Agenda, decisions and minutes

There were no apologies for absence.

To provide an opportunity for Members and Officers to declare any disclosable pecuniary and non-pecuniary interests in any item on the agenda.

There were no declarations of interest.

In accordance with Procedure Rules Nos.11 and 35 a period of 10 minutes is allocated for members of the public to address the meeting on any matter relating to the work of the body in question.  Individual members of the public may speak for up to 5 minutes but the Chairman or person presiding will decide how the period of time allocated for public speaking will be apportioned where there are a number of speakers. Members of the public are not required to give notice to use this facility. However, as a matter of courtesy, a period of 24 hours’ notice is encouraged.

Members of the public wishing to ask a question at the meeting should provide at least three clear working days’ notice in writing and should include the question with that notice. This will enable an informed answer to be given.

Councillor Rhoda Bailey spoke on behalf of the Astbury and Moreton Neighbourhood Plan Group; the Group acknowledged the importance of the planned Congleton link road and of the need to protect the land for it, and was pleased that the area of land concerned had reduced from that discussed in the first instance with the result that nobody in the parish had been disenfranchised.

To consider the designation of the Newbold,  Astbury and Moreton Neighbourhood Area.

That approval be given to the Astbury and Moreton Neighbourhood area as shown in appendices 3 and 4 of the report.

It was reported that Astbury and Moreton parish Councils had expressed intent to undertake the preparation of a neighbourhood plan and had submitted a valid application to formally designate the Parishes of Astbury and Moreton as a neighbourhood area. 

Within the neighbourhood area, however, lies an extent of land of strategic importance to the delivery of the Congleton Link Road.  The land required to deliver the road is of such high strategic importance that the land identified in appendixes 3 and 4 of the report is considered necessary to it and, therefore, needs to be excluded from the neighbourhood area application.  Exclusion will ensure it remains subject to the emerging policy framework of the Cheshire East Local Plan and outside the potential influence of future policies established under a neighbourhood plan (which, once adopted, holds equal weight to the Local Plan for decision making purposes).

Existing legislation does not place a limit on the number of neighbourhood areas a relevant body can submit to the authority for consideration; the Authority can also reconsider the extent of existing designations. Therefore it should be noted that there are mechanisms through which the excluded land may be designated as part of the Astbury and Moreton Neighbourhood Area in the future.

The designation of Newbold Astbury and Moreton Parishes as a single neighbourhood area (as identified in appendixes 3 and 4) will enable Newbold Astbury Parish Council and Moreton cum Alcumlow Parish Council to prepare a joint neighbourhood plan for this area.

RESOLVED

That approval be given to the Astbury and Moreton Neighbourhood area as shown in appendices 3 and 4 of the report.