Parish Council Meeting Agenda
Parish Councillors are summoned to
A MEETING OF THE PARISH COUNCIL
| DATE: | TUESDAY 26 NOVEMBER 2019 |
| TIME: | 7:30PM |
| NOTE VENUE: | School Farm, Cholmondeley (Adjacent to the Cholmondeley Bowling Pavilion) |
Signed:  | Date of Issue: 21 November 2019 |
1 APOLOGIES FOR ABSENCE
Apologies for absence should be notified to the Clerk by noon on the day of the meeting, if possible.
2 DECLARATION OF INTERESTS
Members to declare any disclosable pecuniary interest or non-pecuniary interest which they have in any item of business on the agenda, the nature of that interest, and in respect of disclosable interests, to leave the meeting prior to the discussion of that item.
Whilst the Clerk can advise on the Code of Conduct and its interpretation, the decision to declare, or not, is the responsibility of the Parish Councillor, based on the particular circumstances.
3 MINUTES
4.1 To approve the Minutes of the Meeting held on 24 September 2019.
4.2 Matters Arising
To consider any issues not the subject of a separate item on the agenda.
4 PUBLIC QUESTION TIME
Members of the public are able to ask a question or make a statement. Questions or statement must relate to the business of the Parish Council, either generally, or in respect of any item on the agenda.
The Chairman or Clerk will respond to questions, but if the Chairman considers that another councillor might have the information, she will defer to him/her. This slot is for members of the public; councillors should not participate unless invited to do so by the Chairman.
5 SMALL GRANTS POLICY
The Parish Council operates a small grants policy (up to £250). These grants are intended to fund specific projects, or part-fund projects, but are not intended for expenditure which can be regarded as revenue; however, this is not explicitly stated on the form, and the Council is asked to consider adding the following in the section marked ‘What/who is excluded from the grant scheme?’ as one of the reasons for declining an application’.
‘Grants intended to cover revenue expenditure.’
Revenue can be described as expenditure incurred in the ordinary conduct and administration of the business because it is incurred to support operations but does not extend the life of, or improve, an asset.
6 BUDGET 2020-2021
The Parish Council is invited to finalise its budget for 2020-2021. This was discussed at the September 2019 meeting.
The following documents are enclosed.
- Clerk’s Report (This is an excluded document as it deals with the Clerk’s salary, which is a staffing matter and it is not in the public interest for this to be published, other than to indicate the salary agreed.) A public version of this report will be published on the website.
- Receipts and Payments statement for the period 1 April 2019 – 30 September 2019.
- Budget monitoring for the same period.
- Specific section explaining how the budget is prepared. In view of theconfusion which arose during Public Question Time at the July meeting, the Clerk has provided a full explanation of how the revised estimates to 31 March 2020 impact potential spend to the end of the current financial year and also on the budget for the next year.
7 FINANCIAL MATTERS
7.1 AUTHORISATION OF PAYMENTS
| £160.00 | Mrs C M Jones – salary |
| £328.60 | Cheshire Community Action – fee for Neighbourhood Plan support (One day – meeting and event – £315.00 and mileage – 34 x 0.40P = £13.60) |
| £20.00 | Cheshire Community Action – membership fee. This will give the Parish Council a 10% discount on expenditure |
| £49.96 | C Crossley –reimbursement for timber for Neighbourhood Plan public event on 10 September 2019 |
| £tba | Payment for the Operation Shield equipment to be offered to each household |
7.2 INTERNET BANKING
At the previous meeting, the topic of Internet Banking was raised. The Clerk’s report is enclosed. This is not for decision at this stage, as further enquiries need to be made to ensure that there is a clear audit trail for all transactions, and access to the accounts.
8 BOROUGH COUNCILLOR W S DAVIES
Councillor W S Davies to report on Cheshire East Council matters.
9 PLANNING MATTERS
The Parish Council is invited to comment on the following planning application.
| 19/5183N | Old Hall, Cholmondeley Park, Cholmondeley SY14 8HB Free standing timber orangeryDeadline date for observations: 12 December 2019 |
10 NEIGHBOURHOOD PLAN STEERING GROUP
To receive the Minutes of the Neighbourhood Plan Steering Group meeting held on 15 October 2019. The next meeting of the Group is 10 December 2019. (to follow)
11 CHESHIRE EAST COUNCIL CONSULTATIONS
Cheshire East Council is currently running the following consultations and the Parish Council is invited to submit observations on each.
11.1 PRE-BUDGET CONSULTATION
Cheshire East Council is consulting on its budget for 2020-2024. The document is 96 pages long and is not enclosed, but the link to access it is given below. The consultation commenced on 1 November 2019 and concludes on 6 January 2020. Members are, therefore, able to formulate comments at this meeting, or decide at the December meeting.
Pre budget Consultation 2020-24 November 2019 (PDF, 2MB)
Individuals are also able to make their own comments using the on-line survey .
11.2 COMMUNITY GOVERNANCE REVIEW
Cheshire East Council (CEC) is conducting a review of town and parish council governance arrangements across the Cheshire East Borough to ensure that these continue to reflect local identities and facilitate effective and convenient local government.
The Borough Council has undertaken some preliminary analysis of each of the town/parish council wards within the borough. A small number of requests have been received from parish councils asking for their specific governance arrangements to be considered.
Cheshire East Council was created on 1 April 2009 and has yet to carry out a full review of town and parish council governance. It is considered good practice to carry this out every 10-15 years.
It is expected that the review will be concluded well before the May 2023 local elections.
The Parish Council is invited to submit comments by 31 January 2020 and is specifically invited to consider (a) how effective the current governance arrangements are; and (b) are there any changes required, and if so, what changes, and the reasons for those changes.
Once this stage of the review has been completed, CEC will develop draft proposals which will be the subject of a formal consultation at a later date.
A copy of a report submitted to Cheshire East Council’s Governance & Constitution Committee is enclosed and provides background information. The link to the report is given below and individuals are able to submit comments.
Community Governance Review Report to Constitution Committee 20 September 2018 (PDF, 95KB)
11.3 DRAFT ENVIRONMENTAL STRATEGY – 2019-2024
Enclosed is Cheshire East Council’s Draft Environmental Strategy. It sets out the strategic goals and priority actions the Council will take to respond to the global challenge of climate change, and to protect and enhance the local environment.
The Borough Council is now consulting on this strategy, seeking views by 1 December 2019 on how it could be improved and whether the Parish Council could support the wider community to reduce its carbon footprint.
12 REVIEW OF WEBSITE
At the previous meeting, Councillors C Baker and C Nickson offered to review the Parish Council’s website and report to this meeting.
13 NEWSLETTER
The Parish Council is invited to suggest items (and prepare articles if appropriate) for inclusion in the newsletter. This is usually distributed around Christmas.
14 SHARED ITEMS (GUIDE TIME – 10 MINUTES)
Members are invited to share information, or request items to be included on the next agenda. This is also an opportunity for Members to report on attendance at any recent meetings of outside bodies, including Police Cluster meetings.
15 DATE OF NEXT MEETING
28 JANUARY 2020