Issue - meetings

In accordance with the Council Procedure Rules, opportunity is provided for Members of the Council to ask the Mayor or the Chair of a Committee any question about a matter which the Council, or the Committee has powers, duties or responsibilities.

At Council meeting, there will be a maximum question time period of 30 minutes. A period of two minutes will be allowed for each Councillor wishing to ask a question.  The Mayor will have the discretion to vary this requirement where they consider it appropriate.

Cllr P Williams asked if the Council would consider applying for government funding available for the Brownfield Land Release Fund 2. 

In response, Cllr N Mannion, Chair of the Economy and Growth Committee, stated that officers were currently assessing the criteria for the fund against sites identified by Housing Development and examining whether the timescales aligned with the priorities for these sites. There would be funding rounds for the next two financial years; therefore, if the Council was unable to develop a bid by the 2022 deadline, it was likely that proposals would be developed for Spring 2023.  Cllr Mannion would provide a written response with detail on exact dates and funding amounts.

Cllr S Holland asked a question in respect of the New Burden Grant and whether the grant could be utilised to fund, reinstate, or replace via a similar service as the pathfinder service.  The Leader requested that the question be submitted in writing and he would then provide a written response.

Cllr J Bratherton referred to an art project proposed to be located outside Crewe station and asked who made the decision to appoint the artist, what criteria it was based upon and which other artists had put forward work to obtain the contract. She stated that she felt both examples offered bore no resemblance to Crewe and stated that she would have liked to have had some broader say within the Council on the designs. Councillor N Mannion, Chair of the Economy and Growth Committee, agreed that he would provide a written response.

Cllr L Smith asked if the Council would look to Manchester, Yorkshire and other areas of the UK in respect of how bus services operated, for example the municipal ownership of buses and whether the Council would look at removing contracts from companies like Arriva who she believed continued to focus on profits rather than the service received by the public and treatment of workers.

In response, Cllr L Crane, Chair of the Bus Service Improvement Plan Advisory Group, stated that she would like to make such changes but the Council was restricted by the legal framework. The Council had, under the Bus Service Improvement Plan, been able to establish an enhanced partnership for bus companies which she hoped would address some of the issues raised. She felt it was a matter upon which all Councillors needed to lobby their MPs, as cities which had devolved powers had superior public networks and she felt Cheshire East deserved the same.

Cllr S Gardiner stated that he wished not to ask a question but to thank a colleague on behalf of the Council who was leaving the authority, Sarah Baxter, Democratic Services Officer, for her contribution over the years.

Cllr A Kolker commented that he found the content of the agenda disappointing as he felt every item reaffirmed decisions made in other Committees. He asked that, if agendas were going to lead to Members redebating items previously debated, whether the Chair might use his discretion,  ...  view the full minutes text for item 32