To receive such announcements as may be made by the Mayor.
Minutes:
1. The Mayor reported that his first duty was a very sad one regarding the recent tragic air crash in Kathmandu, Nepal, in which 19 people were killed, including 7 from the United Kingdom. It was with regret that he had to inform Members that two of those killed had links to Cheshire East. Raymond Eagle worked for the Council; based in Macclesfield. Ray was part of our Care4CE service where he provided support to enable people with disabilities to live in their own homes. The second person with links to the Borough was Timothy Oakes, who until 2001 had been Head teacher of Ryles Park High School in Macclesfield. At the time of his death he was employed as a secondary school advisor by Lancashire County Council. In these tragic circumstances books of condolences had been opened here at Macclesfield Town Hall.
The Mayor also referred to the recent death of former Councillor John Jones. The Mayor had represented the Council at his funeral in the previous week.
Members stood for a minute’s silent tribute.
2. The Mayor invited the Leader of the Council to speak and the Leader introduced Kim Ryley,Interim Chief Executive to the Council.
3. The Mayor referred to the recent Olympic and Paralympic Games and was delighted to be able to inform Council that athletes from Cheshire East had won a total of ten medals. He felt it appropriate that Council should mark the achievement of the medal winning athletes by offering them the Freedom of the Borough. From the Olympic Games, medal winners were Victoria Pendleton, who lived in Wilmslow, who had won gold and silver medals in cycling and Beth Tweddle from Bunbury, who had won a bronze in gymnastics. Four residents of the Borough had won medals in the Paralympic Games. Sarah Storey, from Disley, had won four cycling gold medals and her husband, Barney, had also won a gold medal, again in cycling. Craig McLean from Wilmslow had won a gold medal in cycling and Niki Birrell from Knutsford had won a bronze in sailing.
Council agreed that a special meeting of the Council should take place immediately before the Council meeting, scheduled for Thursday 13th December, in order to bestow Freedom of the Borough on the Olympic and Paralympic.
4. The Mayor reported that, since Council had last met, he and the Deputy Mayor had attended almost seventy events. These had included school visits, civic services in Knutsford, Wilmslow, Bolliington and Rainow, a graduation ceremony at Reasesheath College and a considerable number of community based events. These events, be they flower shows, sports days, concerts or theatrical presentations always impressed and demonstrated the real community spirit across the Borough.
5 The Mayor referred to the Notice of Motion submitted to Council in the previous year, by Cllrs Flude and Thorley, relating to the proposal to erect a memorial to six Royal Engineers who were killed near Nantwich in 1940. He was delighted to be able to inform Members that he had unveiled this memorial at Alvaston Hall Hotel on the previous Sunday.
6. The Mayor presented an award, on behalf of the Trading
Standards Institute, to Joan Morrison was had been so incensed when she realised that she had been the victim of rogue traders who cold-called her to do work on her roof that she was determined to do everything in her power to stop the same thing happening to other vulnerable people. She had reported the incident to the Consumer Protection and Investigations Team within Cheshire East Council, which had resulted in the discovery of further offences against people in the community, leading to a criminal investigation and a 12-month community order with 150 hours of unpaid work to the criminals involved. Joan had attended Court and was also the spearhead for the launch of the Cheshire East Consumer Protection and Investigations Team’s ‘Nominated Neighbour Scheme’, a preventative scheme for elderly and vulnerable residents. She was the first resident to sign up to the scheme and more than 1,000 residents had now signed up. Her efforts had received national recognition, with her being awarded a Trading Standards Institute’s Hero Award. She had been unable to collect the award at the Institute’s conference in June, but it was now the Mayor’s privilege to present it to her.