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 relevant 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.
Minutes:
Jonathan Parry sought an assurance that there would be no further major development in Middlewich that added to road congestion before the completion of the Eastern Bypass. The Deputy Leader and Portfolio Holder for Highways and Infrastructure replied that the Council was committed to progressing road improvements in the town, so that as new housing and business came on stream it went hand in hand with new infrastructure.
Sue Helliwell, speaking on behalf of Alsager Town Council, asked for the Council’s agreement that houses would not be built in Alsager without first addressing vital infrastructure problems. The Portfolio Holder for Housing and Planning replied that the Council recognised the importance of the timely delivery of infrastructure to support regeneration and development and had prepared an Infrastructure Delivery Plan which identified the infrastructure that was needed to enable delivery of the development proposed in the Local Plan Strategy. This included projects in relation to highway improvements, education, health, open spaces and community facilities. The Council had also undertaken highway modelling work, including for Alsager, to understand the likely impact of development and the mitigation required to enable development to proceed.
Maeve Kelly commented that the correspondence for the children's centres consultation from February which had been uploaded onto the main consultation page did not seem to include MP Fiona Bruce's letter to the consultation process. She asked why the letter had not been included. The Portfolio Holder for Children and Families replied that the letter from Fiona Bruce MP had predated the opening of the consultation and had been in response to a letter sent to local MPs on 23rd November 2015 making them aware of the upcoming consultation. All correspondence received during the consultation period regarding children’s centres had been included in the Council’s considerations.
Carol Bulman asked for a progress report on the siting of a freight terminal in Middlewich and details of the impact of the plans on the existing route of the bypass. The Deputy Leader and Portfolio Holder for Highways and Infrastructure replied that the Council was encouraging Network Rail to consider the impact on the existing Basford Hall Sidings of the delivery and the development around the proposed HS2 Hub Station at Crewe. This included the potential for the relocation of some of these facilities. However, at the moment there were no definitive options developed, nor plans committed.The Strategic Case for the By-Pass had been developed and was detailed in the Cabinet report on the agenda. This included an objective for the By-Pass to facilitate and support such railway development plus other types of railway operations that the locality may attract associated with HS2.
John Allen spoke against the proposed Transatlantic Trade and Investment Partnership. The Portfolio Holder for Finance and Assets replied that this would be considered later in the meeting. He added that he had received a letter on behalf of Global Justice Macclesfield and 38 Degrees on the matter which had been copied to all members of the Cabinet.
Patrick Darlington, referring to a later item on the agenda, urged the Council to adopt ethical investment guidelines.
At the conclusion of public questions, the Chairman thanked the speakers for attending and taking part in the meeting.