Melling Parish Council - Chairman’s Report for 2020 / 21

As the UK begins to ease itself out of lockdown I hope that we can now look forward to better times. This unquestionably has been a tough year for many people, myself included. We started the year in lockdown unable to meet in person as a Council. We decided to continue to hold meetings periodically (when other Councils did not do so to start with) via telephone. A year on and we are still conducting the Council meetings via telephone conference. This is not ideal but the end is in sight and we are hopeful that by July we will be meeting face to face again.

We have continued throughout the year to support the community with grants and volunteering whilst also contacting Sefton Council over concerns with planning matters and litter.

The latter point – litter and dog fouling appears to be getting worse and is a concern for our residents. We see volunteers out ‘litter picking’ on a regular basis, yet this is the responsibility of Sefton Council. We have contacted Sefton Council many times this year to give the area a boost and replace the missing bin by Ledsons Bridge. For complaints about litter I urge residents to go to the Sefton website – under ‘bins and recycling’ you can complete the drop down boxes for litter by street – the more people note to Sefton the litter in this way the more might be done to improve the situation.

We have communicated to Sefton this year over a number of different planning matters including the traveller sites; livestock buildings and residential property. We have also sent representatives to planning meetings regarding the use of Melling as a heavy vehicle access route for the new large 1,000+ homes estate proposed opposite Summerhill School towards the M58 junction – to which we have objected and have proposed alternatives. We held virtual meetings with the ‘Campaign for Rural England to obtain their advice in these matters. There are potentially other developments in the pipeline for Melling, which we will keep an eye on as and when they are submitted to Sefton and we will make the necessary representations on behalf of the Melling Community as they arise.

Last summer we had five Councillors actively involved with the Melling Volunteers as the pandemic hit. The volunteers gave up their time to deliver food produced by the Horse & Jockey Pub to those most vulnerable in our community and local area. This also included a ‘listening ear’ – a phone service to those in need. As the pandemic eased there are now two actively involved Councillors of the Melling Volunteers and three Councillors are registered as ‘Sefton Street Champions’ – still helping those in the community with shopping, phoning for a chat and making sure those people are safe.

The Parish Council gave a grant to Melling in Bloom so they could purchase a lawnmower and some new planters. The MIB group will therefore look after the ‘Village Green’ by the Satinwood roundabout and Hayes Drive. This links nicely to the Christmas Tree – to be clear the Parish Council have asked for this to be replaced by Sefton Council who say that the tree is in ‘reasonable condition’. The guarantee period for the tree later this year and we shall be pressing Sefton again in regard to this matter. We also conducted a survey regarding the Christmas Tree lights on the lampposts in Waddicar and the wider areas of Melling. The results where an overwhelming support for lights in the other areas of Melling which we will hopefully have for Christmas 2021.

And staying with the Christmas theme for a moment – as we could not have the ‘Christmas Light switch on’ with Santa, the Parish Council purchased and distributed selection boxes for the Scout Groups, pupils of Melling Primary School and children of the Playgroup and Nursery in Melling.

There was no remembrance service at St Thomas church this year. To remember those from Melling who sacrificed so much for their country I laid a wreath on behalf of the Parish Council at the Lychgate. This is also an official commonwealth war memorial site and it is good to see other wreaths are there too – even with the pandemic we could still ‘remember them’.

Road safety continues to be a major concern as the volume of traffic is increasing through the Parish. Two Councillors have now completed the first part of their training with the Merseyside Safer Roads Watch. This is a roadside initiative led by Merseyside Police whereby using a radar gun speeding motorists number plates are logged – and when reported three times will receive a letter from the Police. Part 2 of the training is roadside and once this is completed we will get started around safe, strategic positions in Melling to deter those who flout the law on speeding through our community.

We saw the new ‘Melling’ boundary road signage installed as we requested through the Highways Department at Sefton – including the correctly located boundary at Prescot Road, Cunscough. Now, as you are driving, cycling or walking you clearly know that you have entered Melling and we have an identity on those busy roads.

So, as we look to 2021 / 2022 we will continue to represent the people of Melling as a voice to the Local Authority. We look forward to continuing to work with the Community to make this a safe and enjoyable place to live and work in. I would like to thank the Clerk for her hard work, dedication and counsel this last year. I also want to thank the Councillors for their support, hard work and good spirit in giving up their own time for all that we do for the Parish of Melling.



I truly believe that the Melling Community Spirit is very strong and that we are all looking out for each other in these uncertain times. I personally am looking forward to supporting our local businesses when they re-open. It has been a privilege to serve as Chairman of Melling Parish Council for the last three years.

Thank you,
Andrew Kyle, 
Chairman,
Melling Parish Council, 
13^th April 2021