CHOLMONDELEY & CHORLEY NEIGHBOURHOOD PLAN STEERING GROUP
INAUGURAL MEETING: 23 OCTOBER 2018
AT CORONATION HALL, BICKLEY
| PRESENT: | ||
| Parish Councillors | Councillor A D Fennell Councillor P Probin | Councillor C Hopley Councillor S Langton |
| Non-Parish Councillors | Andy Champion James Hall Claire Farquharson Matthew Robinson | |
| APOLOGIES: | Stacey Rutter |
1 ELECTION OF CHAIRMAN OF THE STEERING GROUP
The Steering Group was invited to elect a Chairman to serve until the next Annual Meeting of the Parish Council.
In accordance with the Terms of Reference, the Chairman need not be a Members of the Parish Council.
RESOLVED:
(a) That Councillor Tony Fennell be elected Chairman for this meeting; and
(b) That a substantive Chairman be elected at the next meeting.
2 DECLARATIONS OF INTEREST (PARISH COUNCILLORS)
[STANDING ITEM FOR EACH AGENDA]
Parish Councillors were invited to make any declarations of interest.
Councillors C Hopley, S Langton and P Probin each declared a disclosable pecuniary interest in the proceedings on the basis that they were tenants of the Cholmondeley Estate.
3 CONFLICTS OF INTEREST (NON-PARISH COUNCILLORS)
[STANDING ITEM FOR EACH AGENDA]
Non-parish councillors were invited to declare any potential conflict of interest in connection with the business of the Steering Group itself and in respect of any item on the agenda.
James Hall declared an interest on the basis that he was a tenant of the Cholmondeley Estate and an employee.
Matthew Robinson declared an interest on the basis that he was a representative of the Cholmondeley Estate.
Andy Champion declared an interest on the basis that he was a tenant of the Cholmondeley Estate.
4 STEERING GROUP MEMBERS
Membership of the Steering Group was confirmed as follows:
| Parish Councillors: | Tony Fennell Chris Hopley Sarah Langton Philip Probin |
| Non-parish councillors: | Andy Champion Claire Farquhason James Hall Andy Latham Matthew Robinson Stacey Rutter |
5 TERMS OF REFERENCE
The Group received a copy of the Terms of Reference for the Steering Group. These had been approved by the Parish Council at its September 2018 meeting.
Members noted that a quorum for each meeting was two Parish Councillors; without this, the meeting could not proceed.
6 APPOINTEMENT OF SECRETARY
The Steering Group was invited to appoint a Member as minute-taker. This could rotate amongst all Members of the Steering Group or one Member could take on the responsibility for a year, or for the life of the Group.
The Secretary would be responsible for preparing agendas, issuing them to members and producing minutes which would need to be sent to the Parish Council for formal receipt at the next available Parish Council meeting.
Members were asked to note that whilst Steering Group meetings were less formal than Parish Council meetings, it was important to record the surnames of anyone who was referenced in the minutes; for example, the planning consultant who would be appointed.
RESOLVED: That Andy Champion be thanked for his offer to be appointed as Secretary to the Neighbourhood Plan Steering Group; the offer was accepted by the Group.
7 REGULATIONS/GUIDANCE
A copy of the Neighbourhood Planning (General) Regulations 2012, together with guidance from the Local Government Association was submitted for information.
8 PROFESSIONAL SUPPORT
At its November meeting, the Parish Council would be invited to consider the appointment of a planning consultant. As Cheshire Community Action (CCA) had already offered advice to Members, this would be one of the quotations submitted for consideration.
The Clerk was asked to seek a quotation for the hourly rate only, rather than for full support. Members were of the view that 16 hours of work was required, and the scope of the work which was likely to be offered by CCA would probably be in excess of this and not necessary. At some future date, the Steering Group could consider if full support was required.
9 IDENTIFYING THE AREA OF THE PLAN
The first key task of the Steering Group would be to identify the proposed Neighbourhood Plan area. Formal application would be made to Cheshire East Council by providing (a) a map of the area proposed; (b) a description of the area; and (c) reasons why the area was considered appropriate for a Neighbourhood Plan.
When this had been submitted, the Borough Council would publicise it on its website for consultation purposes prior to giving approval to proceed.
RESOLVED:
(a) That the Neighbourhood Plan area comprise the two parishes of Cholmondeley and Chorley; and
(b) That the Clerk and Matthew Robinson liaise on preparation of the application form.
10 PROJECT PLAN
The Steering Group might wish to prepare a project plan/timeline for the work which would take into account the various statutory consultation/publicity periods. Mr Robinson advised that the Steering Group should aim to complete the Plan within 18 months.
11 FINANCE
Budget responsibility lay with the Parish Council and budget requirements for 2019-2020 would be considered by the Parish Council at its November meeting. In due course, the Parish Council would also submit a grant application to Groundwork UK to fund part of the Neighbourhood Plan process if necessary.
12 SUPPORT FROM CHESHIRE EAST COUNCIL
Tom Evans (Neighbourhood Plan Manager – Cheshire East Council) could be asked for advice as and when appropriate.
Members agreed that it was important to keep him apprised of progress.
13 FREQUENCY OF MEETINGS/DATE OF NEXT MEETING
The Steering Group was invited to consider scheduling regular meetings.
RESOLVED:
(a) That meetings be held on a monthly basis;
(b) That the next meeting be held on Thursday, 22 November 2018 at 7.30 pm in the Board Room, School Farm, Cholmondeley (by kind permission of Tony Fennell);
(c) That the Clerk forward a template of the agenda to Andy Champion.