Issue - meetings

To consider a Briefing Paper providing an update on the Wilmslow Community Governance Review.

Members considered a briefing paper on a number of issues relating to the Community Governance Review.

(1)   Terminology to be used in Documentation and Publicity about the Review

The Sub-Committee at the last meeting had decided that to avoid confusion to the public it would prefer to refer to the term “town council” in all documentation published about the review. The intention was to try to avoid reference to several different terms, such as “parish council”, “community council” and “town council”. 

Members were invited to reconsider their decision on the matter in light of the actual wording of the three petitions received. All three petitions had referred generically to the constitution of a new ‘parish’. Each petition then went on to propose a different title for the body concerned, namely ‘community council’ for Handforth, ‘town council’ for Wilmslow and Handforth, and ‘parish council’ for Styal.

The legislation relating to Community Governance reviews (Section 87 of the Local Government and Public Involvement in Health Act 2007) specified that the principal council must make recommendations as to what new parish, or parishes (if any) should be constituted; must make recommendations as to the name of the new parish; must make recommendations as to whether or not the new parish should have a parish council; and whether or not the new parish should have one of the alternative styles.

Under section 245 of the Local Government Act 1972, a parish could be given the status of a town. “Town” status continued to be available to a parish. In addition, the 2007 Act offered a further choice of styles: community, neighbourhood and village. Where a community governance review related to a new parish, it was for the principal council in the first instance to make recommendations as to the name of the parish, taking account of the views and preferences of people living in the area.

Given this background, Members acknowledged that the use of the term ‘town council’ only at this early stage could be confusing to those people who had signed the Handforth and Styal petitions, which did not refer to a town council.                    

RESOLVED

That the term ‘parish Council’ be adopted as the sole generic term to be used in all documentation associated with the Community Governance Review. An explanation of the term be included in all publicity and consultation documentation, together with a description of all the possible styles of term which could emerge from the review.

(2)   Public Meetings

Members noted that it had not been possible to confirm Honford Hall as the venue for the public meeting on 28^th April. Arrangements had now been made for the meeting to be held at Handforth Youth and Community Centre, Old Road, Wilmslow. The public notice had been amended accordingly and would appear in the press during week commencing 12^th April to provide two weeks' notice of the public meetings.     

It was proposed that each of the public meetings begin with a preamble, outlining the nature of the  ...  view the full minutes text for item 19