CHOLMONDELEY & CHORLEY NEIGHBOURHOOD PLAN STEERING GROUP
MINUTES OF A MEETING HELD ON 10 DECEMBER 2018 AT
AT SCHOOL FARM, CHOLMONDELEY
| PRESENT: | Andy Latham | Chairman |
| Parish Councillors | Councillor A D Fennell Councillor S Langton | Councillor C Hopley |
| Non-Parish Councillors | Andy Champion James Hall Claire Farquharson Stacey Rutter | |
| APOLOGIES: | Councillor P Probin Mr M Robinson |
14 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 Member of the Parish Council.
Councillor Tony Fennell had chaired the inaugural meeting but did not wish to continue in this role.
RESOLVED: That Mr A Latham be elected Chairman of the Neighbourhood Plan Steering Group to serve until the next Annual Meeting of the Parish Council.
15 DECLARATIONS OF INTEREST (PARISH COUNCILLORS)
Parish Councillors were invited to make any declarations of interest.
Councillors C Hopley and S Langton each declared a disclosable pecuniary interest in the proceedings on the basis that they were tenants of the Cholmondeley Estate.
16 CONFLICTS OF INTEREST (NON-PARISH COUNCILLORS)
Non-parish councillors were invited to declare any potential conflict of interest which they may have in connection with the business of the Steering Group itself and in respect of any item on the agenda.
Mr J Hall declared an interest in the proceedings on the basis that he was an employee of the Cholmondeley Estate.
Mr A Champion declared an interest in the proceedings on the basis that he was a tenant of the Cholmondeley Estate.
In response to a question about the need to make declarations at each meeting, the Clerk advised that minutes were ‘stand-alone’ and members of the public would need to be assured that at each meeting, Members were making appropriate declarations, notwithstanding that the declarations had been made at the inaugural meeting.
17 MINUTES OF THE INAUGURAL MEETING HELD ON 23 OCTOBER 2018
RESOLVED: That the Minutes of the Inaugural meeting held on 23 October 2018 be approved as a correct record.
18 APPLICATION FOR APPROVAL OF THE NEIGHBOURHOOD PLAN AREA
The Clerk had issued the partially-completed application form to Members on 24 October 2018 with a request that the ‘blanks’ be completed by Members.
Although the Clerk was under the impression that she had not received any information, Members reported that Matthew Robinson had forwarded the completed application form and a map using the new ‘cholmondeley-chorley’ e-mail addresses for parish councillors and the Clerk.
The Clerk undertook to re-check her e-mails and reported that the Parish Council had formally approved the Neighbourhood Plan area at its meeting on 20 November 2018.
19 PLANNING CONSULTANT
It was reported that at its meeting held on 20 November 2018, the Parish Council appointed Cheshire Community Action as the planning consultant for the Neighbourhood Plan process.
20 NEIGHBOURHOOD PLAN PROCEDURES
Members received a list of matters which Members of the Steering Group would need to take into consideration at each meeting.
A copy of the Terms of Reference had previously been submitted to the Group. It was important for Members to retain a copy of this document and use it for reference at each meeting as it set out the powers of the Group and the procedures which must be followed. For ease of reference, a further copy was provided.
21 OTHER RELEVANT MATTERS
Members of the Group were asked to note that agendas must not include an item ‘Any Other Business’ (AOB). All business must be specified on the agenda so that members of the public could see what was to be discussed by the Steering Group. By including an ‘AOB’ item, this was, effectively, concealing the business to be considered. However, as this was the first meeting since the inaugural meeting, and no Member had suggested any items for discussion, the Clerk had added this item to enable Members to consider relevant matters or suggest items for future agendas.
Items for the agenda for the next meeting:
- Consider contents and format of questionnaire to consult residents on their vision for the parish.
- Method of distribution of the questionnaire. It was suggested that paper copy should be the initial method of distribution, and electronic means thereafter for other consultations.
- The questionnaire to include appropriate reference to the General Data Protection Regulation as enshrined in the Data Protection Act 2018.
- Consider policies relating to infra-structure (both hard and social); national heritage assets; future housing; employment.
- Matthew Robinson to be asked to suggest specific items for the agenda.
- Invite Lucy Hughes (Cheshire Community Action) to attend the next meeting.
22 DATE OF NEXT MEETING
5 February 2019 – Board Room, School Farm – 7.30 pm.