Whaley4Wards will be preparing and painting the railings on Canal St from around 10am tomorrow morning – Sat 7th July.

If anyone would like to come along and help you would be very welcome.We will be finishing well before the England match at 3pm ! People can drop in and drop out as they wish.

We are going to do the stretch running from the Corner of Canal St down to the bus shelter.

Whaley4Wards is a volunteer group committed to carrying out small regeneration projects across the 4 wards of Whaley Bridge which improve the Town and make it an even nicer place to live. We welcome anyone who wants to join.

On Sun 15th July from 10.30am we plan to repaint the childrens play equipment in the Jodrell road play area. We will finish well before the World Cup Final at 4pm . If you would like to spend an hour helping, then your help would be very much appreciated.

Jon Goldfinch –  goldfinchjon@gmail.com

Water saving tips

We’re all enjoying this beautiful, warm weather but it also means we’re using an incredible amount of water compared to our usual demand. This week we’ve seen record levels of demand with an additional half a billion litres being delivered to customers every day. With the hot and dry weather set to continue for the next few weeks, we’re asking our customers to help by using water carefully around the garden and home – if possible, please try not to use water outside in the garden while it remains hot as we are all using so much more water.

Try these easy tips in the house and garden and see how much water you can save.

Using water inside

Spend one minute less in the shower

If each member of a family of four spent one minute less in the shower they could save approximately 36 litres of water a day!

Use a washing up bowl

Instead of letting the tap run for longer than it needs to, use a washing up bowl – you can reduce wasted water by up to 50%! Even better, use your dishwasher, you’ll save yourself a job and often they use less water than washing dishes by hand – remember to do a full load each time.

Turn off the tap

Turning off the tap while brushing your teeth saves a massive six litres of water per minute! For a family of four that could be up to 48 litres a day.

Boil only what you need

People often overfill the kettle when they make a cuppa, think about it next time you make one just for yourself, and make your mantra: ‘boil only what you need’.

Using water outside

Ditch the hosepipe

Hosepipes use hundreds of litres of water an hour. Use a watering can for your plants, and a bucket and sponge for your car, and you’ll be doing the environment a good turn.

Water out of hours

Water your garden in the early morning or late evening, when less water is lost through evaporation.

Use mulch for moisture

Add a layer of mulch (eg bark chips, manure) over your soil to retain moisture and keep weeds at bay.

Choose less thirsty plants

Try planting drought-resistant plants, such as geraniums. They look great, and require a lot less water, and not watering them as often means you can save time too!

Buy a butt

A water butt collects the rain from your roof, so you can give your plants a drink.

More information can be found in our using water wisely leaflet (PDF 1,948 KB opens in a new window).

The annual Whaley Bridge town meeting was held on the evening of 27 April at which a presentation was given to David Johnson who is retiring as Caretaker of the Mechanics Institute, after many years.

WBTC Chair, Rodney Gilmour, thanks David Johnson (right) for his long and faithful service as Mechanics Institute Caretaker

Reports were received from:

County Councillor Alison Fox: here

Borough Councillor Andrew Fox:

Borough Councillor David Lomax: here

Borough Councillor John Pritchard: here

Town Council Chair Rodney Gilmour: here

No report was received from the Community Police

Relief Caretaker required

The Whaley Bridge Mechanics Institute is a Registered Charity and provides a community building with rooms for hire, a reading room and the Town Council’s office.

We are looking for an efficient and reliable Relief Caretaker, to cover for leave or sickness of our main Caretaker (including some weekends and evenings). The Relief Caretaker therefore has a zero-hours contract, and may work for only a few weeks per year; the main Caretaker normally works 15 hours per week.

The successful candidate must be able to work alone but also as part of a small team. The main job purpose is to provide high standards of cleanliness, security and maintenance of the Mechanics Institute and the role includes setting up of rooms as necessary. A competitive per-hour rate will be offered

The Mechanics Institute is an equal opportunities employer and is committed to safeguarding and promoting the welfare of children. Any offer of Employment will be subject to receipt of a satisfactory DBS Disclosure Form.

Application forms are available from the Mechanics Institute, or please contact townclerk@whaleybridge.com by Wednesday 9 May.

Whaley Bridge Mechanics Institute, 27 Market Street, Whaley Bridge, SK23 7AA

Tel: 01663 733068  

WHALEY BRIDGE TOWN COUNCIL

Vacancy for Town Clerk 

Are you a good manager and an excellent communicator? Whaley Bridge Town Council, in north-west Derbyshire, is looking for a Town Clerk – the head of the Council’s paid staff. The job description is attached. A competitive salary will be offered.

The post is part-time, with contracted weekly hours of approximately 25; exact arrangements can be tailored to an extent to suit the successful applicant. The Council’s office is in the Mechanics Institute, Market St, Whaley Bridge. Its meetings are generally in the evening of the 2nd Thursday of the month.

Applications should be sent to towncouncil@whaleybridge.com, for the attention of the Chair, by noon on Tuesday 8 May.

_________________________________________________________

Job Description: TOWN CLERK (and Responsible Financial Officer)

Overall Responsibilities

The Town Clerk manages all the activities of the Town Council, in accordance with legislative requirements and the policies set by Councillors. He/she is the head of the Council’s paid staff, and is accountable for the effective management of all the Council’s resources.

The Town Clerk is also the Council’s Responsible Financial Officer, ensuring careful stewardship of the Council’s finances and maintenance of its financial records.

Specific Responsibilities

1. To carry out the legal responsibilities of being the Council’s Proper Officer.

2. To prepare agendas and meeting papers for the Council and its committees, and to attend their meetings, so as to advise councillors thereat and prepare minutes.

3. To produce reports and data required for effective decision-making.

4. To drive forward proactively the implementation of decisions made by Councillors, ensuring relevant stakeholders are kept advised, and utilising specialist advice as necessary. To monitor, post-implementation, whether those decisions are achieving the desired result.

5. To develop the Council’s annual budget for Councillor discussion and approval.

6. To maintain the Council’s financial records (regularly reviewing achievement against budget), and to ensure (i) value for money in purchasing and (ii) efficient invoicing and credit-control for services provided by the Council.

7. To create effective grant applications, as required.

8. To ensure suitable and timely responses to incoming correspondence and messages, creating a positive external impression of the Council and its activities.

9. To proactively explore opportunities for modernising and improving the Council’s activities and administration. To keep abreast of emerging best practice in the Local Council sector.

10. To ensure effective supervision, administration and maintenance of Council-owned street-furniture, premises, allotments, sports area and other land.

11. To ensure that suitable and sufficient risk-assessment of the Council’s activities is carried out (and regularly reviewed) and that identified mitigations are implemented.

12. To lead, direct and develop all other members of staff as their line manager, and to ensure the creation and consistent application of suitable HR policies.

13. To act as the external representative of the Council when required.

14. To ensure the effectiveness of the Council’s website. To prepare press releases about the activities or decisions of the Council.

15. To act as Secretary and Financial Officer to Whaley Bridge Mechanics’ Institute (a registered charity), ensuring effective management and administration of its premises.

Experience & qualifications

16. To study to achieve the status of Qualified Local Council Clerk as soon as reasonably practicable.

17. Must be well experienced in use of MS Office software (Word, Excel, etc) and familiar with moving towards a paperless office.

18. Some experience of local government might be advantageous, but is not essential.