The Best Guide for the Neston Area

I am struggling to see the point of this exercise quite honestly; we have a Town Council, a Borough Council and Neston Neighbourhood Plan. How many people have studied that? There are, yet again, Town Councillor vacancies. I tried it for several months but became disillusioned by being frequently told why we could NOT do various things like gettng out there and clearing rubbish (not insured).
Progress is limited by planning regulations and of course finance.
Health and well-being? we all know the answers to that one, stop eating cake at every opportunity and get some serious exercise, free on foot.
Visitor Economy? too many cars visiting Parkgate already, spoils the place.
Public transport -we all know its poor and nothing a meeting like this can do about it except give people a chance to moan.
Volunteering? well I already work five days a week for nothing as I'm sure many others do.
Seriously - look at the Neighbourhood Plan and get working on some of those ideas.

I think this is an opportunity for Neston people, Neston Town Council, and Cheshire West Council to get together and make Neston even better. It's always been a great community but sometimes we miss a trick. We have lovely shops, cafes and restaurants, and free parking, but drivers often ask whether they have to pay, (That's drivers who stop: ;we don't know how many on their way to Ness Gardens or Parkgate don't stop.) We have a lovely Market Square (OK, not square) but last weekend visitors to Neston for Heritage Open Days had no idea where it was. We have lots of cycle routes coming through Neston, but we don't signpost all we have to offer.
I'm sorry this event overlaps with Neston Civic Society but I'll be there for the start.

Ok Rob, some minor issues with signage. What else?

Susan C

"Visitor Economy? too many cars visiting Parkgate already, spoils the place."

Stay away then ......simple.... do your shopping elsewhere.

Sue move to Puddington.

Parkgate is a lively and beautiful place which people like to visit and people like to live there. Its been attracting visitors for over 200 years and certainly before you moved to the area.

It makes me angry when people complain about something that has been happening for hundreds of years. The used to be 30 plus pubs in Parkgate at one time.

The traffic at moel famau is horrendous at the weekend.

So lets flatten it...that will reduce the appeal.

Anchor - do tell us when there were 30 plus pubs in Parkgate, I am intrigued. And where did the visitors park their cars 200 years ago??
My point is that Parkgate is spoiled by cars - I have no problem with any number of pedestrians and cyclists but I recoil at the idea of possibly attracting even more noisy, dangerous, polluting vehicles.
You mention shopping in Parkgate - is that a joke? And why would I want to move to Puddington?

When we moved to Parkgate 20 years ago, there was a village shop, a post office, a fish shop which was open occasionally. I am not sure whether the butchers was still there, if it was it closed very soon after. And the Marsh Cat had just opened. It had a good school which it still does, and a coffee shop, now there are three. Puddington was too expensive anyway. Parkgate bears the brunt of the visitor economy, I think that we should be looking for ways to spread the burden. And to some extent the activities which have taken place in the market square have done this.

I would suggest that the purpose of the meeting is much more aligned with people's comments above. The idea of Re-Imagining Neston is more about action than consultation but there is no doubt that things have changed since the Neighbourhood Plan, the Economic Development Plan and more were written.

Just to offer an alternative view of the first comment...

We have a Town Council, a Borough Council and Neston Neighbourhood Plan, yet there has been little change and these bodies are not necessarily the right vehicle for action.

Progress is limited by planning regulations and of course finance. But there are solutions if people are prepared to engage to make a difference.

Health and well-being? We don't know all the answers but there are ideas out there that need pressure putting on providers

Visitor Economy? Parkgate is reaching saturation without much positive economic impact on Neston. There are ideas that could make a positive difference but will need support.

Public transport -we all know its poor but its improving thanks to efforts from Neston Town Council, CWaC our local MP and residents. If other things improve, so will the public transport.

Volunteering? How many people in Neston have incredible knowledge and skills that arent being utilised? How many people have passions but are fed the negative impression (like the one above) that nothing will change anyway? Also, if you're already volunteering 5 days a week, how can we support you?

Seriously - look at the Neighbourhood Plan and get working on some of those ideas. That is part of the point of the meeting. Now that all the consultation is done and with so little action in the past 2 or 3 years, what do we now do to make Neston a great place to live, learn, work, grow up and grow old (not necessarily in that order).

Gareth,
I know you and I can argue till the cows come home, but I will limit myself to a couple of points.... Your third paragraph puzzles me- who are you suggesting could be 'the right vehicle for action'...don't tell me...NCYC??? You are after all occasionally (with tongues in cheeks) called 'The Alternative Council of Neston'!

The Neighbourhood Plan is a statutory document and cannot just be dismissed with a 'things have changed'. A vast amount of time and money was spent on it and it has to be heeded. Are you suggesting NTC and CWAC need to do more for it. if so I agree with you there. But strange that it wasn't mentioned in the notice for this meeting.

'If other things improve, so will the public transport'- no idea what that means, but dream on.

Volunteering? Two of my days are for CWAC, and I certainly don't need support, thank you.

As acerbic as ever Susan. No, I’m not suggesting NCYC I said appropriate vehicle. What people say in their own circles is no concern of mine and I never engage in hearsay.

I am fully aware of the Neighbourhood plan and it’s statutory status I am also aware that they are reviewed and amended over time but I wasn’t referring to that anyway.

With regard to Public Transport there are already plans for it to improve over time.

The offer for support for volunteering again was not for you but more the 90+ volunteers already being supported by NCYC and others.

Susan, I know you and I know you can argue till the cows come home but I’d rather get on and do.

Take care

I think that there are an awful lot more than 90 people (and I know you put a plus in) doing voluntary work in and around Neston. There are probably around that many organisations, let alone individuals. A list, maybe still with gaps, is here:

https://www.neston.org.uk/local-organisations/

Some of these, by no means the majority, have been supported by the Town Council grants programme. Some have been supported through CW&C members' budgets. Others through sponsorships, and some do not require financial support. But almost all of those organisations rely to a large extent on voluntary effort.

Punctuation error David, sorry. I was referring to the 90+ NCYC work with. The ‘and others’ refers to everyone else. It would be interesting to see what the actual Neston figure is it must be many hundreds when you consider the schools, churches, health etc

I wasn’t talking about financial support though.

People may appreciate being reminded that the Neston Neighbourhood Plan sets out a vision for the long-term future of the area 2010-2030 and is still the go-to document for planning purposes. It is subject to annual review and may be changed as things progress. The Plan and its supporting documents may be viewed at the Town Hall or the Library or on-line at www.neston.org.uk Cut and paste this address into your browser and click through the menu (icon with 3 dots and bars top right on opening page) to Neighbourhood Plan. A Monitoring Report 2017-2018 was submitted last April to the Town Council by an arms- length Monitoring Group and this too may be found on the website. Current issues being discussed include affordable housing, local employment, cycling and walking, health and making the most of heritage and our beautiful environment.