In accordance with paragraph 2.24 of the Council’s Committee Procedure Rules and Appendix on Public Speaking, set out in the Constitution, a total period of 15 minutes is allocated for members of the public to put questions to the committee on any matter relating to this agenda. Each member of the public will be allowed up to two minutes each to speak, and the Chair will have discretion to vary this where they consider it appropriate.
Members of the public wishing to speak are required to provide notice of this at least three clear working days’ in advance of the meeting.
Petitions - To receive any petitions which have met the criteria - Petitions Scheme Criteria and falls within the remit of the Committee. Petition organisers will be allowed up to three minutes to speak.
Minutes:
The Chair referred to the decision to disallow some visiting members and members of the public to speak at today’s meeting in relation to Household Waste and Recycling Centres and the Strategic Leisure Review and confirmed that the decision was taken following advice from officers, as these items were not substantive items on the agenda. The Chair highlighted that an update on the Strategic Leisure Review would be presented to the committee in June, and visiting members/members of the public would be welcome to come to that meeting and ask a question/make a statement.
Councillor S Firkin, Congleton Town Council, addressed the committee in relation to agenda item 6 (Cemeteries Investment Programme). Cllr Firkin stated that there had been concerns in relation to Congleton cemetery, Howey Lane, and its limited future capacity for some time. It was stated that poor drainage onsite caused significant problems for burials on land previously thought to be suitable, and therefore, Congleton welcomed the commitment to invest in drainage and the potential future groundworks to mediate the site. Cllr Firkin asked what the current best/worst case scenarios were for continued operation onsite for burials. Finally, it was suggested that officers looked to utilise the Streetscape team, as originally intended, for ongoing maintenance and groundworks of the cemetery. Officers agreed to provide a written response.
Councillor K Edwards addressed the committee as a visiting member and spoke in relation to items 7 (Local Plan Next Steps: Local Development Scheme Update and feedback from the Issues Consultation 2024) and item 8 (Heritage and Local List Supplementary Planning Document). Councillor Edwards stated that Bollington Town Council had spent considerable time searching for indoor provision for youth activity, particularly during winter months, and that the Issues document did not reference the physical land needs of young people. Councillor Edwards asked the committee to ensure that the requirements and needs of young people were consulted upon and contained within future reiterations of the report. In response, officers confirmed that there would be further consultation on the issues throughout the local planning process and that part of the process would consider land use and the requirements of different age groups.
In relation to agenda item 8, Cllr Edwards welcomed the report and urged the committee to support the recommendations. Cllr Edwards stated that, in the future, the committee should consider moving from just a list of buildings to looking at particular areas of Cheshire East with significant common historical and heritage value.
Councillor J Place addressed the committee as a visiting member and spoke in relation to agenda item 7 (Local Plan Next Steps: Local Development Scheme Update and feedback from the Issues Consultation 2024). Councillor Place referred to the information provided by the council on its website, which was lasted updated in November 2024 and asked that this was updated regularly as the consultation process moved forward. Cllr Place stated that a communications strategy was key to ensuring that residents and members were regularly updated throughout what would be a complex and fast-moving process. Cllr Place referred to the Bollington Neighbourhood Plan and hoped that Neighbourhood Plans would still feature in future planning frameworks. In response, officers committed to ensuring that information published on the website was up-to-date and confirmed that Neighbourhood Plans were still very much active in planning policy at a national level.