CHOLMONDELEY & CHORLEY NEIGHBOURHOOD PLAN STEERING GROUP
MINUTES OF A MEETING HELD ON 15 OCTOBER 2019 AT
AT SCHOOL FARM, CHOLMONDELEY
| PRESENT: | Andy Latham | Chairman |
| Parish Councillors | Councillor C Farquharson Councillor A D Fennell Councillor C Hopley | Councillor C Hopley Councillor R Keys Councillor P Probin |
| Non-Parish Councillors | Andy Champion James Hall Matthew Robinson Stacey Rutter |
15 DECLARATIONS OF INTEREST (PARISH COUNCILLORS) AND
CONFLICTS OF INTEREST (NON-PARISH COUNCILLORS)
Members were reminded that as the Minutes of the Steering Group meetings were stand-alone documents, it was important that declarations, and conflicts of interest, were declared at each meeting and recorded so that members of the public could be assured that there were no undeclared interests at any meeting.
Parish Councillors were asked to make any declarations of interest (in accordance with the Parish Council’s Code of Conduct) and non-Parish Councillors were asked to declare any potential conflict of interest owing to a connection with the business of the Steering Group or any item on the agenda.
Councillors C Hopley, R Keys, S Langton and P Probin each declared an interest on the basis that they were tenants of the Cholmondeley Estate.
Mr J Hall declared an interest in the proceedings on the basis that he was an employee of the Cholmondeley Estate.
Mr M Robinson declared an interest in the proceedings on the basis that he was a representative of the Cholmondeley Estate.
Mr A Champion and Mr A Latham each declared an interest in the proceedings on the basis that they were tenants of the Cholmondeley Estate.
No other declarations were made.
16 MINUTES OF THE MEETING HELD ON 25 JUNE 2019
16.1 Approval of the Minutes
RESOLVED: That the Minutes of the meeting held on 25 June 2019 be approved as a correct record.
16.2 Matters Arising
There were no matters arising from the minutes.
17 CONSULATION EVENT HELD ON 10 SEPTEMBER 2019 IN CHOLMONDELEY CASTLE TEA-ROOMS
Members reported on the feedback from the consultation event held on 10 September 2019 and considered Stacey Rutter’s detailed reported.
There had been approximately 60 persons present, comprising 52 visitors and Neighbourhood Plan Steering Group Members. Responses were given as follows:
General Feedback:
- Local jobs for local people.
- Public transport.
- Some housing is required but this must not be high-end accommodation which would preclude providing affordable housing for those facing retirement and would not encourage younger people to remain or move to the area.
- Traffic increase is significant, and lanes are too dangerous for pedestrians.
- Safe cycling and walking routes required.
- The removal of the weight limit on the bridge at Wrenbury has had the consequence of local roads becoming more dangerous as a result of the diversion of heavy commercial vehicles. Warning signs required.
- If the Neighbourhood Plan is not able to include references to density of traffic and the management and control of traffic, this must be clearly identified within the documentation.
- Coronation Cottages (opposite Coronation Hall in Bickley) was suggested as a good model for potential focused development. A small number (8-12) of one-bedroom/two-bedroom single-storey dwellings could be built with priority being given to letting to residents or former residents at an affordable rent. These could be supplemented by a small development of 2/3 bedroomed houses (fewer than 15 dwellings) with parking spaces; the houses being capable of being offered for private sale, but not ‘buy to let’.
- A ‘thoughtful’ contained development would not adversely impact the existing community and if controlled, would fulfil residents’ requirements as stated earlier.
- There is little prospect of developing many community services; however, a community bus to assist older residents to access Whitchurch twice a week, would be an advantage.
- A modest development could be considered on the tennis court/bowling ground (?) but that is unlikely to be economic or sustainable.
- The two parishes of Cholmondeley & Chorley suffer from lack of a central facility such as a community/village hall.
Question 2
What do you dislike about Cholmondely & Chorley Parish as it is today?
- Poor Broadband and mobile phone speed.
- Great place to live but more housing required.
- Weight limit required to be reinstated on Wrenbury bridge.
- Speeding traffic – speed signs required.
- Heavy commercial vehicles travel too fast on the lanes.
- More housing will have the consequence of additional vehicles on the lanes which in turn would make it unsafe for pedestrians and cyclists.
Question 3
What type of place would you like Cholmondeley & Chorley to be by 2030
- Urgently need fibre broadband.
- Parish Council should support local clubs; for example, the bowing and tennis clubs.
- Regular bus service required, even if only one per week to Whitchurch, Nantwich and Chester.
Question 4
On a scale of 1-10 how important are the following issues to you?
- Encourage young people to continue to live or move to the area.
- Were unaware of the community bus, but this is a vital need with an ageing population.
- Need more community events.
- People should respect the ‘bungees’ (?) on Beeston Drive as they are in place to enable the safe movement of a large number of animals.
- More community spirit to be fostered.
Question 5
Any other comments
- Speed limit required on the Cholmondeley to Wrenbury Road to try to avoid cars and tractors speeding, which causes damage to verges.
- Generally reduce speed of traffic and enforce safety around the parish and introduce traffic-calming where appropriate.
- Street lighting required at Croxton Green.
- Bickerton Road – speed of vehicles is dangerous when school buses are collecting school children (matter for Cheshire East Highways).
- Tractors too large for some roads, especially those around Croxton Green.
- Tea rooms to be available in the evening for local residents for such events as Tapas or BBQ night.
- Cycle routes required for electric bikes.
- More respect required for the farming community.
- Reduce speeds and enforce safety around Cholmondeley.
- Re-introduce the Camerata and use Cholmondeley Park for more events
- Fewer new-build houses.
- A local swimming pool with a slide.
- Set up Community Housing Trust
- A park for children. The existing play facilities in Cholmondeley Park are below standard.
- Cholmondeley cross-roads – new signage required.
- Winter-gritting required.
- Coronation Hall requires a ‘facelift’.
18 NEXT STEPS
The Steering Group considered the next steps in the process, the first of which was to produce a Vision and Objectives taking into account the provisions in the Cheshire East Council Local Plan.
Members agreed the following:
- Produce a more detailed questionnaire to accompany the Vision and Objectives document.
- Discuss at another open forum. It was important to talk to people direct rather than continue issuing documents.
- Another open session should be held in three-six months to allow feedback to those who had completed the questionnaire and attended the September event and to keep the momentum of engagement with the community.
- A Village Hall was a key requirement to the community and the Steering Group would need to consider what would be the most appropriate and versatile model so that it could be used for a variety of occasions.
The Government was currently making funds available to build Village Halls specifically for rural areas. - It was acknowledged that traffic-calming measures could not be included in Neighbourhood Plans.
- Consider preparing a design policy.
- Parish Councillors to visit BeWILDwood to establish its benefit to the area.
The following sub-groups were set up to consider specific aspects of the plan and report back to the next meeting:
| Village Hall Housing | Roger Keys James Hall Tony Fennell Matthew Robinson Andy Latham |
| Nature Walking Cycle trails History Job opportunities Economy of the area | Sarah Langton Stacey Rutter Andy Champion |
19 GRANT FUNDING FROM LOCALITY UK
The Steering Group was asked to consider if application should be made to Locality UK for a grant.
RESOLVED: That there was no requirement to apply for a grant from Locality UK at this stage in the process.
20 DATE OF NEXT MEETING
10 December 2019 – 7.30 pm