Issue - meetings

In accordance the Council Procedure Rules, opportunity is provided for Members of the Council to ask the Mayor or the Chair of a Committee any question about a matter which the Council, or the Committee has powers, duties or responsibilities.

At Council meeting, there will be a maximum question time period of 30 minutes. A period of two minutes will be allowed for each Councillor wishing to ask a question.  The Mayor will have the discretion to vary this requirement where they consider it appropriate.

Cllr M Brooks noted that Cheshire East was in the top 10 areas for the number of puppy breeding farms and stated that there were concerns nationally around the practice of some of those establishments. She asked whether the Council was confident that sufficient resources were allocated to ensure that licensing conditions were being robustly monitored and strictly enforced.

In response Cllr D Jefferay, Chair of Environment and Communities Committee, stated that Cllr Brooks was referring to a 2023 report and at that time the Council was reported as having 36 licensed dog breeding businesses. As of today, there were 26 licensed premises. Two larger sites had closed in the past two years, both as the result of business decisions. The Council’s enforcement action was underpinned by the corporate and service specific enforcement policies and the Animal Welfare Licensing Policy.

Cllr R Chadwick asked that given the mobile waste recycling centres serving Bollington, Poynton and Middlewich were currently providing only an emergency service, covering a combined population of around 39,000 residents, could the administration confirm what the long-term plan was for restoring full recycling provisions in those communities, and if they would commit to reinstating permanent, fully functional recycling centres, or should residents now assume that those temporary, arrangements were the new normal under the Council’s financial strategy.

In response Cllr D Jefferay, Chair of Environment and Communities Committee stated that a briefing was being arranged for members of the Environment and Communities Committee regarding the Mobile Household Waste Recycling Centre. The briefing would also be extended to all other Members who expressed an interest in attending.

Cllr S Bennett-Wake stated that residents from Bollington and Macclesfield and Crewe were delighted with the new Sunday bus service enabling them to meet with family and friends. She asked the Chair of Highways and Transport Committee if, with the power and finances that come with devolution, was it envisaged that there would be easier access for residents with disabilities and also could an Under 16 travel card, similar to the IGO card in Greater Manchester, be introduced. She stated that in Macclesfield it cost children more to travel to school than it did for adults who could buy a weekly £12 Silk town bus ticket.

Cllr M Goldsmith, Chair of Highways and Transport Committee, responded by stating that Mayoral combined authorities, otherwise known as strategic authorities, had various powers in relation to local transport, including bus services, fares, and ticketing across their region. Although, the three constituent authorities had agreed to set up a Cheshire and Warrington Combined Authority, it was not anticipated to be established until 2026 and Mayoral Elections planned for 2027. It would be up to the Combined Authority itself to consider future bus services and ticketing as part of a strategic planning process and therefore, the Council was not able to determine at this stage, what future operations or ticketing regimes would be delivered through the combined authority, once established. 

Cllr M Beanland asked if the Council supported  ...  view the full minutes text for item 51