Agenda item

The recommendations from the Constitution Committee regarding the review of the Planning Protocol of Conduct and the Planning Public Speaking Protocol were submitted. The Mayor reported that the documents had also been considered by the Strategic Planning Board and the Audit and Governance Committee. Revised documents, which showed the changes as considered by the Constitution Committee were appended to the agenda.

The Mayor reported that the Constitution Committee had noted the recommendations from the Strategic Planning Board and had not made any further comments on the proposed amendments to the Protocols. However, the Audit and Governance Committee, on considering the Public Speaking Protocol, had proposed that the speaking time for Ward Members on planning applications should remain at 5 minutes, as opposed to the proposal by the Strategic Planning Board and the Constitution Committee, which recommended that all visiting Cheshire East Councillors, including Ward Councillors should have 3 minutes to speak. He, would therefore, call upon the Chairman of the Constitution Committee, Cllr Andrew Martin to move the proposed changes to the Protocols as agreed by the Strategic Planning Board, as set out on page 142 of the of the agenda and once this motion has been disposed of, he would then call upon Cllr Hammond, as Chairman of the Audit and Governance Committee to move the recommendation from the Audit and Governance Committee in respect of this matter, as set out on page 143 of the agenda. 

Cllr Martin, moved the recommendations of the Strategic Planning Board, as considered by the Constitution Committee, with the exception of the recommendation relating to the time period for Member speaking time.

RESOLVED

That the amendments put forward by the Legal Officer and the following additional amendments suggested by Members of the Strategic Planning Board be approved: -

1)    That in relation to the Public Speaking Protocol the provision requiring a copy of a Constitution outlined in paragraph 1.1 of the report, to be produced by a Local Representative Group should be deleted.

2)    That the final sentence in paragraph 1.2 of the Public Speaking Protocol be deleted.

3)    That the third bullet point in paragraph 2.6 of the Public Speaking Protocol be amended so that all visiting Cheshire East Councillors (including Ward Councillors) may be questioned by Members of the Strategic Planning Board/Northern or Southern Planning Committee, for a maximum of 5 minutes, or longer at the Chairman’s discretion.

4)    In relation to paragraph 8.9 of the Planning Protocol, the words ‘not ever’ be replaced with the word ‘never’.

With reference to recommendation 3 of the Strategic Planning Board, Cllr Hammond moved the recommendation of the Audit and Governance Committee, which proposed that the speaking time for Ward Members should remain at 5 minutes.

RESOLVED

That the third bullet point in paragraph 2.6 of the Public Speaking Protocol be amended so that all visiting Cheshire East Councillors have 3 minutes to speak, Ward Councillors have a total of 5 minutes to speak and may be questioned by Members of the Strategic Planning Board/Northern or Southern Planning Committee, for a maximum of 5 minutes, or longer at the Chairman’s discretion.