Issue - meetings

To consider the proposed project plan for Stage 1 of the consultation including proposed arrangements for public meetings to be held.

The Sub-Committee gave consideration to the proposed project plan for Stage 1 of the consultation for the Macclesfield Community Governance Review including proposed arrangements for public meetings to be held.

A decision had originally been made to fast track the review for Macclesfield to complete the review and produce an Order in time for the February 2013 meeting of Full Council so that if a Parish Council for Macclesfield was recommended it could be created in April 2013. Public meetings for the review had been planned for August during school summer holidays. The Sub-Committee believed that the Council may receive criticism for this due to many members of the public taking vacations during August and being unable to attend the meetings.

This was now considered to be an unrealistic timescale and in order to complete a robust and comprehensive review it was agreed that a new project plan would be needed. The Sub-Committee agreed that lessons needed to be learned and absorbed from the Crewe Community Governance Review and put into practice during the Macclesfield Review. Officers would be given more time to develop the literature for Stage 1 of the review and public meetings could be held once the school summer holidays had ended.

It was originally proposed that two public meetings would be held at Macclesfield Town Hall. It was suggested that several meetings should be held in various locations around the unparished area to improve publicity and coverage of the review.

It was noted that, unlike the Crewe Community Governance Review, there was no requirement for the Macclesfield Community Governance Review to be completed within a period of 12 months as the 12 month deadline only applied to reviews that had been carried out as a result of a petition.

RESOLVED – That the proposed project plan illustrated in the Agenda be rejected and officers be requested to return to the Sub-Committee with a revised longer term project plan for stage 1 of the review at the next meeting.