Jan Snell Award 2016
At the Shropshire Association of Local Councils (SALC) Annual General Meeting on Saturday 19 November at Dawley Town Hall, the Jan Snell Award for Parish Council's achievements 2016 went to Great Ness and Little Ness Parish Council for their excellent community work.
Brief outline of their achievements:
When Shropshire Council took the decision to cut the Youth Service budget, the very successful Nesscliffe Youth Club looked certain to close because they needed their qualified Youth Worker to keep the club open. Cllr Eleanor Gilbert has been helping as a volunteer for years and brought the concerns to the Parish Council and although we are a very small council we consulted the residents and it was agreed for the Parish Council to increase their precept by £3,500 per annum to pay for the qualified Youth Worker to continue running the club in partnership with Shropshire Youth Association. The Youth Club has over 30 members and enjoyed by all who attend.
At our Annual Parish Meeting last year the Parish Council invited a speaker to explain why the Parishes needed an Automated External Defibrillator (AED). After consulting with the residents, it was agreed to have a training session in Nesscliffe Village Hall for anyone who would like to attend. In July this year training was organised and residents and councillors received the training from the Ambulance Service.
After the training, the Ambulance Service kindly donated an AED for Nesscliffe to the Parish Council and a month later a resident from Little Ness also purchased an AED for Little Ness. The Parish Council still needed an AED for Wilcot and three cabinets to store the AED’s and it was agreed again with resident approval to purchase an AED for Wilcot and three cabinets from the Parish Council’s limited reserves.
As the Parishes are a distance from the Royal Shrewsbury Hospital, these AED’s should prove vital in an emergency and the Parish Council has also put aside in their precept a budget to ensure these AED’s are always working and fully equipped.