Agenda and minutes

To provide an opportunity for Members and Officers to declare any personal and/or prejudicial interests in any item on the agenda

None

A total period of 15 minutes is allocated for members of the public to make a statement(s) on any matter that falls within the remit of the Committee.

Individual members of the public may speak for up to 5 minutes, but the Chairman will decide how the period of time allocated for public speaking will be apportioned, where there are a number of speakers

None

RESOLVED

That the minutes of the meeting held on 25 November 2009 be approved as a correct record and signed by the Chairman.

To receive a presentation from Economic Consultants SQW, and to consider a report of the Head of Regeneration.

The Committee gave consideration to the progress made by economic consultant SQW in the development of a vision and high level master plan for Crewe. The key findings and strategic priorities were also highlighted to Members.

Mr S Pringle gave a presentation outlining the visioning process including purposes, processes and the rapidly changing context, the key research findings, the strategic framework and some reality checks.

Members raised concerns regarding where the capability and funding would come from to drive this scheme forward. The Committee acknowledged that there was no straightforward solution to developing Crewe and agreed that one of the main issues would be to address the image of Crewe.

RESOLVED

That the presentation and report be noted.

To consider a report of the Head of Regeneration.

Consideration was given to a report outlining the background and current position on the proposed Macclesfield Developments, namely Macclesfield Town Centre and the South Macclesfield Development Area (SDMA) and the next steps in developing a coherent delivery plan for Macclesfield over the next 5-10 years.

• Members commented on the following issues:
• That timescales were tight and that strong clear communication between stakeholders was required.
• Macclesfield Town Football club was interested in expanding and possibly relocating to south Macclesfield. However the options for this site would need to be investigated.
• Transport links and infrastructure would need to be given consideration as a matter of urgency

RESOLVED

That the Committee notes:

·        the development of a delivery plan for Macclesfield that provides a more robust, cohesive for the town over the next 5-10 years.

·        the Council’s commitment to work with our development partner Wilson Bowden Developments, in reviewing the options for delivery of a mixed use town centre development scheme in Macclesfield within the parameters of our existing Development Agreement, which includes stakeholder engagement and public consultation.

·        the budget of £150K earmarked for the Project for 2009/2011 in order to procure:

i)                    external consultancy capacity and expertise to support the development of this delivery plan.

ii)                  commercial development advice for the SMDA

To consider a report of the Head of Regeneration

The Committee gave consideration to the proposed process for delivering the Local Transport Plan (LTP) in conjunction with the Sustainable Community Strategy (SCS) and the Local Development Framework. It also highlighted the draft engagement strategy prepared to support the LTP elements.

The Committee noted the issues outlined in sections 11.5 and 11.6 of the report, which would need to be resolved by Members in order to develop a realistic, high quality strategy for LTP3 to cover the next 15 years.

Members made the following comments:

• Due to funding issues, resources would need to be concentrated to gain the maximum impact.
• The next few months would be centred on deciding the priority and packages to be delivered.
• Item 2 of Annex E should be amended to read ‘Public and Community Transport’
• The LTP3 should take into consideration rural areas and not just be based on densely populated areas.
• Rural areas have been let down in the past and should be fully consulted on any proposals.
• Transport links for East to West of the Borough were poor in comparison to links from North to South.
• That the outcomes and costs of the LTP2 schemes should be included in the public consultation material and events for the LTP3.

With regard to the long term strategy, it was agreed that the strategic approach for integrated transport, maintenance and major schemes was of significant importance and should therefore be brought back to the Committee for detailed consideration.

With regard to the Ward Councillor Priority schemes for 2010, it was agreed that the full list should be brought to the Committee for consideration as the cold weather had not only had an impact on the budget allocation but had caused some roads to deteriorate further.

RESOLVED

That subject to the comments highlighted above, the report be noted.

(Councillor Fletcher arrived at the meeting during consideration of the above item)

(Councillors Bebbington and Jones left the meeting during consideration of the above item)

To receive a presentation by the Head of Policy and Performance.

This item was deferred until the next meeting of the Committee

To give consideration to the work programme

Consideration was given to the work programme. It was agreed that the following issues would be considered at a future meeting of the Committee:

• Strategic Highways – update report.
• Planning Enforcement - background information and problems currently faced by the service.
• Town Centre Redevelopment- towns other than Macclesfield and Crewe.

It was also agreed that the membership of the recycling harmonisation task group would be agreed at the next meeting of the Committee.

RESOLVED

That the work programme be approved as a correct record subject to the comments highlighted above.

To give consideration to the extracts of the forward plan with fall within the remit of the Committee

The Committee gave consideration to the extracts of the forward plan, which fell within the remit of the Committee.

RESOLVED

That the extracts be noted