Issue - meetings

Members are asked to endorse the attached updated Project Plan.

It is proposed that the Stage 2 consultation runs for a period of 5-weeks from 30^th November 2009 to 8^th January 2010. Representations received would then be reported to the Governance and Constitution Committee on 28^th January 2010, with the final decision being taken at the next scheduled meeting of full Council on 25^th February 2010.

The Project Plan submitted to the Sub Committee for consideration assumed that Stage 2 consultation would run between 30 November 2009 to 8 January 2010; with responses reported to Governance and Constitution Committee on 28 January 2010, its recommendations being considered by Council on 25 February 2010. 

This timeline currently fell outside the Boundary Committee’s next public consultation period in respect of the Cheshire East Electoral Review (which was due to end on 31 January 2010), and Members were advised that a special meeting of Council could be required before the end of January to agree the authority’s response to the Boundary Committee.  In this case, the special Council meeting could also be used to consider the outcome of the Crewe Community Governance Review.  Therefore it was possible that meetings of the Sub Committee, Governance and Constitution and full Council would need to be held in the week commencing 25 January 2010. 

At this point in the meeting, a Member referred to a telephone canvass which had been undertaken by a third party during Stage 1 Consultation.  He suggested that Cheshire East Council should carry out a similar survey as part of Stage 2 but this was not deemed appropriate at this stage in the process.  However, in response to questions raised, it was confirmed that there would be no objection to a third party commissioning a survey, provided the responses obtained could be submitted to the Council for consideration within the agreed timeframe for the review.               

The Sub Committee was invited to note the changes proposed which were set out in the revised project plan.

RESOLVED:  That the revised project plan be noted.