1172 Goostrey Parish Council The Village Hall Goostrey Cheshire CW4 8PE MINUTES OF THE MEETING OF THE PARISH COUNCIL HELD ON TUESDAY 28th JULY 2020 at 7.30pm by VIDEO CONFERENCE Present: Cllrs Morris (KM)(Chairman), Rathbone (TR)(Vice-Chairman), Beckham (NB), O’Donoghue (IO’D), Roberts (DR) and Sulej (JS) In attendance: Sharon Jones, Clerk to the Council, Cllr A Kolker, CEC and two members of the public 07.20.1. Declaration of Interests: There were no Declarations of Interests made. 2. Apologies for absence: Apologies for unavoidable absence were received from Cllrs Lord, Morgan, Ross and Williams. 3. Minutes: To approve and sign the Minutes of the meeting on 23rd June 2020. Motion 1 - Resolved: The Parish Council accepts the minutes of the Parish Council Meeting on 23rd June 2020 as a true record of the meeting. 4. Cheshire East Council Matters: To receive a report on Cheshire East Council Matters. To deal with any questions by Members relating to the report and any questions by Members notified in advance to the Chairman and the CE Councillor. Cllr Kolker reported back on the following issues: National Speed Limit on New Platt Lane, Goostrey Lane and Blackden Lane – Cllr Kolker commented that New Platt Lane from the A50 to the 30mph limit is the responsibility of Cheshire West and Chester Highways. He observed that it would be difficult to drive at 60mph on Blackden Lane because of the bends and state of the road. Which means that Goostrey Lane is the only road on which the speed limit needs investigation. Cllr Kolker said that the same issue occurred on Northwich Road in Cranage, and he was told by Highways that the speed limit could not be changed unless there was anything in the Cheshire East Highways Speed Management Strategy which would support a change to the speed limit. He suggested that the Parish Council looks at the Strategy Document to see if an argument can be made to reduce the speed limit between the A50 and the 30mph limit on Goostrey Lane. IO’D – Asked if there was a strategy for speed limits how did the 30mph on the A535 at Twemlow receive approval. AK responded that the 30mph limit at that location was put in place before speed management strategy was implemented. The reduction in the speed limit in Twemlow was is a mistake and one of the reasons the strategy was put in place. He went on to say that the 30mph limit is more dangerous because it frustrates drivers as the speed limit is too low. There are some other anomalies in CEC, implemented when Parishes could dictate the speed limits before the Strategy was implemented. Council Tax Increase – Cllr Kolker indicated that it was likely that council tax would increase next year, although his personal opinion was that it is too high already. He advised that the decision to set the new council tax would not be made until February 2021, and consultations on the budget will start from September 2020 onwards, which is the Council’s opportunity to make comments on the proposed rate. Waste Site on Bridge Lane – CEC Planning is still waiting for a definitive response from the Environment Agency, and until the response is received the application cannot be heard at the Strategic Planning Board. Cllrs Kolker and Gilbert will attend the Strategic Planning Board and will report that they are not impressed with CEC’s lack of action regarding the breaches of planning and the stop order at the site. 1173 KM commented that it was difficult to understand what the Environment Agency are waiting for as it is months since the application was submitted. If the operation of the site reaches 7 years will they automatically get permission? Cllr Kolker commented that CEC Planning does not want to leave room for appeals and if the main consultee does not respond this makes it hard to proceed. He also said that if the application is refused, a changed application could be submitted, and the process would start all over again. TR suggested that the Parish Council asks the Environment Agency directly why they have not responded to the Application. KM suggested that the Parish Council wait for the outcome of the Strategic Planning Board meeting and decide if the Parish Council should write a letter of complaint to the Environment Agency for their lack of response. Re-opening of Leisure Facilities – Cllr Kolker reported that in Cheshire East, most of the Leisure Centres opened on 25th July, and the remaining centres will open on 1st August. Swimming pools will re-open on 1st September. 5. Committee Matters: To receive reports from the Parish Council Committees (all minutes are available at http://goostrey.info under the Parish Council Documents menu item. i. Finance Committee Meeting -7th July 2020 – Cllr Sulej, Vice Chairman of the Finance Committee reported that there had been no issues raised by the Internal Auditor. He went on to propose the following motions. o Motion 2 - Resolved: The Parish Council accepts the Unaudited Accounts for the period from 1st April to 30th June 2020. o Motion 3 - Resolved: The Parish Council accepts the Budget vs Actuals report for the period from 1st April to 30th June 2020. o Motion 4 - Resolved: The Parish Council accepts the minutes of the Finance Committee Meeting on 7th July 2020,and all the resolutions therein. ii. VHMC Meeting – 8th July 2020 – Cllr Beckham summarised the minutes and proposed the following motions. o Motion 5 - Resolved: The Parish Council accepts the minutes of the VHMC Meeting on 8th July 2020,and all the resolutions therein. o Motion - Resolved: The Parish Council resolves to accept the recommendation of the Village Hall Management Committee to start consulting with hirers regarding the re-opening of the Village Hall and to keep the date of re-opening under review until such time as the VHMC make a recommendation to the Parish Council to re- open the Village Hall. o Motion - Resolved: The Parish Council resolves to allow the School to use the Hall (as previously outlined) until the beginning of October Half Term Holiday, with the exception that it can be used by the Parish Council subject to 1 weeks’ notice, during the hours laid out in the Joint Use Agreement. iii. Amenities Committee Meeting – 14th July 2020- Minutes o Motion 6 - Resolved: The Parish Council accepts the minutes of the Amenities Committee Meeting on 14th July 2020,and all the resolutions therein. 6. Planning Matters: The following applications were considered by the council: • 20/3091C - NEW FARM, CHELFORD ROAD - Extend existing annexe into existing garage. Comments due by 19th August 2020. Resolved: The Parish Council resolved to make no comments unless Jodrell Bank Observatory (JBO) objects in which case the Parish Council would support JBO. • 20/2960T - 14, WOOD LANE - Tree works to remove Oak tree & replace with Beech, crown lift two Oak trees to a maximum of 5m and crown thin Silver Birch Trees by 20%. No date 1174 for comments. Resolved: The Parish Council resolved to make no comments however, the Parish Council will support the views of the CEC arboriculturist. 7. Financial Payments: To approve payments in Schedule 07/20. Includes: Salaries & expenses. Motion 7 - Resolved: The Parish Council approves the payments listed on Schedule 07/20. Motion 8 – Resolved: The Parish Council approves the payments listed in Appendix 07/20. Any further payments will be reviewed by the Finance Committee and approved at the Parish Council Meeting in September 2020. 8. Clerk’s Report – including Actions from the Last Meeting and Correspondence received See Appendix 07/20 item 07.20.08 Clerk’s Report 9. Highways & Speedwatch – Cllr Rathbone drew councillors’ attention to the SpeedWatch report and observed that the speeds were reducing to pre-lockdown level. He also reported that the PCSO will be carrying out TRUECAM sessions near Station Bridge. 10. Police Matters: Cllr Rathbone reported that he would be attending the Town and Parish Council Liaison Meeting on 30th July 2020. 11. Audit 2019-20 - The Clerk presented the following documents to the Parish Council for approval (these papers are published at https://goostrey.info and on the public notice boards) i. Internal Audit Report 2019-20 (AGAR page 3) ii. Annual Governance Statement 2019-20 (AGAR page 4) iii. Statement of Accounts 2019-20 ( AGAR page 5) Motion 9 - Resolved: The Parish Council accepts the Internal Audit Report for 2019-20 Motion 10 - Resolved: The Parish Council approves the Annual Governance Statement 2019-20 Motion 11 - Resolved: The Parish Council approves the Statement of Accounts 2019-20 Actions: Clerk to send the AGAR and all required documentation to the External Auditor before the end of August 2020. Clerk to put up the notice for the excise of electors’ rights once the AGAR is submitted. 12. Annual Plan – Update on Youth Opportunities initiative. Cllrs Roberts and Sulej presented an interim report on the status of their investigations into the possibility of creating a Youth Council for Goostrey. The final report will be presented to the council with the Annual Plan. See the report in Appendix 07/20. 13. Local Council Awards Scheme – Quality Award: i. To consider adopting the updated policies listed in Appendix 07/20. o Motion 12- Resolved: The Parish Council agrees to adopt the policies listed in Appendix 07/20. ii. To agree the list of councillors to review the policies listed in Appendix 07/20, to be presented at the September meeting. o Motion 13 – Resolved: The Parish Council agreed the list of reviewers and policies to be reviewed and to be presented at the September Parish Council Meeting.