Agenda and minutes

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

In view of the dispensation in place for all members of the Council, 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.

Mr Adam Keppel-Green, the Clerk to Gawsworth Parish Council, expressed his Council’s opposition to the proposals for Gawsworth.

Councillor Philip Jackson, Wybunbury Parish Council, spoke in support of the proposals for Wybunbury.

Councillor Les Horne, Minshull Vernon and District Parish Council, expressed his Council’s oppositon to the proposed abolition of the Parish Council.

Mr Alan Murdoch, Handforth, objected to the proposed merger of Handforth and Wilmslow.

Councillor Chris Knibbs, Hatherton and Walgherton Parish Council, commented that the Parish Council had responded to the pre-consultation survey and that in this respect the report on the agenda was incorrect.

To approve the minutes of the meeting held on 6 March 2020

RESOLVED

That the minutes of the meeting held on 6^th March 2020 be approved as a correct record.

To give consideration to a report on the draft proposals for formal consultation.

The Sub-Committee considered a report on the draft proposals for formal consultation.

At its meeting on 6^th March 2020, the Sub-Committee had considered the pre-consultation survey responses and the next steps for the review. It had resolved that the pre-consultation survey responses be received and that the initiation of the development of the Council’s proposals for all parish ward boundaries be approved. Since that meeting, six member workshops had taken place to develop draft proposals for consultation. The draft proposals were set out in Appendix B to the report. If approved, they would be the subject of a 12-week consultation exercise in accordance with the terms of reference for the review.

Dr M Humphreys of the Association of Electoral Administrators was in attendance at the meeting to provide an expert opinion on the consultation process and the further progress of the Community Governance Review.

Officers advised that the references to ‘proposed expansion areas’ in the maps attached to the report would be changed to ‘potential expansion areas’ before the consultation commenced.

Councillor L Gilbert referred to an administrative error in the report in that Holmes Chapel Parish Council had responded to the pre-consultation survey and that, if the Parish Council’s response had been taken into consideration, the draft consultation proposals relating to Holmes Chapel could have been different. He therefore asked that the consultation proposals be reviewed before the consultation commenced, to take account of the Parish Council’s response to the pre-consultation survey.

The Chairman asked officers to discuss the matter further with Councillor Gilbert after the meeting.

RESOLVED

That the Sub-Committee recommends to the Constitution Committee that the draft proposals attached at Appendix B to the report be formally agreed for the purposes of consultation and consulted upon for a 12-week period, subject to any amendments required to reflect the response of Holmes Chapel Parish Council to the pre-consultation survey.