Questions
In accordance with paragraph 1.18 of the Council Procedure Rules, opportunity is provided for Members of the Council to ask the Mayor, the appropriate Cabinet Member or the Chairman of a Committee any question about a matter which the Council, the Cabinet or the Committee has powers, duties or responsibilities.
At Council meetings, there will be a maximum question time period of 30 minutes. Questions will be selected by the Mayor, using the criteria agreed by Council. Any questions which are accepted, but which cannot be dealt with during the allotted period will be answered in writing. Questions must be brief, clear and focussed.
Minutes:
Cllr G Hayes sought reassurance on the Council’s commitment to support local businesses and asked why the authority was holding procurement events outside of the Borough. Cllr Sam Corcoran, Leader of the Council, responded that he did wish to support a ‘buy local’ policy. He agreed to provide a written response on the specific example and asked Cllr Hayes to forward him the details.
Cllr S Gardiner stated that the Strategic Planning Board had been asked to consider a Supplementary Planning Document for land in Middlewich. The Document had been a very large and he asked if, in future, these types of documents could be issued before agenda publication to allow more time for consideration. Cllr Toni Fox, Portfolio Holder for Planning responded that she would raise this with Officers.
Cllr L Wardlaw referred to a question she had asked at the October Cabinet meeting on inconsistencies in the financial figures in the EASR annual report. Cllr Wardlaw stated that she had not received the promised written response. Cllr Warren, Portfolio Holder for Communities stated that he would ensure that she received a response.
Cllr M Simon stated that the annual Nantwich Food and Drink Festival brought in a huge amount of income into the local economy and asked why the Council was not approving the use of Love Lane and Bowling Green car parks for the 2020 festival. Cllr N Mannion, Portfolio Holder for Environment and Regeneration undertook to provide a written response.
Cllr P Groves referred to the Flexi Bus service, stating that there were concerns about the availability of the service between 10 am and 2 pm each day and asked when this would be reviewed. Cllr C Browne, Deputy Leader, responded that that a review would be carried out in the new year and that all Members would be briefed on this.
Cllr Kolker stated that the venue for today’s meeting was not satisfactory due to the acoustics and that he, for one, had struggled to hear what was being said, He suggested Wilmslow Leisure Centre as a suitable venue.
Cllr L Gilbert referred to his Notice of Motion at the last meeting asking the Council to rescind the requirement for Holmes Chapel Health Centre to pay a fee for access through the Library car park. This had been referred for Portfolio Holder decision. He had been advised of the procedure for Portfolio Holder decisions, but this had not been followed and the decision had been taken in secret with no communication with the Proposer and Seconder of the Motion. Cllr Gilbert asked what had gone wrong. Cllr N Mannion, Portfolio Holder for Environment and Regeneration stated that it was an unusual matter to come forward as a notice of motion and this may have been why it had not been dealt with in accordance with procedure. He stated that he would be happy to sit down with the two Ward Councillors and officers to go through the decision.
Cllr A Moran asked the Leader of ... view the full minutes text for item 63