council approximately £10,000 of Council Tax payers money. Councillor Lynn Riley, Executive Member for Community and Environment said "These thefts are downright dangerous and could put lives at risk. We urge people to report a missing lamp post door as quickly as possible so that a temporary one can be fitted. The telephone number to ring is 0300-1237036." Click here for the full story.

Carmella de Lucia (01244-606438), Chester Chronicle's reporter for the Kelsall area, would love to hear from you if you have personal experience of metal theft.

D of E Group has a highly successful year!

The Duke of Edinburgh Group in Kelsall has been running for about three years, and, during that time, about 40 young people have enjoyed their involvement at Bronze, Silver and Gold levels. The expedition section has been particularly successful, with trips to North Wales, Yorkshire Dales, Shropshire and the Lake District - see the following photos for an appreciation of what the groups achieved:

Bronze Training	Bronze Expedition, Shropshire
Bronze Assessment, North Wales	Gold Expedition, Lake District

Please contact Peter Moore (01829-759179) if you are interested in joining a new Bronze group, starting in December (age 14 up to June 2012), joining this year's Bronze group as it progresses to Silver in 2012 (age 15 or thereabouts), or helping as a Leader or Helper.

More information about Kelsall's D of E Group can be found here.

Kelsall OPAL looking for more volunteers: Kelsall Day Centre, which has been successfully caring for up to 12 older people from Kelsall and surrounding villages for more than 20 years, began its new life as Kelsall OPAL Club at the beginning of June this year. Click here for more information about the club. Kelsall OPAL would be delighted to have more volunteers on the team, and is especially appealing for a cook to do one Monday per month. Please contact Jane Colville (01829-752607) or Mary Diggle (01829-752608) if you can help.

Home Watch warning about phishing HMRC emails: Residents are reminded to be on their guard against scam emails following the announcement from HM Revenue and Customs of potential errors in the tax code system. Phishing emails purporting to come from HMRC have appeared in mail boxes up and the country in recent months and this kind of announcement unfortunately gives internet scammers a further window of opportunity. Trading Standards would like to repeat that HMRC would not inform people of a tax rebate or demand via email, or invite them to complete an online form to receive or claim tax. Those who are affected will receive written confirmation. More information here.

Tarvin Education Foundation: The Tarvin Educational Foundation is a charity set up to assist the educational needs of students of secondary school age and older who live in the villages of Kelsall, Tarvin, Ashton and Clotton Hoofield. Awards may take the form of financial assistance for tuition fees, maintenance, books, musical instruments or travel on approved courses. More information about the charity and contact details can be found here. Applications can be made at any time.

Voting now closed for Community Centre upgrade: In each of its local markets NatWest's CommunityForce initiative provides an opportunity for community projects the chance to win awards of £6,000 each. John Gray submitted an application for completion of Kelsall Community Centre's central heating upgrade, including radiator guards, redecoration, new lighting and facilities for the disabled. Click here for more information about this project. Voting for the winning projects has no closed. John's project received 49 votes, which, sadly, is unlikely to be enough to put it in the top three projects in the Warrington area. We'll let you know the local winners when they become known around end-November. In the meantime, a big thank you to those of you who found the time to vote for the project.

Baby and Toddler Group now open throughout school holidays

From now on Kelsall Baby and Toddler Group's weekly Wednesday morning meetings will continue to run throughout the school holidays, including half term weeks. The group will be running normally during the next half term week on Wednesday 26th October.

Community Pride Successes!

The Community Pride Competition, formerly known as the Best Kept Village Competition, is co-ordinated by Cheshire Community Action. This year's awards ceremony was held on 6th October, and Kelsall collected two awards for the third year running, one being a 'Community Website Award - Highly Commended', and the other being a 'Little Gem Award' for the Children's Play Area on Kelsall Green. Congratulations to all those who contributed to these two awards.

Click here to see Kelsall's 7 awards over the last 4 years.

Western Rural Neighbourhood Policing Unit has a new Inspector: Inspector Phil Hodgson headed the Western Rural NPU for 6½ years before moving on in September 2011 to take a new role as the Partnerships Inspector working with Cheshire West and Chester Council. Inspector Keith Curbishley took over Phil's role on 10th October 2011, and is intending to continue to produce weekly News Bulletins. Keith's first bulletin on 10th October includes a brief summary of the positions he has held within Cheshire Constabulary over the last 24 years.

'Body transformation programme' at Community Centre: Do you want to get in shape for the Christmas parties? Katie Chaloner (PowerToBe) is starting a six week 'body transformation programme' on 24th October at Kelsall Cmmunity Centre (every Tuesday & Thursday, 11.30am-12.30pm). Includes both exercise and nutrition sessions. Places limited to 12 per course. Contact Katie (07765-868566) for more information and to book your place.

Another addition to our Businesses Page: Many of you will be aware that the Willows Veterinary Group took over the Firs Veterinary Surgery in Dog Lane earlier this year. The Surgery offers everything from routine vaccinations and neutering to more complex surgery, and has recently invested in analysis equipment for swift and accurate diagnosis of conditions, a new x-ray machine and a new dental scaler and polishing machine. More information here.

Salsa Comes to Kelsall! Want to lift your spirits, get fit and have some fun as the long winter evenings draw in? Come to the NEW salsa classes every Thursday at Kelsall Primary School, Flat Lane, from 8.30 to 9.30pm, starting Thursday 3rd November. Taught by Mike Mitchell from Chester's leading salsa school, Funky Salsa. Men are being offered FREE lessons for the month of November! More information and contact details here.

Fox Web Solutions, another business in Kelsall: The latest addition to Kelsall's Businesses Page is Fox Web Solutions, a provider of creative and professional web design and development services in Cheshire and the North West. More information here.

Water, a most precious resource: John Gray, Kelsall's erstwhile 'Recycling Champion' has turned his attention to our profligate use of water. This is what he has to say:

It falls from the sky freely and keeps every living thing alive. It gives us life and maintains life. At times we have too much, at others too little. As a small country we in Britain have to preserve as much of it as we can and generally we are OK. But there are exceptions as in the spring of this year when the east and south east of the country were suffering drought conditions. We are all guilty of wasting water. Prince Philip allegedly remarked many years ago that for less than a pint we flush away a gallon and a half almost every time we use the toilet. Until recently I was as guilty as anyone of wasting water until I read in the newspaper that one in four people leave the tap running while they brush their teeth. I did this without a thought. This accounts for around 120 billion - yes billion - litres of wasted water every year according to Thames Water. Now I put the plug in the sink and turn the tap off. I never thought to do that before. And women who shave their legs in the shower and leave it running are guilty of wasting around 50 billion litres, enough, say Thames Water, to supply the whole of London for 25 days. There are 26 water companies operating in Britain, admittedly not all as big as Thames Water, but even multiplying half as much waste by the other 25 the figures are mind boggling. So perhaps we should look to ourselves a little closer rather than immediately criticising our water companies for unrepaired leaks. Perhaps we should try-out the euphonic advice 'If it's yellow let it mellow, if it's brown flush it down'! If you have a water meter it obviously makes economic sense to conserve water. If you don't have a water meter, you may be better off if you install one.

Cheshire Rural Touring Arts Autumn Season 2011: Cheshire Rural Touring Arts, in conjunction with KADRAS, are organising two events in Kelsall Community Centre this Autumn. On 8th October The Sterling Trio will present an adventurous programme of famous and lesser known works, and on 10th December the New Perspectives Theatre Company is presenting 'How Steeple Sinderley Won the FA Cup', a tale of the unstoppable rise of the ultimate underdog. Tickets (adults £7, children half price) are available from John Gray (01829-752833), Ro Cowell (01829-752618), Anne O'Donnell (01829-751836) and Sian and Richard Hancock (01829-752897).

Kelsall School awarded £10,000 grant: Kelsall Community Primary School has been awarded a £10,000 grant from the Big Lottery Fund (Reaching Communities) to provide extended community use of the school facilities. The school has been zoned to allow hirers to access parts of the building, without having responsibility for the whole building. There has been considerable interest in these new facilities - evening sessions are now available for Pilates, Zumba and African Drumming. This press release provides more information about the grant and the new facilities at the school.

New boundary (and name) proposed for Eddisbury constituency: Kelsall presently sits in the Eddisbury Parliamentary Constituency, with Stephen O'Brien as its MP. The Boundary Commission for England is presently reviewing all the Parliamentary constituencies in England, and aims to reduce the number of constituencies in England from 533 to 502, each constituency having an electorate that lies between 72,810 and 80,473. Cheshire and the Wirral have been allocated 13 constituencies, a reduction from 15 at present. Kelsall would sit in the new Winsford constituency, which "largely reflects the existing Eddisbury constituency, though it expands to incorporate wards immediately south of the city of Chester". It's unclear why the constituency's name has been changed. You can see the area covered by the new constituency here. More information on the proposals for the North West of England can be found in this summary and in this report. The Boundary Commission would like to know what the public thinks of its proposals. You can email your comments or respond through the Boundary Commission's website.

New bus service for Kelsall residents: There is a new bus route (No 81) from Chester to Winsford, via Kelsall (and return). Click here for a timetable. Timetables for all CWaC's bus services can be found here.

RNLI (Kelsall Branch) looking for support: The RNLI receives substantial income from many villages around the country that have no direct connection with the sea. The Kelsall Branch has a very small committee which arranges street collections, collects donations from a considerable number of boxes placed in pubs, clubs and shops etc, and promotes occasional fund raising events. The concert on Friday 28th October will be the last event in 2011. RNLI Christmas cards will be on sale and orders can be taken for quantity purchases. Prior to the concert, cards and calendars will be on sale at Winsors Fruit Farm Shop between 10am and 4pm on Saturday 15th October. The committee is most grateful to Winsors for its support.

Last year Kelsall Branch achieved total fund raising of £4,215. So far this year, with generous contributions from supporters in the community £716 has been raised from street collections and £1,085 from boxes. Hopefully, a good concert attendance at the in the Community Centre in October will enable the Branch to provide, once again, a substantial income to the charity.

The Branch urgently needs additional support on its committee to continue the work of arranging events. If you are able to offer a little help by giving a few hours of your time to this cause during the coming year, please call Edward on 01829-751967.

Hectic makeover at Kelsall Pre-school and Klub: Kelsall Pre-School and Klub has had a hectic six week makeover this summer! After receiving a quality improvement grant from the council, and lots of fundraising events throughout the year, the Staff have worked endlessly to make the environment a much loved place for the children. The building itself has benefited immensely from newly plastered and painted walls, structural changes to make it more open plan, new lights and flooring throughout, and new heaters and electric sockets. The building has a more up to date, fresher feel which has created a relaxing environment for all who attend both Pre-school and Klub.

The children have all settled in very well, and are very excited by the new toys and equipment. There is a wonderful selection of indoor and outdoor play blocks, as well as a new home corner and a large group area with lots of new bean bags and colorful rugs.

It was a challenge to complete all the structural changes in such a short space of time, but the children's pleasure and excitement in their new environment has made the effort well worth it. Over the coming months the staff and committee will be looking for further grant availability and fundraising ideas to further enhance the environment for the children.

Click here for a few photos of the newly refurbished building.

Report from meeting of residents to discuss proposed new housing developments in Kelsall

The meeting on 30th August was very well attended, with around 30 local residents present. In addition, many more families who were unable to come phoned to express support or sent a written statement expressing their concerns. The planned development was discussed at length, with the main objections centering on whether there was a need for more housing in Kelsall, and whether the housing proposed was suitable. Many residents were concerned that the location of the sites (Willington Lane and Green Lane) could cause problems with traffic. The site on Willington Lane is very close to the junction of three other roads, and Green Lane is very narrow with no pavement. There was a feeling of frustration at Rowland Homes' lack of communication. No answers had been received to any of the questions raised by residents, whether by phone, letter or email. Residents will continue to work together to oppose the developments. Please contact Chris or Bethany Spray on 01829-751453 if you would like to help.

Seasonal flu vaccinations - dates for your diary

Kelsall Medical Centre will be administering seasonal flu vaccinations on Tuesday 4th October (4.30pm to 6pm), Saturday 8th October (10am to 11.30am) and Thursday 13th October (4.30pm to 6 pm). Dr Durrant and Dr Hinds invite patients who are over 65 years or have a chronic medical condition to any of the above clinics. No appointment is necessary.

More photos of crash in Chester Road: Many of you will have seen the aftermath of a crash on Chester Road at 5:40am on 18th August. A white van left the road and smashed into a stationary car and the adjacent house. Thankfully no-one was injured, but the car was a write-off and there was significant damage to the house. This Chronicle article elaborates on the accident. Click here for a few photos, taken by local resident Veronique.

Kelsall Baby and Toddler Group starts again on 7th September

Following a summer break, the Kelsall Baby and Toddler Group starts again on Wednesday 7th September and will continue every Wednesday morning throughout school term time. Parents and carers of pre-school children are invited to join the group at the Kelsall Community Centre between 10.00 am and 11.30 am. No baby is too small. The group is run by volunteers for local mums, dads and other carers, and gives the children the perfect opportunity to meet their future school friends. There is a charge of £2 per family.

Click here for more information, or ring Ruth (01829-759344), or just pop into the Community Centre and join the fun!

Teenage behaviour a problem on Kelsall Green

You may have seen the recent article in the Chester Chronicle urging residents to report crimes in the village to Steve Trow, Kelsall's local policeman, giving as an example the incident at around 10:00pm on 23rd July when mindless vandals set fire to a wooden children's playhouse on Kelsall Green (see photo, £400 to repair). Sadly, this isn't the only example of teenage misconduct on the Green. There's persistent littering and deliberate breakage of glass bottles, bullying and intimidation of younger children, particularly on and near the MUGA area, constant trespassing into the Orchard and through neighbouring gardens, and drug abuse. Some of these teenagers may be from outside the village, but there's no doubt that many are from Kelsall. What do these teenagers' parents think their kids are getting up to late in the evening? Perhaps they should ask a few searching questions! We know for sure that it isn't the parents who routinely clean up the mess that their kids have left behind. Please contact Cheshire Constabulary (0845-458-0000) immediately if you see any incident occurring - there's little point in ringing up the next day when the only evidence is a pile of broken glass!

Warning about cold callers from National Rooflines: It has been brought to the attention of Trading Standards that a trader named National Rooflines has been cold-calling recently. The trader has been distributing professional looking double-sided coloured fliers advertising replacement fascias, soffits and guttering. The flier displays a montage of photographs illustrating roofing work and at the bottom of the page gives business addresses in Ashton-under-Lyne, Batley, Liverpool and West Bromwich. Also quoted are a freephone number 0800 8589470 and a website that doesn't exist. Following investigations, Trading Standards can confirm that these addresses have no connection whatsoever with National Rooflines and are in fact those of another company. If you have been approached by this trader and would like further information or advice please contact Consumer Direct on 08454-040506.

Lord Binning now open! The Lord Binning, the reincarnation of the Morris Dancer, opened to the public at 18:00 on 24th August. The pub, located in a prime location in the middle of Kelsall, has been closed since April 2010, so it's good to see it back in business. Its website, which is still under construction, includes an invitation to book online and receive a 30% discount on food. It looks as if this offer will continue through to end-September.

More information about Rowland Homes proposal: Rowland Homes has provided Kelsall Parish Council with more information about its proposed housing development in Kelsall. 12 family houses are proposed in the plot off Willington Lane and 14 'shared ownership' houses off Green Lane. We've already heard the parish council's negative reaction to the proposal (see below), and we hear that many residents are equally unhappy. What do you think?

Rowland Homes would welcome your views, either before or at an exhibition that they are planning to hold on 2nd September between 3:30 and 8:00pm in the Community Centre. More information here.

You may recall that Mike Jones, the leader of Cheshire West and Chester Council, was interviewed by the Chester Chronicle in February 2010 about regeneration and development in rural communities. He referred to the new estates that had been built in the villages of Farndon, Malpas, Tilston, Tattenhall and Kelsall with "totally inappropriate buildings, too large, too tall, all the same type which is totally out of character with those villages. Allowing those villages to have small developments rather than one large development, you create a much more diverse village." There's no doubt that Kelsall has been blighted by recent inappropriate developments - we hope the same mistakes aren't made again!

Kelsall's Conservation Area under threat: The new houses being built on the site of the Old Reliance Works on Chester Road lie in Kelsall's conservation area. The original planning permissions, dating back to 2002 and 2004, stipulated specific designs for the windows, lintels and sills. The developer failed to build the houses to the approved design, and CWaC's Planning Department failed to monitor the building of these houses during the construction process. CWaC's Enforcement Officer was eventually made aware that the houses being built do not accord with the original planning permissions, leading to the submission of two retrospective planning applications by the developer to try to restore the houses to the permitted design. No doubt a compromise will be reached, although the height of the houses may still be an issue. This sorry saga was discussed at the Parish Council meeting on 8th August. Click here to read more.

Proposal to build 24 houses in Kelsall: Andrew Brown, the land director of Rowland Homes, presented outline building proposals to Kelsall Parish Council at the parish meeting on 8th August. Click here for a map of what is proposed. Rowland Homes plans to build 10-12 large detached houses (2000 - 2500 ft²)in 'Parcel 1', adjacent to Willington Lane, and a matching 10-12 affordable homes (650 - 850ft²) in 'Parcel 2', in open countryside off Green Lane. Councillors' responses were primarily negative, ranging from concerns about the ability of Kelsall Primary School, which is already oversubscribed, to cope with additional children, the ability of the existing overloaded sewage system to cope, and the inevitable traffic problems that would result at the Green Lane/Willington Lane junction, which is an existing blackspot, and along Green Lane itself which is very narrow and doesn't have a pavement. No credible suggestions were forthcoming on how Rowland Homes might deal with these problems. It was also noted that affordable homes can only be built in open countryside if there is a local demand for such accommodation, an issue that Rowland Homes didn't appear to have addressed. No doubt all these issues will be debated further when the planning application for these developments is submitted.

NatWest's CommunityForce offers £6000 awards! In each of its local markets NatWest is offering three community projects the chance to win awards of £6,000 each, the winners being decided by local people who are best able to judge how the projects would benefit their communities. If you know a local charity, organisation or group which you think would benefit, please ask them to register by 4th September. Click here to register and for more information.

Film Night season begins on 7th October: Good news - it has been confirmed that CWaC will continue to support Film Nights in Kelsall. The first film of the new season will be 'The King's Speech', to be held at the Kelsall Methodist Hall on 7th October. More information here. Further film nights will be held on 4th November and 2nd December.

Latest Community Policing Newsletter now available: Community Policing Newsletters are produced by Steve Trow, Kelsall's local police officer, every couple of months, and can be found on the Police Page of this website. The latest newsletter reports that a Warrington man has been arrested in connection with three burglaries in the Kelsall area during May. Despite this arrest residents are being asked to be vigilant, to make sure all windows and doors are secure, to set their alarm or use security lighting to deter intruders, and to report any person or vehicles that look out of place. Contact telephone numbers are at the end of the newsletter.

Five new parish councillors: Five parish councillors resigned in April for a variety of reasons, leaving only four councillors to carry out parish duties since then. A plea for applications to fill the vacant positions led to a veritable avalanche of applicants, all of whom were well qualified to contribute to our community. The decision process was difficult, but, following a series of interviews, five of the applicants were selected to serve on the parish council, namely Anne Britton, Richard Boyle, Richard Hancock, Terry Harrop and Peter Moore, the latter already well known in the village as the co-ordinator of Kelsall's successful Duke of Edinburgh scheme. The new councillors experienced their first council meeting on 8th August, a somewhat more lively meeting than usual! Click here to see mug shots of all our councillors. We hope to post brief synopses of our new councillors' backgrounds and aspirations here over the next week or two.

Scams, scams and more scams! The important issue of computer scams has been raised by several Kelsall residents recently, the objective of many scams being to gain access to your bank account and extract your hard earned cash. Many of you will have received unsolicited phone calls telling you that your computer has been compromised in some way and offering to fix the problem if you let them have your bank details, or download specialist software, or give them access to your computer. Click here for more information about some of these scams. The best advice we can offer is:

• Never respond to unsolicited emails that offer money, no matter how enticing.
• Put the phone down if an unsolicited caller offers to fix a computer problem for you.
• Never give personal information or bank account details over the phone or by email.
• Don't be seduced by the offer of an unexpected windfall. If an offer sounds too good to be true, it probably is!

Update on Alex Staniforth's '3 Peaks' Challenge

Alex's record breaking '3-Peaks' Challenge on 5/6 July raised the impressive sum of £1700, which will be distributed 50/50 between two charities, REACT, a conservation charity which runs replanting and reforestation projects worldwide, and Breakthrough Breast Cancer, which fights breast cancer via campaigning, education and research. Alex's '3 Peaks' Blog and 15 minute YouTube Video Clip are well worth having a look at. An inspiring achievement, bearing in mind that Alex is only 16 and had to face appalling weather during his attempt, particularly on Ben Nevis.

Alex's next big challenge is the ascent of Mont Blanc in July next year!

Goodbye Morris Dancer, Hello Lord Binning!

The Morris Dancer, located in a prime position in the middle of Kelsall and closed since April 2010, is about to be reinvented as The Lord Binning from end-August. Why the new name? The Imperial Gazetteer of England and Wales tells us that Lord Binning was Lord of the Manor of Kelsall around 1870, so there is some logic behind the name. David Mooney and Paul Newman, the managers of the Lord Binning, are keen to revitalise the pub - click here to read about their plans and aspirations.

Summertrees Tea Room now has its own website: Summertrees Tea Room, renowned locally for its home-made soup, hot and cold snacks, home-made cakes and scones, has now got its own website summertreestearoom.co.uk.

Successful '3 Peaks' challenge by Alex Staniforth!

Congratulations, Alex, on becoming the youngest person, at the age of 16, to climb Ben Nevis, Scafell Pike and Snowdon, solo, in 24 hours. Alex set off from Glen Nevis Youth Hostel just after 5:30 on 5th July and, notwithstanding dreadful weather, reached the summit of Ben Nevis in 1:59:00. A navigational error on Scafell Pike didn't lose too much time (3:10:00 for ascent and descent), and Snowdon, the final summit, took about 3 hours to get up and down. Alex completed the challege in 21 hours 57 minutes. Alex was ferried between peaks by his step-dad, Chris Brooks. You can read all about Alex's attempt on his '3 Peaks' Blog. A great effort! Alex has already started to plan his next big challenge, the ascent of Mont Blanc in July next year!

Click here for photos at the 3 summits and at the end.

Metal theft becoming more common in rural villages: Liz Biddle, CWaC's Home Watch Officer, reminds us that metal theft is becoming more common, including the theft of lead, cabling, gates and man hole covers. Please report suspicious vehicles and their drivers where their behaviour might suggest this type of activity. The call handlers at Cheshire Constabulary (0845-458-0000) can quickly check a vehicle registration, so please note the registration number and description of suspicious vehicles. A recent call from a member of the public resulted in the arrest of metal thieves in the Helsby area.

Superfast Broadband in rural Cheshire: We hear that BT has already upgraded Hartford, Northwich and Winsford with Superfast Broadband, and that Chester Central, Chester South and Chester North are programmed for upgrade by the end of 2011. Kelsall isn't even on the roll-out schedule yet, but will hopefully benefit from Cheshire and Warrington's joint project to speed up the implementation of Superfast Broadband and improved broadband speeds to rural communities. You can learn more about the benefits of Superfast Broadband on the Connecting Cheshire website. Please register your interest in Superfast Broadband. Kelsall was an 'also-ran' in BT's recent 'Race to Infinity' (ranked 107th out of 2495 exchages) - let's try to do better this time. Without Superfast Broadband Kelsall's businesses and residents will lose out in many ways to neighbouring communities that have been upgraded.

Another book by Marian Bythell to be published: Marian Bythell, one of Kelsall's prolific authors, reports that 'Jamie Tales', a sequel to 'Jamie', will be published next year by Arthur H Stockwell Ltd. The book is an illustrated children's poetry book with rhyming couplets, comprising four poems recounting the endearing imaginary antics of Jamie, a lovable collie dog. Marian is presently working on another book about ways to save money, and recently had this article, entitled 'A Good Idea or a Bad Idea' published in a magazine called Countryside Tales.

Scarecrow Trail 2011 (updated 7 July 2011)

The 9th Annual Kelsall Scarecrow Trail ran from 28th May through to 12th June. Kelsall Primary School's PTA, who organised the event, is very pleased to report that this year's Trail was a fantastic success. The money raised, around £1,100, will be used for school projects and activities. There were 54 Scarecrows dotted around the village and well over 450 copies of the Trail Guide were sold - a good indication of the enduring level of interest in this Annual Event! On behalf of the School the PTA we would like to thank everybody who built and exhibited scarecrows, the local companies that advertised within the Trail Guide, and the The Cabinet Room (Tarporley), Si Belle (Tarporley) and The Royal Oak (Kelsall) for kindly sponsoring this year's event.

The winners of the two categories of scarecrow received their trophies at the School's Victorian Summer Fair on 18th June. The Grover Family won the award for Best 'Heroes & Villains' Scarecrow with 'Wallace', and Mary Diggle won the award for Best Traditional Scarecrow for 'Just A Scarecrow'. Both trophies were presented by Steve Williams, the School's Head Teacher. Runners up were the Salt Family for 'The Highway Man's Ghost', the Tenner Family for 'Who ate all the crows' and the Burrows Family for 'Scarecrow Bob'. Click here to see photos of all the scarecrows on the Trail.

Please email any comments you might have about the event to Fen & Martin Drew.

Successful Duke of Edinburgh bronze assessment expedition

Congratulations to two groups of youngsters who successfully completed their Duke of Edinburgh bronze assessment expedition over the weekend 25/26th June. The Dreamers (6 girls) and the Mixtures (3 girls and 2 boys) started from Babell (near Holywell) on the 25th and walked through Caerwys and Ysceifog to their overnight camp at Fron Farm Camp Site (near Hendre). On the 26th they headed to Nannerch, then over Moel Arthur and through Cilcain, before finishing at Loggerheads. There was some tricky navigation and the hot conditions made it a stern test, but they were all smiling at the finish and will hopefully go on to finish their bronze awards and move on to the silver award next year. Click here for a few photos of the expedition.

Many thanks are due to Peter Moore (Kelsall's D of E co-ordinator), Elaine Shakspeare (expert map reader and assessor), Tom Roberts (safety) and Nick Ankers & Wendy Ellis (transport).

Successful Open Gardens Day: Kelsall Gardening Club's Open Gardens day was blessed with sunshine and a pleasing absence of rain. Over 200 visitors came to view as many of the 12 gardens as they could, and a sum of over £1,250 was raised for three local charities. Many thanks to those who opened their gardens, the many helpers from the Gardening Club, and the visitors whose attendance made the day such a success. Click here for some of David Shakspeare's excellent photos of the gardens.

10 applicants for 5 vacancies on Parish Council! The Parish Clerk has received 10 applicants for the 5 vacant positions on the Kelsall Parish Council. Interviews begin next week. More information shortly.

'Unusually bright' congregation at St Philip's Church!

'Unusually bright' was how the Vicar of Kelsall described his congregation on Sunday 12 June 2011. Church members rose to the challenge thrown out by the Revd Peter Mackriell to come to church in 'flame colours' in celebration of Pentecost. Some who attended the 8:00am and 9:00am services entered into the fun, marking the festival which celebrates the coming of the Holy Spirit on the first Christians by wearing red fleeces, yellow jumpers or orange scarves. But it was the 10:30 congregation who really stole the show as they assembled for their monthly 'informal worship'.

New fundraiser for Kelsall Branch of RBL

This year is the 90th anniversary of the Royal British Legion Poppy Appeal. Set up in 1921 just 3 years after the end of WW1 by Field Marshall Douglas Haig to help ex servicemen, it was known until recently as The Haig Fund. Today the Royal British Legion Poppy Appeal continues to support veterans from all conflicts and other military actions involving British Servicemen. Cheshire County RBL has already raised £1 million for the 90th anniversary celebration. John Fisher, Chairman of the Kelsall Branch of the Royal British Legion, has been organising the sale of poppies for the past 30 years. The photo on the left shows John receiving his long service award from Cheshire County RBL Chairman Eric Williamson. Andrew Waring, whose late father Roy organised the collection for 15 years, takes over from John as organiser of poppy collections. The photo on the right shows Andrew (left) with Eric and John.

Images of Kelsall's Folk Festival: This year's annual Folk Festival in Kelsall over the May bank holiday weekend is now no more than a memory for those who enjoyed the concerts, workshops, singalongs and craft displays. Next year's festival is planned for the first weekend in June, but, in the meantime, this collage will remind you of some of the characters at this year's event.

Kelsall Plant Centre closing down: Sadly, after spending two years building up the Kelsall Plant Centre, Diane and Harry have reluctantly decided to close the business. They don't believe that they could continue to run a viable business in the face of development proposals for the site. The business will be closed from 30th May. Harry will continue his association with Shed City, which will operate as before. Diane has made many good friends during her time at the Plant Centre and is very disappointed to be leaving - we wish her well in whatever venture she embarks upon in the future.

Gardening Club's successful plant sale: Kelsall Gardening Club held a highly successful plant sale last Saturday, raising £298 towards club funds. Thanks to all those who helped, bought, brought and braved the cold. The Gardening Club's next big event is the 'Open Gardens Day' on 19th June, an opportunity to visit 12 diverse Kelsall gardens. More information here.

Election Results for Tarvin & Kelsall Ward

Congratulations to Hugo Deynem and John Leather, who were elected on 5th May, with convincing majorities, to represent Kelsall in the new Tarvin and Kelsall Ward of Cheshire West and Chester Council. Hugo has been a member of CWaC Council since its formation in April 2009. John has served on Kelsall Parish Council for several years, latterly as chairman, but resigned this position to devote his energies towards getting elected to and serving on CWaC Council. Full election results for the Tarvin and Kelsall Ward can be found on CWaC's website.

Home Watch Schemes in Kelsall: Back in 2009 we received a few enquiries from Kelsall residents who were considering setting up Home Watch schemes in the village. There are now seven schemes in Kelsall, but there is plenty of scope for more. Home Watch is a partnership where people come together to make their community safer - click here for more information. If you're interested in setting up a Home Watch scheme in your road please contact Liz Biddle, West Cheshire's Home Watch Officer (01244-614291).

An unusual 'retirement' for Kelsall's ex-policeman

Rob Elliott, who retired as Kelsall's local policeman around July last year, was associated with Kelsall for a relatively short time, but became well known in the village through his involvement with many local issues. Earlier this year Rob and his wife Karen 'emigrated' to Maadi, a suburb of Cairo. Karen started a two year contract at the Modern English School Cairo, and everything was going fine until the revolution started late-January. This YouTube video, taken by two of Karen and Rob's friends, gives a good impression of what it was like during this turbulent period. Things are now much more stable. Rob is presently working as a librarian at the Modern English School, but has applied for a security job at the British Embassy. He is also finding time to produce a few stone sculptures. Quite an unusual retirement for Rob - at least he doesn't run the risk of getting bored!

Kelsall residents confused by unlicensed clothing collections: All charitable clothing collections need a licence, either through inclusion in the Cabinet Office's Exemption List, or from CWaC. Most, if not all, of the recent clothing collections in Kelsall appear to be illegal. Little Treasures Children's Trust, for example, is a genuine charity, but it has no authority to collect in Cheshire. Commercial clothing collections seem to be unregulated, but what's the point in lining the pockets of a commercial company when there are plenty of genuine charity shops that would welcome your discarded clothing. At present there are only 3 valid CWaC licences, namely for Clothes Aid (collecting on behalf of Zoe's Place), IG Cohen (collecting on behalf of Christies), and the Ellesmere Port and Chester Federation for the Blind. Click here for more information about the clothing collection minefield. If in doubt, please contact CWaC's Licensing Team (01244-977962).

Yet another clothing collection today (20th April), this time a legal collection for Kidney Research UK, which is one of the 43 charities in the Cabinet Office's Exemption List.

Kelsall's Annual and Finance Reports: Kelsall's Annual and Finance Reports for 2010/11 were presented at the Parish Council meeting on 11th April by John Leather (Parish Council chairman) and Natalie Read (Parish Council Clerk). It was the last Parish meeting for several councillors, including John Leather, who is a candidate for the Tarvin and Kelsall Ward in the CWaC elections on 5th May, and Ann Lacey, who has served on Kelsall Parish Council for a remarkable 38 years. Thanks, Ann, for your efforts over so many years. Natalie's report includes an explanation for the above-inflation increase in the precept for 2011/12.

New Look and New Times for Kelsall Community Library: From Friday 6th May Kelsall's Community Library will be open on Fridays from 9:00 - 11:00am. Lots of new books for children and adults. Local history section and internet access.More information here.

Quiz Success for Kelsall WI: Congratulations to Kelsall WI's quiz team, comprising Ro Cowell, Heather Leather, Jill Martin and Anne Tonge on winning the Cheshire Federation quiz. The final, involving 23 teams, was held in Comberbach Village Hall on the evening of Friday 1st April. Click here for a report on the team's success.

Glorious day in the Clwyd Hills for Kelsall's D of E Group

Kelsall's Duke of Edinburgh Group now comprises around 25 youngsters who are working towards bronze, silver and gold awards. 18 members of the group spent a gloriously sunny day in the Clwyd Hills on 12th April, walking a figure-of-eight route from Cilcain, including a stretch of the Clwyd Ridge and an ascent of Moel Arthur (see adjacent photo). The Group's next meeting will be held on Kelsall Green on 28th April, and will include training on how to erect a tent and produce an appetising meal in the middle of nowhere! Thanks are due to Peter Moore, the D of E co-ordinator, and all the willing helpers, without whom none of this would be possible.

Successful exhibition of Kelsall's clubs, societies & institutions

The aim of Kelsall Parish Council's "Societies Day" on 9th April was to publicise the many clubs, societies and institutions within the parish, and, judging by the numbers attending, it was highly successful. The opportunity was taken during the exhibition to display the sterling work of Kelsall Green's Recreation Committee over the past three years, and to present framed photographs to those who made key contributions towards the raising of nearly £160,000 and the construction of the wonderful play area that now forms such an important part of the community. The adjacent photo shows Parish Council Chairman John Leather with (from left) Sharon Harley, Ian Lowden, Tara Edelman, Natalie Read, Sharon Grover and Noel Dutton. Edward Nixon wasn't able to attend the presentation due to a prior engagement.

Update on the future of Delamere Forest: An independent advisory panel of experts has been set up to make recommemdations on forestry policy for England, and is expected to report in the autumn of 2011. Presumably the government will then decide whether to follow the advice of the panel. Click here for the panel's Terms of Reference and membership. The panel will consider many of the concerns that were raised earlier this year by local people and by the Save Delamere Forest website, including access, biodiversity, sustainability and local participation. We await the panel's report with interest!

New Kelsall Tennis Clubhouse now open!

On Saturday 2nd April the new Kelsall Tennis Clubhouse was officially opened by Parish Council Chairman John Leather and both junior and senior tournaments were held to start the new tennis season. The junior competition was won by Charlie Craven and Jenny Corlett who were presented with the new Junior Davies Cup by Mr Ray Carr on behalf of The War Memorial Charity. This new cup was donated by the late Mr Clifford Davies along with an amount of money which helped considerably towards the cost of the new clubhouse. The senior American style tournament was won by Colin Watson who fought off fierce competition and was rewarded with a box of biscuits for his efforts! As this format was so successful the club intends to run another American style competition in May and the prize will be a bit more exciting!

Kelsall Tennis Club now has excellent facilities and welcomes new junior and senior members for both social and league tennis. Please visit the club website for further information.

Wild cherry tree planted on Kelsall Green: On Saturday 26th February Kelsall Gardening Club celebrated the life of their long-time and much valued member, Nancy Benson, who, sadly, died last November. Nancy's family and friends planted a wild cherry tree on Kelsall Green as a tribute to Nancy. Click here for a brief outline of Nancy's gardening and wildlife interests, and for a few photos of the planting ceremony.

Successful year for Kelsall Branch of the RNLI: The Kelsall Branch of the RNLI is very pleased to report that £4,200 was raised locally last year to help support the sterling work of the RNLI. Over half of this fantastic amount came from collection boxes in local businesses/pubs and in local homes plus the flag days in Kelsall, Tarvin and Tarporley. The concert in September by the Vale Royal Singers and the Waverton Hand Bell Ringers brought in just over £750 and sales of Christmas Cards/Calendars etc, particularly at Winsor's Fruit Farm, a further £600. Thanks go to everyone who helped and supported such a worthy cause.

More police reports: The Western Rural Neighbourhood Policing Unit brings together the rural parts of Chester and Vale Royal, and is divided into three parts, administered from police stations in Mickle Trafford, Frodsham and Broxton. Administratively Kelsall lies within the Mickle Trafford policing area, but, in view of its proximity to the Frodsham policing area, links to News Bulletins for both policing areas are now included on this website's Police Page. These News Bulletins are published weekly. Links to Bimonthly Community Newsletters for Ashton Hayes, Kelsall & Tarvin are also included on the Police Page.

New African Drumming Classes in Kelsall! African Drumming classes are now available in Kelsall thanks to local musician, Sekou Kompo, who is holding regular classes at the Kelsall Methodist Church on Saturday afternoons between 3 and 5pm. More information here.

Message from Stephen O'Brien on the future of Delamere Forest: Following the Government's 'about turn' over the proposed sale or lease of public forests, your webmaster received an email from Stephen O'Brien, Kelsall's MP. Mr O'Brien, unsurprisingly, refers to the Government's three main undertakings, namely removing the controversial clauses from the Public Bodies Bill, closing the consultation, and setting up a panel of independent experts. Additionally, he also describes his personal desire to rigorously protect Delamere Forest so that "we can all continue to enjoy the benefits it provides". Click here to read what Mr O'Brien has to say.

Beware callers selling security systems for £1: Cheshire Police have received reports of unsolicited phone calls from a company offering to sell home security systems for £1.00. Please think carefully before agreeing to sales appointments as a result of unsolicited calls. If an offer sound too good to be true it probably is! Try to use reputable companies, ask friends for recommendations, and obtain two or three quotes before making up your mind.

Delamere Forest no longer under threat (at least for the time being!)

Good news for those of you who were concerned about the proposed sale or lease of Delamere Forest. The Government has halted the consultation on the future management of the Public Forest Estate and "will support the removal of the forestry clauses from the Public Bodies Bill, currently at committee stage in the House of Lords" - see Caroline Spelman's statement to the House of Commons.

The last few weeks have underlined the local community's affection for Delamere Forest and its determination to protect it from sale or lease to the private sector. If David Cameron is looking for examples of the Big Society he should have a look at the way the local community has come together to support Delamere Forest in so many ways. The Save Delamere Forest rally on 20th March may still take place, albeit with a different theme, perhaps a celebration of the success of the protest movement. We'll keep you informed.

Forestry Commission employees at Delamere are no doubt relieved that the threat of privatisation has disappeared, at least for the time being. The Forestry Commission has still, however, to achieve the spending cuts required by the government's Spending Review, so further stresses and strains are inevitable. Please continue to support the Forestry Commission's events and activities in Delamere Forest if you can.

Kelsall Community Centre to get new heating system: The Management Committee of Kelsall Community Centre has agreed to go ahead with a scheme to improve and upgrade the ageing central heating system. Thanks are due to Cheshire West and Chester Council for an award of £5000 towards the project. The Committee is particularly grateful to Councillors Stuart Parker, Hugo Deynem and Brian Bailey for their help and for the Council's Grants Officer who processed the application and issued the cheque with quite remarkable speed. Click here for an outline of the upgrade by John Gray. Installation is expected around the middle of this year.

Local opposition grows against the sale or lease of Delamere Forest! Delamere Parish Council held a highly successful meeting on 4th February to discuss the proposed sale or lease of Delamere Forest. The meeting was attended by Stephen O'Brien, Eddisbury's MP, and attracted over 200 members of the public. Only one of the thirty or more speakers (apart from Stephen O'Brien) spoke in favour of the government's proposal. Click here for notes of the meeting. One positive outcome of the meeting was the decision to set up a Save Delamere Forest website. This excellent website is already up and running and is well worth visiting and supporting.
Alex Staniforth, Kelsall's teenage wildlife enthusiast, feels strongly that Delamere should not be sold or leased to the private sector. Alex's Cheshire Wildlife Group's website lists a variety of things you could do to raise awareness about this issue, including contacting your MP and signing the 38 Degrees Petition. This petition is heading for 500,000 signatures - a clear message to the government to rethink its policy on forestry.
This website has featured several news items about the threat to Delamere Forest over the last 3 months. It's worth reiterating Defra's unequivocal statement on 18th January that '"There are currently no plans to designate the public forestry estate with higher rights of access to include provision of access for cyclists and equestrians." So at least cyclists and horse riders know how they might fare in the future! Two other documents worth looking at are Caroline Spelman's letter to all Coalition MPs (dated 27th January) and the government's consultation document on The future of the Public Forest Estate in England. This document includes a questionnaire that doesn't even ask whether the respondent is in basic agreement with the government's proposal to sell or lease our forests - a masterly example of government spin!

Update on Delamere Forest's uncertain future: A news item was posted on this website on 17th November about Delamere Forest's uncertain future, followed by an update on 24th December. Following our first news item, several Kelsall residents shared their concerns about future access to Delamere Forest with Stephen O'Brien, Kelsall's MP. Mr O'Brien wrote to Defra on 8th December, requesting clarification. Defra's reply, dated 18th January confirmed that pedestrian access would be guaranteed under the Countryside and Rights of Way Act (CRoW), but noted, predictably, that "There are currently no plans to designate the public forestry estate with higher rights of access to include provision of access for cyclists and equestrians." Many of you will be aware that a consultation paper on the options for ownership or management of the Forestry Commission was published on 27th January. The key points were summarised in a letter from Caroline Spelman to all Coalition MPs. For small forests like Delamere the Government will "offer first refusal to community bodies or civil society organisations and give them preferred status in taking over these sites. If no such organisation wishes to take over these sites, we would consider leasing these sites on the open market, subject to access and environmental safeguards being imposed so that local people can continue to enjoy them." These two letters give no assurance whatsoever that local people will be able to access Delamere Forest in the future for non-pedestrian activities like cycling, horse riding and many other sports and events. There's still plenty of time for you to contact Mr O'Brien if you have concerns about future access to Delamere Forest, either by letter or email.

Ash-worth Time Bank's new Rural Wellbeing Project: Ash-worth Time Bank has received 3 year Big Lottery funding to start an exciting scheme to provide holistic therapies for vulnerable older people, long term unemployed and unpaid carers in rural Cheshire, including Kelsall. Click here for more information about this innovative project. Please contact Susan Ross-Turner (01829 751398) if you want to know more.

CWaC tops league table for dealing with road defects! Cheshire West and Chester should be congratulated for topping FillThatHole's league table. Highway authorities are ranked according to hazards reported through FillThatHole.org.uk, and the league table shows which authorities are best at fixing their road defects. Remember that CWaC can only repair a defect like a pothole if they know the defect exists. So please use CWaC's excellent Interactive Mapping website to report road problems.

Race to Infinity results: The 'Race to Infinty' results have been announced by BT. The six exchanges in the country that managed to achieve a 100% vote will get superfast broadband by early 2012. Kelsall, unfortunately, was way down the list at 13.7% and will have to wait for many years before being upgraded. Thanks to those of you who registered their vote for Kelsall. It's a bit disappointing that our village didn't receive more votes - we'd love to know why most of you couldn't be bothered to vote!

New children's book published by Tom Carroll

After serving for 20 years in the RAF and then working for 20 years in the oil industry, Kelsall resident Tom Carroll began a third career as an author of children's books. Tom's latest book, entitled 'Somebody's Kidnapped Santa', is about a mission to rescue Santa and save Christmas, and features a wicked witch, Monster Giant Spiders and evil Giant Trolls! The book is now available and can be puchased from Amazon and all good bookshops.

Update on Delamere Forest's uncertain future: Following the recent news item on this website about Delamere Forest's uncertain future, several residents emailed Stephen O'Brien, Kelsall's MP, to seek support for retaining Delamere within the Forestry Commission. The replies they received were essentially a 'cut and paste' of a letter from Defra to MP's, in which the misleading statement was made that 'public rights of way and access will be unaffected'. If Delamere Forest were sold there would be no requirement, under the Countryside and Rights of Way Act 2000 (CROW), for the new owner to allow access for cycling, mountain biking, horse riding or outdoor events, and no requirement to maintain forest walks, provide car parking and encourage public access. We understand that Mr O'Brien wrote to the Minister at Defra about the access issue on 8th December and is still awaiting a reply. We will post Defra's reply here in due course, but, in the meantime, it is still worth contacting Mr O'Brien if you have concerns about the possible sale of Delamere, either by letter or email.

Residents urged to become eyes and ears of road network: Cheshire West & Chester Council is encouraging residents to report any highway problems such as potholes, street lights not working, fly tipping or blocked drains. The most efficient way to do this is on-line, using CWaC's impressive Interactive Mapping website. CWaC's Highways Team is known to have responded quickly to problems in Kelsall over the last year, but please remember that they can't solve a problem if they don't know it exists!

More play equipment on Kelsall Green

A Queen Swing and a Tower System were installed on Kelsall Green at the end of November (see adjacent photos), bringing to an end the last phase of the three year project to fund, design and install play equipment on Kelsall Green. The project began in November 2007 with the purchase by Kelsall Parish Council of the grassed area in the middle of the village. Thereafter the project was managed by a committee headed by a triumvirate of dedicated residents - Natalie Read, Tara Edelman and Sharon Grover. Thanks, ladies, for your sterling efforts over the last 3 years - the village is indebted to you. There may well be further developments on Kelsall Green in the future, perhaps for the more elderly residents, but fresh faces will be needed to manage any such projects.

Computer Users Beware! John Leather, the chairman of Kelsall Parish Council, has had numerous reports of Kelsall residents being telephoned by companies based in Manchester and Bradford who are selling remote assistance for PC users. They often begin by saying that they work for, or are certified by, Microsoft and that they have had reports of problems with your web browser. They then instruct you to go into a section of the software called 'Event Manager' or 'Event Viewer' where all sorts of diagnostic information is stored and ask you to look for error messages - there will nearly always be some. They then ask you to enable part of the software called 'Remote Assistance' and give you a password - this then gives them access to your computer from a remote location. They typically install a program called 'CC Cleaner' (this is free for anybody to use) and use it to repair part of the system registry. They then try to sell you a contract for this service. They will give you a valid telephone number if you ask to ring them back.

John believes that this may be legal, except possibly infringing the license conditions of the above software, but it certainly has the effect of frightening inexperienced computer users, and at best constitutes a hard sell. John strongly advises residents not to allow their machines to be taken over in this way. If you have already done so, he suggests that you disable Remote Assistance by following these instructions.

Renewal of Kelsall Methodist Church: A major scheme is planned for the renewal and updating of Kelsall Methodist Church under the leadership of the Church's new Minister, the Rev Sue Levitt. The details of the scheme should be finalised over the next few months, before going out to tender in the Spring. Thereafter the target is for work to start on site at the beginning of September 2011, with completion before Easter 2012. Richard Mortimore, the Project Manager, has produced a helpful summary of what is proposed. Click here to read what Richard has to say and to see a few visualisations of the proposals.

New vicar for St Philip's Church: St Philip's Church hasn't had a vicar for six months following the departure of Rev Ian Enticott to pastures new. Church wardens Andrew Macaulay and Andrea Gray are delighted to report that the position of Parish Priest has been offered to Peter John Mackriell and the offer has been accepted. Peter is 46, married to Jo and has three children (aged 21, 18 and 13). Since entering the Ministry in 1991 he held curacy posts in Hale & Ashley and Marple before moving to become Vicar of Brandwood (Birmingham) and subsequently Vicar at Pontblyddn (St Asaph). Jo is a Reader in the Church of Wales and their son Jacob has been leading worship in the Rise services in Chester. Peter's commissioning service is expected to be early February next year.

Highly successful Beer Festival! The 2nd Kelsall Beer Festival was held over the weekend of 12/13 November with the object of raising funds for local organisations central to village life. The initial but as yet unconfirmed figure suggests a sum of around £4,500 has been raised which will be divided equally between Kelsall Community Primary School, Kelsall Pre-School and St Philip's Church. Thanks are due to all the sponsors and to the several hundred aficionados who came along to enjoy the beer and the atmosphere of this event. Special thanks must go to the organising committee who spent many hours putting the Festival together as well as the always cheerful and hard working volunteers who helped over the two nights and those who lent their muscle in erecting, dismantling and cleaning up. By the time Sunday afternoon arrived no one would have known that anything had ever happened over the two previous days!

Delamere Forest's uncertain future may affect you! Delamere Forest and Primrose Hill Wood are much loved amenities in this part of Cheshire and are used by large numbers of local residents for walking, cycling and horse riding. Their future is, however, threatened by the Coalition's proposal to sell off more than half of the Forestry Commission to private companies. Delamere Forest is Open Access land, which means that, under the Countryside and Rights of Way Act 2000 (CROW), people can 'walk, ramble, run, explore, climb and watch wildlife' in the forest, without having to stay on paths. If Delamere Forest were to be sold there would be no requirement for the new owner to allow access for cycling, mountain biking, horse riding or outdoor events, and no requirement to maintain forest walks, provide car parking and encourage public access.
What can local residents do if they're unhappy at the prospect of losing Delamere Forest as we know it? On a national front they might consider adding their names to the 70,000 who have already signed the petition on the 38 Degrees website. Locally, the most obvious way to get your view heard is to contact Stephen O'Brien, Kelsall's MP, either by letter, email or in person at one of Stephen's surgeries. We'll try to keep you informed as more news becomes available.

CWaC is waging war against irresponsible dog owners!

Kelsall Parish Council has reminded dog owners on many occasions that they are liable to a penalty of up to £1,000 if they fail to clean up after their dogs. Now Cheshire West and Chester Council has joined forces with Keep Britain Tidy to wage war against irresponsible dog owners who do not pick up after their pets - see CWaC's recent press release.

Dog owners are encouraged to use a new litter bin that will shortly be placed on Kelsall Green for dog mess. It would be a shame if the inconsiderate behaviour of a few owners were to persuade the Parish Council to ban dogs from Kelsall Green or to require dogs to be kept on leads.

You can report specific fouling problems here. As far as we know no dog owners have been fined yet in Kelsall. Perhaps an occasional well publicised fine might be the best way to get inconsiderate dog owners to change their ways!

New Police Constable and PCSO for Kelsall

Welcome to PC Steve Trow, Kelsall's new police officer. Steve takes the place of PC Rob Elliott, who covered the Kelsall area up to a couple of months ago, and PC Vaughan Marks, who covered the Tarvin area, both of whom have now retired. Steve now covers one of the largest beat areas in the Western Rural Area of Cheshire Constabulary, and will be working alongside PCSO Debbie Netherton who has been working with the Western Rural Policing team since 2007 and has a good understanding of local community issues and needs. Both officers can be contacted at Mickle Trafford Police Station on 0845-458-6394. Click here for more information about Steve and Debbie, and some useful telephone numbers.

Seven D of E girls complete their 3 day silver expedition! Congratulations to the seven girls who completed their 3 day D of E expedition in the Yorkshire dales in August. They enjoyed mainly good weather and walked a total of about 27 miles, carrying all their food and equipment. Their route started in Kettlewell and proceeded via Cam Head and Starbotton to the first overnight camp at Arncliffe. The girls then traversed to Malhamdale the next day, enjoying the delights of Malham Cove before descending to the 2nd nights camp near Malham village. On the 3rd day the group found their way to Mastiles Lane and then headed for the finish in Conistone. Click here for a few photos of the expedition.

Thanks are due to Emily and Elaine who ensured that the group was well supervised and, of course, to Peter Moore, who coordinates Kelsall's highly successful D of E group. The next big challenge is an assessed expedition in Shropshire in October.

Kelsall Hill's new all-weather gallop now complete

Walkers and motorists will have seen extensive groundworks taking shape above Organsdale Farm over the last few months. The work was part of Kelsall Hill Equestrian Centre's latest project, namely a new 4.5 furlong all-weather gallop. This can be hired out by anyone wishing to exercise their horse at a fast pace on an all weather surface and is likely to be appreciated by local race horse and point-to-point trainers.

Have you signed up for CWaC's electronic newsletter? CWaC's monthly enewsletter features a summary of the latest news, activities and events from across Cheshire West and Chester. It is free and you can unsubscribe at any time. You can sign up here. The latest newsletter contains a few interesting items, including one on the high cost to CWaC (and us!) of FOI requests, some of which are manifestly 'vexacious and ridiculous', and a new campaign to tackle benefit fraud.

Parking chaos in Kelsall not restricted to Flat Lane! As reported here recently, the pupils of Kelsall School have designed eye-catching posters that highlight the dangers caused by traffic congestion along Flat Lane during the morning and afternoon school runs. Equally dangerous parking is also a problem in the vicinity of the Co-op and along Forest Gate Lane. The inconsiderate parking of a minority of drivers on the hatched area for delivery vehicles outside the Co-op and on double yellow lines makes little sense as there are plenty of parking spaces alongside the Morris Dancer. Rising bollards have been installed to ensure that the hatched area in front of the shop is kept clear - a good idea, but isn't it sad that such a measure needs to be even considered.

Forest Gate Lane and the adjacent Morreys Lane lie within Delamere Parish, just outside Kelsall, and are both very narrow single track roads. They are used as a rat run to avoid the traffic lights on the A54, and also suffer from inconsiderate parking by dog walkers and ramblers, some of whom no doubt come from Kelsall (see adjacent photos). Delamere Parish Council has produced a leaflet asking drivers of these cars to use the Yeld car park - residents are no doubt hoping that drivers follow this request.

Safety message from Kelsall School

Traffic congestion along Flat Lane by Kelsall School has become a major issue for local residents, particularly when parents are dropping off and collecting their children. In an effort to raise awareness PC Rob Elliott organised a road safety poster competition. Pupils were asked to design posters to highlight how dangerous it can be for pupils during the morning and afternoon school runs. PC Elliott selected winners from the infants and juniors at Kelsall Primary School, each winner receiving a £40 gift voucher. The eye-catching winning posters are shown alongside. Speaking during May's parish council meeting PC Elliott noted that the traffic down Flat Lane in Kelsall is hideous at times, and asked whether anyone had ever considered making it a one way street? He suggested that the ideal solution would be for fewer people to drive their children to school but agreed that such a solution couldn't be enforced. He hopes that the posters "will make parents think a bit more".

Litter problem on Kelsall Green: The remarkable transformation of Kelsall Green over the last three years has been largely due to the dedicated efforts of the members of the Kelsall Green Committee, to whom we should be truly grateful. The recreation areas are enjoyed by people of all ages, but their enjoyment is sometimes marred by the glass and litter that is left behind by some of the teenagers and younger users of the area. Natalie Read, Chairman of the Kelsall Green Committee, has written a short article to try to impress on parents and teenagers the need to treat Kelsall Green with pride and respect. Click here to read what Natalie has to say.

Thieves target BT cable in Kelsall again: The high price of copper tempted cable thieves to strike again at about 11:10pm on the evening of Tuesday 23rd March. They cut the cable that runs from the junction of Chester Road and Hollands Lane to the junction of Old Coach Road and Church Street North. This is the same length of BT cable that was stolen on 17th January, although it would appear that the thieves, thought to be driving a red Ford Transit vehicle, were disturbed this time before removing the cable. A large part of Kelsall was without telephone services while BT replaced the cable and made good all the individual connections. Services were back to normal by the morning of the 25th. Apart from the disruption and inconvenience to local businesses and residents, the inability of the affected customers to make emergency calls could have had serious consequences. Please keep your eyes open for similar incidents in the future, particularly unusual activity outside normal working hours in the vicinity of manholes, and contact the Western Neighbourhood Policing Team (0845-458-0000) if you see anything suspicious.

Have you thought of using a different browser? You may have read recently of the German and French governments' advice to their citizens not to use Internet Explorer for browsing the web because of security flaws. Since then Google has announced that it will stop supporting Internet Explorer 6 (IE6), notwithstanding Microsoft's stated intention to continue to support IE6 until 2014. The 200 visitors who use IE6 each month to visit this site should consider using another browser. Microsoft tells us that the security flaws in IE7 and IE8 have been fixed, so these browsers could be used, but they don't support all the coding elements on this website. If you want to see this site in all its glory you might like to try Mozilla Firefox, Safari, or Chrome as your browser.

Kelsall Green now has its very own shopping centre! Next time you need to buy something online visit buy.at/kelsallgreen to start your shopping. Shop as you normally would at Amazon, M&S, Next, Expedia, Play.com and many other web retailers, and a donation will be made to Kelsall Green. All you need to do is start at buy.at/kelsallgreen and the donation will be made automatically! Sites like Littlewoods and Asda donate as much as 10% of the cost of your purchase, while mobile phone providers will give us as much as £100 if you sign up for their services after clicking though from the site.

When was the last time you shopped for a better energy deal? If every household in Kelsall compared fuel prices and switched to a better deal by visiting the Money and Bills category at buy.at/kelsallgreen, we could raise more than £21,000 pounds for The Green!

Stolen underground cable results in failure of 200 phone lines: A section of underground cable was stolen between Old Coach Road and Chester Road at around 11:30pm on Sunday 17th, resulting in about 200 BT customers losing their telephone service for about a day. The stolen cable was found in an abandoned dark blue Land Rover in a field near Yeld Lane. This Chester Chronicle article provides more information. Please contact the Western Neighbourhood Policing Team (0845-458-0000) if you saw anything suspicious that might have been linked to this incident. The inability of the affected customers to make emergency calls could have had serious consequences. Please keep your eyes open for possible copycat thefts in the future.

A good way to learn more about Kelsall: Cheshire's excellent Interactive Mapping website provides a lot of information about Kelsall, including the Parish Boundary, location of school, footpaths, care homes, GP surgeries, bus stops, street lights etc. Just type 'Kelsall' into the search field, then select the item(s) you're interested in from the left hand menu.

Crime rate in 'Kelsall' is average: Did you know that you can find information about crime rates in CWaC on Cheshire Constabulary's website? The 'Kelsall' area, encompassing Kelsall, Ashton and part of Oscroft, had 7 crimes in September, comprising one vehicle crime and 7 anti-social behaviour crimes. The Constabulary's arithmetic seems to be less than perfect, but the broad conclusion is that crime in this area is 'average'. What do you think of this part of the Constabulary's website and their website in general? Cheshire Constabulary is presently designing a new website, which should be launched early-2010, and would like you to complete their website survey so they can plan their site around your needs.

New climbing frame and seesaw on Kelsall Green: An impressive climbing frame has been installed on Kelsall Green and is already being well used. It was purchased with a grant from 'Lottery Awards for All', and, following the Toddlers Playground and the MUGA, is the latest addition to Kelsall Green's recreational facilities. A wooden seesaw, funded through local fundraising, has also been installed. A zip wire is planned for the future, but its timing is uncertain as funding is not yet in place.

Ince Incinerator approved: Many of you will have read the highly critical local reaction to the news that Peel Holdings' application to construct and operate a waste incinerator at Ince has been approved by the Dept of Energy and Climate Change - see the Chester Chronicle article and the response from Stephen O'Brien, Kelsall's MP. Kelsall's main interest at the Inquiry into the planning application in May 2008 centred on emissions to atmosphere from the 100m chimney, particularly during maloperation of the incinerator. At the Inquiry Cheshire County Council, Ellesmere Port District Council and Vale Royal District Council showed remarkable complacency when agreeing that "no breaches of air quality objectives for the protection of human health are predicted". In practice, breaches of air quality are inevitable and can only be minimised by rigorous protocols for the control and operation of the plant. The plant will be designed according to the requirements of the Waste Incineration Directive, which is surprisingly weak when addressing the key issues of maloperation and breakdowns. Peel's planning application failed to provide much information on how the plant would be monitored and operated in the event of breakdowns, but Peel agreed that a liaison committee, including local independent specialists, would be set up to audit the performance of the plant. Clause 42 of the Consent Document requires Peel to set up such a committee "in accordance with details, including potential membership, submitted to and agreed in writing by the Local Planning Authority". It's imperative that genuinely independent specialists sit on this committee - we hope that Cheshire West & Chester ensures that this happens in practice.

Don't forget the village notice boards! We can only post details of village events on this website if we're told about them, so please bear in mind that the village notice boards may display details of events that are not featured on this website. The best board to look at is the one on the wall of the Co-op. It is managed by Natalie Read, our dedicated Parish Clerk, who ensures it is kept up to date.

New service from Western Cheshire Primary Care Trust: Western Cheshire Primary Care Trust has launched a new service to provide extended access to GP services. Do you currently have trouble fitting appointments to see your GP/Practice Nurse into your busy life? Do you struggle to get to your GP practice during the day? GP Care Plus may be the answer! All patients registered with a GP practice locally are now able to ring a central phone number (01244-364700) to book an appointment with a GP or a Practice Nurse between 6:30pm and 8:00 pm Monday-Friday and 10:00am - 12noon Saturdays. The clinics are held at St Martin's Clinic (Chester), Ellesmere Port Hospital and at two different bases in the rural area Helsby Health Centre (Mon-Tue) and Tattenhall (Wed-Sat). The GP and Practice Nurse you see will have access to a summary of your clinical record and will return the detail of your consultation to your surgery.