Ince Parish Council

☀️ Summer Newsletter

🌻 Parish Council Meetings
Our meetings are held in the Village Hall on the first Monday of the month, with no meeting in August. Our local PCSO often holds an open surgery from 6:30pm prior to the meeting.

The first item is always public speaking, so please feel free to join us and raise any issues or concerns you might have.

In addition to attending Parish Council meetings, parish councillors also attend a number of community liaison meetings throughout the year, representing Ince, with local industries including Encirc, Essar (EET), Protos, Protos CBF and Encylis. This is all done in their own time after work. The councillors report back information at the next meeting to keep us informed of current activities.

Our next meeting is at 7pm on Monday 6th July.

🌻 Ward Walk
A few months ago, the parish councillors met with Highway and Environment officers from CWaC. We completed a walk round the whole of the village highlighting maintenance jobs requiring attention including potholes, uneven pavements, blocked grids, etc. An action plan was drawn up and this is monitored at each parish council meeting to ensure that the work is being carried out, liaising with the CWaC officers.

🌻 Pool Lane Roundabout
The roundabout was sown with wildflower seed and 1,000 bulbs last year. It was very colourful last summer and some of the bulbs bloomed earlier this year.

Unfortunately, due to some miscommunication at CWaC, the roundabout was mown a few weeks ago, just as plants were starting to grow. CWaC has apologised and has resown the roundabout with wildflower seed which we hope will give us a good show this summer.

We also sowed wildflower seeds at the top end of the Parish Field and we look forward to a colourful display again this year.

🌻 Station Road Bridge Railings
After many, many months of trying to establish ownership and responsibility for the railings, they are now being maintained and painted, ensuring a smart and tidy entrance to the village.

🌻 CWaC Report It App
CWaC has advised that the Report It app is no longer in use. It has asked residents to report any issues directly on the Report It section of the website at www.cheshirewestandchester.gov.uk/residents/contact-us/report-it

🌻 Village Tidy Up Day
A HUGE thank you to the band of 15 volunteers who came to help on 23rd May, we are very grateful for your support. We plan two or three of these events each year to try and keep the village looking at its best. We hope to see you at the next one!

🌻 UK Transition from Analogue to Digital Telephone Network
The Parish Council recently received a mailing highlighting some things to check if residents still use a landline to ensure there is no loss of service. You may find the following helpful:

• Contact your landline provider to ask when your scheduled
switchover is due to take place
• Check whether you will need to buy a new handset
• If you, or a member of your household, use any form of personal or medical alarm which is linked to your landline, check if this will be compatible with the new landline. It may also be advisable to check with your personal/medical alarm provider
• If you have a burglar alarm which links through your landline, check whether this will be compatible with the new landline. It may
also be advisable to check with your burglar alarm provider
• If you have telephone numbers stored on your landline telephone,
it may be advisable to make a record before the switchover
• If you are worried or concerned, your current telephone provider
should offer you support through the whole process

🌻 Transport Survey
Thank you to everyone who took the time to complete the survey. All the questionnaires were processed and the results shared with local bus company providers and also Merseyside Transport about the possibility of a rail network serving Ince and Elton station. We will keep you updated with any further information and progress.

🌻 Ince Nature Sanctuary
You will have noticed that a lot of work has been completed on setting up the nature sanctuary land. The land has been levelled and cleared of stones and rocks, the new railings and gates have been installed, footpaths have been laid and a pond has been excavated. Reptile sheeting has been laid around the area to create a habitat and encourage hibernating common lizards. The area has been sown with wildflower seeds for this season.

The programme will take time to develop. We will be planting native fruit trees and we will also be planting a hedge along the back fence of native trees and shrubs to provide habitat and food for birds and mammals. This will be done during autumn/winter for the best planting season. Before this can be done, we want to paint the fence and will be calling on volunteers to come and give us a hand - watch this space!

We will also develop the pond and the area around it to create a habitat to encourage frogs, toads and other insects. Bird boxes and bat boxes are also on the list to be installed.

We are grateful to the Marshes Community Benefit Fund for providing a grant to help us develop the area. We will still need to raise further grant funding to complete all the work. We plan to install an illustrated information board detailing what birds, insects and mammals to look out for. Once it is fully established, we hope to arrange visits for children from Elton Primary School to come and investigate the wildlife.

If you would be interested in helping us maintain the wildlife habitat, please get in touch.

🏫 Ince Village Hall

🟤 Management Committee
The hall is run and managed by a small committee, mainly all the parish councillors and clerk wearing a different hat! We would all be really pleased if you felt you would like to be a member of the committee and come and take part. We meet a couple of times a year and we manage the running and maintenance of the hall, applying for grants for any of the work that needs to be carried out and engaging companies to come and do the work. We have recently had secondary double glazing installed which we hope will help keep the building warmer during the cold weather.

🟤 Cleaning
The hall is kept clean by a team of volunteers who clean the hall once a week on a rota basis and we are very grateful to them all for their time and effort. If you feel you could help with this, please get in touch and we will explain what is required.

🟤 Funding
The Village Hall is a registered charity but does not receive any regular funding. All money raised is by hall rental or by donations or fundraising events.

It is a lovely clean and warm space for holding events and parties. Do you or family or friends need a venue for a party or to celebrate a family occasion? Do you know anyone looking for a space for an exercise or dance class? Do you know any childminders looking for a safe space for little ones to run around and let off steam? If so, please get in touch on 0151 356 7510 to arrange a booking.

🟤 Events Group
We would like to hall to be able to be used more by village residents. Do you have any ideas for village social events to hold at the hall? Would you like to be part of a group to help organise them? If so, please get in touch with Chris Jackson on 07827468248.

Ince Neighbourhood Plan was adopted by Cheshire West and Chester Council in October 2023.

The Plan, which can be seen on the Parish Council website, gives Ince residents a statutory power to shape the future of our village.

The Neighbourhood Plan Committee meets on a regular basis to ensure that the policies of the Plan are maintained and that objectives are set each year to ensure that issues in relation to these policies are addressed.

The Neighbourhood Plan Committee is separate from the Parish Council but collaborates with it.

What we have achieved in 2025/26:

● Renewed/updated signage on the roundabout
● Produced a conservation leaflet for Ince
● Restored the sandstone walls on Kinsey's Lane
● Cleared the major footpaths on Kinsey's Lane
● Planned renewal work for some stiles on public footpaths
● Collaborated with local industry to help prevent unwanted vehicles entering the village

Objectives for 2026/27:

● Creation of an Ince heritage board which will identify items of historic interest
● Creation of a leaflet detailing the history/special nature of Ince
● Maintenance and enhancement of public rights of way
● Monitoring of air quality
● Greater compliance with speed limits in the village
● Preservation of important trees and hedges
● Maintenance and enhancement of wildlife habitats
● Fundraising events

If you would like to know more about our plans or would be interested in joining our group, please contact Chris at Smithy House Farm on Marsh Lane (07827468248).

We would like to thank everyone who has supported us with our work, especially our walls restoration project which was a huge success!

The Parish Field basket swing has been replaced and rubber mulch has been laid so everyone can play safely and have fun again 😛

A big thank you to Essar, Protos and Cheshire West Community Infrastructure Levy for funding the work.

Further repairs to the play equipment will be carried out when funding becomes available.

We've been busy at Ince Nature Sanctuary 🌿

We've sown 27 species of native wildflower seeds which will bloom into beautiful flowers and provide a pollentastic treat for bees and butterflies in the summer 🌼

We've also laid 10 corrugated reptile sheets to enhance the habitat mosaic. The sheets attract snakes and lizards by providing warm basking spots and protection from predators 🦎

Let us know if you see any interesting wildlife moving in!