County Council Report – Cllr David Williams - March 2012

Village developments update

White Lion

The White Lion application was approved at the planning meeting in February.  I still feel that we were badly let down by Flintshire, and how anybody can consider a development of 88 houses, with a starting price of £250,000 for 70 of them can be in the best interest of this community is beyond me!  I believe the social mix is out of keeping with what we need and our first time buyers have suffered a real disservice from this decision.

There is also the issue of the 106 agreement for recreation and the fact that this was no settled months ago is another example of the inefficiency of Flinshire planning department.  I hope to have this matter resolved in the next few weeks.

Making the most of the Opportunities from large Developments.

Once the 106 agreement has been settled for the White Lion, the Chief Executive should make his long awaited appearance in the village to see just how poor our amenities are in relation to the development we have provided over the past 30 years.  Hopefully this can be set up for mid April.

Allotments

Difficulties are still being encountered over the rent demands of the Estate.  Membership is now 27 and at a recent full meeting they were still very up beat over the fact that we now have a strong and well organised group who are ready to set up the allotment as soon as the land is settled.

Speeding issues and Road Safety

Dobshill

New Limits have been advertised and provided there are no legitimate objection it is hoped the new limits will be in place by the end of April.

Chester Road / Post Office

This area is currently under serious review and it is hoped that some form of control will be implemented very soon.

Bypass

The bypass is due for an official review in the next 3 to 5 months and if it results conclude some means of improvement or enforcement is necessary, this could be underway in the next 6 or 8 months.

Corwen Way flashing signs

Some problems are being encountered over the power for this sign and once sorted out the suggestion is to alternate it with the Hawarden Road sign to retain effectiveness.  This is not set in stone though, and it could end up flashing signs on both roads.  The Hawarden Road sign may need to be moved as visibility of it near the bus shelter takes away some of its effectiveness.

Abbottsford Drive

This matter has been taken up with Head of Highways and it is possible some form of parking restrictions could be put in place and this would be enforced by County enforcement rather than the police.

Civil Parking Enforcement

This consideration was put to Community Councils last June but no response was made due to an oversight.  Any areas where Yellow lines could be removed, or new ones put in need to be suggested to the County who will review the requests.

HGV Vehicles using the village

Please continue to report incidents and offenders as they occur.

Match Funding

The Community Council agreed to the match funding scheme of FCC for the improvement of play provision in the ward.  The application has been recommended for approval and hopefully this will be rubber stamped and our play areas can benefit again from this excellent initiative.

Local Business Opportunities

My recent meeting with Head of Planning Policy was very productive in the opinion expressed was that the suggestions have great potential.  There is a lot of work to do and this will not happen over night and work on this initiative will continue.

Roundabout Landscaping

The officer responsible for this is quite enthusiastic over the potential and site meetings will be arranged in the coming months.

Pot holes, hedges, street lights and grit bins

Please make sure any issues on these matters are reported with details of conversations recorded.

Matters relating to –

            Public footpath – Silver Birch Way Public Footpath

            Hanson Cement

            Skate Park request

            Village Sewage System

            Watts Road / Park Crescent link path

            Web site

Are still in hand but there is no real progress to report.  They are certainly not forgotten and if you require any information on any of these issues, please ask.