Chair's Annual Address

In May 2024, I became Chair of Helsby Parish Council for the third time. One of my first duties was to visit Gwen Baskerville, a resident of Loxley Hall. Gwen was celebrating her 104th birthday, and I presented her with some flowers and the very best wishes of the parish council.

June saw the 80th anniversary of the D-Day landings. A memorial bench funded by the parish council was unveiled in the grounds of St. Paul’s Church, followed by a short service of commemoration for those who took part and paid the ultimate sacrifice. On the evening of 6th June, a beacon was lit at the top of Helsby Hill in recognition of the events of D-Day. My thanks go to Claire our Clerk, Councillors Terry O’Neill and Rob Nicklin and Eddie Bougen, our general maintenance contractor, for their help in organising this event.

I have always felt that the parish council was somewhat ‘nomadic’ when hosting both our council and committee meetings. During the year, the parish office was updated so that meetings could be held there.  New tables and chairs were purchased and the I.T. systems were upgraded. A new fully compliant and accessible website was also introduced, along with a move to Microsoft 365 for both staff and councillors. This enhances the credibility of the council through the use of a new .gov.uk website and email addresses.

Throughout the year the parish council has continued to work on projects to enhance the village for its residents.  These include the cemetery extension project, the parks masterplan and the purchase and installation of more planters and benches in the village. We have also introduced a highways volunteer scheme in association with the borough council. Members of the parish council and volunteers from the village will be tackling some of the overgrown and unkempt areas in Helsby over the warmer summer months. Thanks to those who helped during the first pilot session in March.

Speeding has and continues to be brought to our attention. We were fortunate to be included in a scheme with the Police and Crime Commissioner for Cheshire to have average speed cameras in the village. These have now been installed and activated, and we have already noticed a marked decline in dangerous speeding along Chester Road.

Sadly, the guide hut on the parish field is no longer used and due to restrictions on the field as a designated Field in Trust, suitable tenants have been hard to find.  However, we will continue to engage with possible tenants whom we hope may be able to bring new activities to the building in due course.

This year also saw the retirement of Marj Thoburn, long time editor of Helsby News. I would like to take this opportunity to thank Marj for her commitment in making Helsby News the success it has become, and I wish her a long and happy retirement. I would also like to welcome the new editor Gary O’Neill, who has kindly agreed to take on the role.

I would like to thank my fellow councillors for their continued hard work over the past year.  With the lack of a full compliment of councillors, this has been no easy task. The lack of support from the village in recruiting new councillors is a worry to me.  Residents seem keen to engage through social media to express their feelings but seem unwilling to get involved in improving the village by joining the parish council. If you are interested in joining us, you will find lots of information about becoming a councillor on our new website.

Finally, my thanks go to our Clerk, Claire Jones, as she continues to run the parish office as efficiently as ever, despite the ever-increasing workload.

Councillor Chris Ellams, Chair, Helsby Parish Council