Issue - meetings

Questions

Meeting: 13/12/2023 - Council (Item 64)

64 Questions pdf icon PDF 194 KB

In accordance 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.

Minutes:

Cllr L Smetham referred to the recent planning training session for Councillors which included an informative session regarding enforcement, and asked how this work could be strengthened to curtail the lengths people went to, to try to contravene the planning system and how the Council could increase protection for residents and our environment.

 

In response Cllr M Warren, Chair of Environment and Communities Committee, stated that a balance had to be achieved between such protection, the amount of resources dedicated to the Planning Enforcement Team, and the many other competing pressures across not just the Planning Service but also the Council as a whole.  Enforcement cases were prioritised as to their level of harm and some minor cases would be deemed not sufficient to warrant any further action. It was also notable that well over 50% of enforcement complaints investigated were found not to involve any breach of planning control.   Certain notable enforcement cases required a significant amount of time and resource from the Enforcement Team to achieve the desired outcomes.  Some cases would also get resolved more quickly than others as negotiated solutions were always deemed to be the most appropriate course of action, even though they can take considerable time.   Cllr Warren reported that the Enforcement Team had recently recruited two more enforcement officers and that the number of notices served over the last 12 months had been the highest for some time including the servicing of 21 Enforcement Notices, 1 Stop Notice and 5 Temporary Stop Notices, which he hoped sent out a clear message that the Council did take enforcement action where appropriate.

 

Cllr B Puddicombe stated that the entrance and exit for cars going to the retail park at Barracks Mill in Macclesfield came straight off, and goes on, to the Silk Road where the national speed limit applied. Macclesfield Councillors had been contacted by local residents concerned that this was an accident waiting to happen due to the speed of cars along this road. He asked if the Chair of the Highways and Transport Committee could use his officers to ensure a speed review as conducted as a matter of urgency to ensure that restrictions were put in place so that an accident did not take place.

 

In response Cllr C Browne, Chair of Highways and Transport Committee, stated that perception did not always necessarily reflect reality.  Cllr Browne confirmed that a road safety audit stage 4 had been completed back in September, and that audit did review the operational safety of the junction. As a result, some additional warning signs were due to be installed early in the new year at the junction and Highways would continue to monitor the performance of the junction to assess whether any further action was necessary to improve road safety.

 

Cllr S Gardiner asked, following the decision to progress with the closure of the Stanley Centre, what work has been undertaken to liaise with the current clients of that Centre and how far had the Council progressed  ...  view the full minutes text for item 64