Agenda and minutes

Apologies were received from Councillors L Anderson, D Brown, R Chadwick, C Chapman (am only), P Coan (am only), A Coiley, A Critchley (am only), B Drake,  M Edwards (am only), A Farrall (am only), S Holland (am only), C Naismith (am only), B Posnett (am only), H Seddon (am only), L Smith (am only), M Warren (am only) and H Whitaker.

To provide an opportunity for Members and Officers to declare any disclosable pecuniary and non-pecuniary interests in any item on the agenda.

It was noted that Councillor Rod Fletcher and Councillor Marilyn Houston had a personal interest in the reports on the appointment of Mayor and of Deputy Mayor, respectively.

To elect a Mayor for 2023/24, who will also act as Chair of the Council.

Council was requested to elect a Mayor for the Borough of Cheshire East for 2023-24 Municipal Year, who would also act as Chair of the Council for that period.

It was proposed by Councillor Reg Kain, seconded by Councillor Craig Browne that Councillor Rod Fletcher be elected as Mayor for 2023-24 Municipal Year.

The motion was put to the vote and declared carried.

RESOLVED:

That Councillor Rod Fletcher be elected Mayor of the Borough of Cheshire East for the year 2023-24 Municipal Year and be appointed as Chair of the Council for that period.

The Mayor was invested with his chain of office and then completed his Declaration of Acceptance of Office and took the oath of loyalty.

The Mayor thanked the Council for electing him to this office and informed Members that his daughter, Kate Holl, was to be his Mayoress and that the Rev Robin Fox and Rev Rob Hilton would be his chaplains.

Councillor Fletcher, as Mayor, took the chair.

To appoint a Deputy Mayor for 2023/24, who will also act as Vice-Chair of the Council.

Council was requested to appoint a Deputy Mayor of the Borough of Cheshire East for the year 2023-24 Municipal Year, who would also act as Vice-Chair of the Council for that period.

It was proposed by Councillor Sam Corcoran and seconded by Councillor Arthur Moran that Councillor Marilyn Houston be appointed as Deputy Mayor for 2023-24 Municipal Year.

The motion was put to the vote and declared carried.

RESOLVED:

That Councillor Marilyn Houston be appointed as Deputy Mayor of the Borough of Cheshire East for the year 2023-24 Municipal Year and as Vice-Chair of the Council for that period.

The Deputy Mayor was invested with their chain of office and then completed their Declaration of Acceptance of Office.

The Deputy Mayor thanked the Council for electing them to this office and informed Members that their consort would be Pauline Kowalski.

Councillor Craig Browne paid tribute to the retiring Mayor, Mr David Marren, for the dedicated work that he had undertaken during his term of office.

The Mayor presented Mr Marren with a Past Mayor’s Medal.

Mr Marren then addressed Council, as outgoing Mayor.

The Mayor thanked all those who had attended the Mayor Making Ceremony and stated that the meeting would be adjourned and would be reconvened, following lunch.

(The meeting was adjourned at 12.05 pm and reconvened at 1.30 pm)

Apologies were received Councillor John Place.

To provide an opportunity for Members and Officers to declare any disclosable pecuniary and non-pecuniary interests in any item on the agenda.

No declarations of interest were made.

To approve as a correct record the minutes of the meeting of Council held on 22 February 2023.

RESOLVED:

That the minutes of the meeting held on 22 February 2023 be approved as a correct record.

To elect a Leader of the Council and a Deputy Leader of the Council for the municipal year 2023/24.

Leader of the Council

Nominations were invited for the election of the Leader of the Council.

The following were nominated:

Councillor Sam Corcoran – proposed by Councillor L Crane and seconded by Councillor C Browne

Councillor Janet Clowes –   proposed by Councillor S Gardiner and seconded by Councillor K Parkinson

The nominations were put to the vote.

RESOLVED:

That Councillor Sam Corcoran be appointed as Leader of the Council for the 2023-24 Municipal Year.

Deputy Leader of the Council

Nominations were invited for the election of the Deputy Leader of the Council.

It was proposed by Councillor M Goldsmith and seconded by Councillor S Corcoran that Councillor Craig Browne be appointed as the Deputy Leader of the Council for the 2023-24 Municipal Year.

The motion was put to the vote and declared carried.

RESOLVED:

That Councillor Craig Browne be appointed as Deputy Leader of the Council for the 2023-24 Municipal Year.

The Mayor invited the Leader and Deputy Leader to speak.

The Leader, in summary

1             thanked Members for re-electing him as the Leader of the Council.

2     outlined the objectives of the Council for the next four years which included:

·         lobbying the government to change the funding formula for underfunded schools

·         prioritising early intervention for mental health

·         expanding local provision for cared for children thereby reducing the need for costly out of area private placement

·         the continuation of the Council’s commitment to being Carbon Neutral by 2025 – the Carbon Neutral Action Plan set out the details of how this would be achieved

·         no support for fracking but support for biodiversity with a biodiversity net gain supplementary planning document

·         the need to address the 12-year life expectancy gap between different wards in the Borough – the need for good jobs, decent housing, access to green spaces, reduce smoking, healthy diets, create resilient communities and encourage active lifestyles

·         continuation of the Council Tax Support Scheme for low-income households

·         continuation with the regeneration of Crewe and Macclesfield Town Centres

·         continuation of monitoring of houses of multiple occupation.

The Deputy Leader, in summary:

1     on behalf of the Independent Group congratulated Cllr Fletcher on his appointment as Mayor, and thanked Council for supporting his nomination to be Deputy Leader.

2     reported that the Chief Executive had stated at an induction event that Cheshire was the 17^th most complex Council in the country and the challenges faced were many and diverse.

3             He outlined that to meet these challenges the Council would

·         continue to lobby central government for a fairer funding deal

·         explore what a potential devolution deal might look like

·         challenge that income from business rates goes to central government

·         had already committed £19m over 3 years to improve the condition of roads and footpaths

·         had introduced a new on-line portal so that elected members and the public can see where the Highways Teams were working, and appointed an assurance officer to inspect the work of the principal contractor and help to ensure that value for money was achieved

·         improve  ...  view the full minutes text for item 10.

To determine the political representation on the Council's Committees and to appoint those Committees. 

Consideration was given to a report relating to the political representation on the Council’s Committees.

The recommendation was moved and seconded. 

RESOLVED:

That the committees set out in Appendix A to the report be appointed, with the same functions, roles and responsibilities as are currrently set out in the Constitution; and that the political group and other representation, as set out in Appendix A and the methods, calculations and conventions used in determining this, as outlined in the report be adopted, and the allocation of places to Committees be approved.

To appoint the Chairs and Vice Chairs of the Council’s committees.

Consideration was given to the appointment of Chairs and Vice Chairs of the Council’s committees.

The Appendix to the report set out the nominated persons for Chair and Vice-Chair for each committee.

The appointments for Chairs and Vice-Chairs were moved and seconded and put to the vote and declared carried.

RESOLVED:

That the offices of Chair and Vice-Chair be allocated as detailed in the Appendix to the report.

To consider the recommendations from Corporate Policy Committee.

Consideration was given to the recommendations of the Corporate Policy Committee in respect of the Calendar of Meetings for 2023/24.

The Corporate Policy Committee, at its meeting on 23 March 2023, had considered the draft Calendar of Meetings for 2023/24 and had recommended to Council that the calendar be approved subject to the meeting of Council scheduled for 21 February 2024 be moved to 27 February 2024 to avoid the school half-term break and the General Appeals Sub Committee scheduled for 13 June 2023 be rescheduled to 20 June.

RESOLVED: 

That the draft calendar of meeting for Cheshire East Council for the period May 2023 to October 2024 be approved.

To approve the appointments to the Cheshire Police and Crime Panel and the Cheshire Fire Authority.

Consideration was given to a report inviting Council to make appointments to the Cheshire Fire Authority and the Cheshire Police and Crime Panel.

The nominations for the Cheshire Police and Crime Panel and the Cheshire  Fire Authority were moved and seconded and put to the vote and declared carried.

RESOLVED: That

1          Councillors Steve Edgar, Judy Snowball and Mick Warren be appointed to the Cheshire Police and Crime Panel, with Councillor Stewart Gardiner as named substitute.

2          Councillors Rachel Bailey, John Bird, David Brown, Peter Coan,
Marilyn Houston, Nick Mannion, Rob Moreton, Margaret Simon and Laura Smith  be appointed to the Cheshire Fire Authority.

To approve the appointments to the Adoption Panel and Fostering Panel.

Consideration was given to a report inviting Council to approve a number of appointments to Statutory Panels which did not fall within the definition of “Committee” for the purpose of legislation.

It was moved and seconded that Councillor Brain Puddicombe be appointed to the Adoption Panel and that Councillor Carol Bulman be appointed to the Fostering Panel. 

The motion was put to the vote and was declared carried.

RESOLVED:  That

1          Councillor Brian Puddicombe be appointed to the Adoption Panel; and

2          Councillor Carol Bulman be appointed to the Fostering Panel.

To approve the acceptance of a grant from the Green Heat Network Fund towards the development of a heat network to support the Garden Village at Handforth, and approve the procurement, contracting and award of £680,000 of the Green Heat Network Fund grant for the commercialisation phase of the project.

Consideration was given to a report which sought approval to accept a Green Heat Network Fund grant of £2,604,059 to provide support for the development of a heat network to support the Garden Village at Handforth.

RESOLVED:  That the Council

1          authorise the Section 151 Officer to accept and spend a grant from the Green Heat Network Fund of £2,604,059 towards the development of a heat network to support the Garden Village at Handforth, and the creation or amendment of a supplementary capital estimate as required.

2          approve the procurement, contracting and award of £680,000 of the Green Heat Network Fund for the commercialisation phase of the project.

To note the urgent decision taken by the Chief Executive on behalf of Council.

Council received a schedule of urgent decisions taken by the Chief Executive on behalf of the Council, which were reported for information in accordance with the Council procedure rules.

RESOLVED:

That the schedule of urgent decisions be noted