Parishes up-date

At the end of last year I attended one of the Comité des Connétables meetings. There is a long wait to get an appointment, so I had a few items stored up for the agenda.

  1. The first was to ask the Constables and their Roads Committees to suggest a network of suitable Green Lanes in their parishes. Before Lockdown I gave each Constable an A0 map of their parish roads of different designations, to assist them plot a suitable network of routes which could also join Parish to Parish and also provide a Commuter Route (not just long-winded scenic routes) to Parish hubs and to St Helier. I am glad to see that our Constable is considering this idea and is proposing some lanes. If you have any amendments you would like to what is being proposed, please make your submission to the Parish so the Roads Committee can consider parishioners views before it is taken to a Parish Assembly.
  2. The second item on my agenda was to ask the Constables to provide a ‘Welcome Pack’ to new Parishioners. This was one of the recommendations from the Island Identity project which I chair. We suggested a pack of information be given to newcomers, not only about how the Parish works, its clubs, associations and useful practical advice but also information about the Island – our Constitution, our voting rights, the Island’s history. The Constables requested that I supply the core of the document about the Island, and they would adapt it and add their individual Parish information to it. There is a great deal more information on the Island Identity website – with an animated version of our history told by our wonderful Grouville-born Story Teller, John Henry Falle. Check it out at www.islandidentity.je;
  3. I raised the idea of trying to find an Island-wide Refuse collection rather than looking for a parish-by-parish solution. This is an issue which has been raised to me by Parishioners and I think it is very much worth considering;
  4. I suggested that establishing a Community Support Group in each Parish would be much appreciated – some have them, some don’t, but as I know how much the service is valued in this Parish and indeed St Clement where they have a very well established service. I offered my experience in setting one up in Grouville to help other Parishes do likewise. Our CSG also benefit from quarterly meetings where we discuss how we can best promote independent living. We are a friendly bunch and always happy to welcome new volunteers, so if you have a bit of spare time and would like to volunteer to help our Community, then please contact me. If however, you are in need of a bit of support with everyday living, then please contact the Parish Hall and they will put you in contact with one of our CSG Team.