News

Once again volunteers from the Parish Council and Civic Society came together this May to remove all the litter from the centre of the village. This makes a big difference to the appearance of our village and tidies it up before the hedges grow and make the task more difficult.

Having already purchased a projector screen and display stands for the hall - to be used by all village groups - the Society is proposing to buy a projector in 2010 and donate it to the village. The Parish Council have kindly agreed to fund the installation work. This will be a professional model, probably fixed to the ceiling and should be of benefit to many of the organisations and groups that use the hall.

On Tuesday 25th March 2008 the Society organised a litter pick in the centre of the village. Volunteers from the Society and the Parish Council removed ten bags of litter from the hedgerow opposite the shops, together with a road works sign, a giant traffic cone, an old waste paper bin and a length of guttering! The equipment (pickers, bags, safety vests etc) was loaned by Vale Royal Council and it is hoped that a permanent arrangement can be put in place so that the Society and Parish Council can do more of this tidying up in the future.

In 2009 the litter pick was repeated, covering the whole of the village centre. Once again Society and Parish Council volunteers came together, now using the village's own equipment, to remove numerous bags of litter and rubbish.

At the Annual General Meeting on 4th October 2006 Rob Vine resigned from the Society's Executive Committee.

Rob has been an active supporter of the Society and has remained a member even though he is leaving the village. We thank him for his generous contribution over a number of years and wish him well in his new home.

Pat Hadfield kindly agreed to stand as a new member of the Committee and was elected at the AGM together with the previous committee who, with the above exception, all stood for re-election.

In the March 2006 newsletter we reported that the footpath that crosses the Grange farmland had been closed off at both ends by the landowner. Although not a pubic right of way this path had been used for many years as a shortcut to the shops and by people taking their dogs for a walk - this made the path eligible to declared a public right of way by virtue of "custom and practice". We are pleased to report that the Cheshire Council process - consideration by the Rights of Way Committee, addition to the Definitive maps, issue of a Modification Order, consultation and appeal - has now run its course and the path is officially a Public Right of Way. The Council will be taking steps to reopen the path and ensure proper access,

Since the last Annual General Meeting on 6th October 2005 the following changes have been made to the membership of the Society's Executive Committee.

Sue Wakeford has resigned due to pressure from her other commitments and we thank her for her support and participation on the committee since the Society was founded.

In line with the Society's constitution the committee have invited David Swift and John Swaffield to join the team and we welcome their participation. John has kindly agreed to take over the role of Secretary with effect from September 2006.

Hartford Parish Council has a new website, which you can visit at www.hartfordparishcouncil.org.uk.

As well as details about the Parish Council itself, it is also an online home for the Parish Plan and its associated Action Plan, both of which can be downloaded from the site. You are able to contact the Parish Council, and submit items for Hartford News, via the website. One of the aims for the site is to provide up to date news as soon as possible, and we will be able to post items on the site as soon as they are received. You can also download the current and recent editions of Hartford News from the website.

It also aims to provide information about the village as a whole. There are sections about shops and services, transport, and education which include contact numbers and links to a wide range of companies and organisations. You will also find background information about the village, its history and what it is like today. Shortly an interactive map will become available, locating places of interest in the village.

Volunteers Andy Dunn, and his colleagues at the Hartford-based firm Greensplash Design & Communication, have transformed words and pictures into a website that the Council believes is easy to navigate and displays its content clearly and attractively: Hartford Parish Council is very grateful for the ongoing work that they continue to put into this project.

The Society has registered with the Inland Revenue under its charities scheme such that tax payers can now choose to donate overpayments of tax to the Society by filling in the relevant section on their assessment form. The code for the Society is NAR96FG.

The VDS is currently being printed and will be distributed to members during September 2005.

One of our members brought to our attention a dangerous manhole cover near the bus stop on Chester Road near its junction with Walnut Lane. We followed this up with Cheshire County Council and were happy to note that a new cover was installed within a few days.

On 27th February the Full Council approved the draft Hartford Village Design Statement and the document became Supplementary Planning Guidance. This is a major piece of work by the village and gives the residents an opportunity to affect planning matters at and before the application stage by ensuring their views are taken into account. In combination with the Parish Plan, it represents a statement of direction by the village. For more information see the VDS section of the Website.

Although not strictly Society news the Parish Plan (the parish being the civil not ecclesiastical variety) is closely linked to the Village Design Statement currently being managed by the Civic Society.

On Friday 19th November the official launch of the Parish Plan was held at the Village Hall in the presence of Mike Hall MP and the Lady Mayoress of Vale Royal. This document forms part of the vision for Hartford and represents the views of the community about the place in which they live. Every household in the village will be receiving their own copy of this important and beautifully presented document, which is the product of an enormous amount of voluntary work by members of the village. Coordinated by the Parish Council it is a living document that sets out aims that will be monitored on a regular basis. This is a wonderful achievement and a major step forward in the village having a say in its own future.

To date the Society has relied on distributing information to its members by hand delivering printed newsletters. This is very time consuming and expensive and it is hoped that, by creating this website, it will be possible to reduce the number of paper copies delivered. Statistics say that over 50% of households now have access to the internet and if members opt to receive information by email or from the website it will be a great help. It will allow us to make available more information and to provide some community services such as a village events page. There is the added benefit that members can select what they are interested in at a time to suit them. Naturally the Society will still continue to provide paper information to members who do not have email or internet access.

The first AGM of the Society was held at the Village Hall on the evening of 4th October 2004. The Chairman and Treasurer gave their annual reports and two formal pieces of business were concluded. The first involved approval of a minor amendment to the Society's constitution in order to correct an omission when the document was originally drawn up. The second was the election of Committee members and the results are shown on the Contacts Page.

We also had a very interesting presentation on the history and significance of the Anderton Boat Lift from Andy Whitehouse - Visitor Centre Manager.

John Szostek will be taking over the role of Treasurer from Margaret Gent in 2005. We would like to thank Margaret for her hard work in the role since the founding of the Society. She will, of course, remain a member of the Executive Committee.