Proceedings of the Council

MINUTES OF THE ANNUAL GENERAL MEETING OF PRESTBURY PARISH COUNCIL
HELD AT THE COUNCIL CHAMBER, PRESTBURY ON TUESDAY, 13TH JULY 2010 AT 7.30PM

Present: Councillors: R Comber (Chairman), L Burns, A Dicken, D Foden, D Hawkins, J Jackson, C Musgrove, R Parrish, N Ridley, S Turner.
Also present: Councillor T Jackson, Councillor P Findlow

32. Apologies for Absence
Cllr J Davies, M Leather, Cheshire East Councillor Bill Livesley

33. Minutes of the meeting of 8th June
Cllr Musgrove proposed that the minutes of the 8th June be approved
Cllr Dicken seconded the proposal
All were in favour
Resolved: That the minutes of the 8th June 2010 should be approved as an accurate record and signed by the Chairman.

34. Declarations of Interest
Cllr Hawkins declared an interest in the Church as Chairman of the PCC.

Public Participation
See Item 38.

35. Clerks Report
The Clerks Report was noted.
Parrott’s Field was discussed and the Chairman addressed the Council that at the meeting held with the PPAG and Bill Livesley he mentioned that the Parish Council would consider holding a referendum and he would put this to the council. Following discussion Cllr Dicken proposed that this was not appropriate and we should forthwith go ahead with the proposal by CEC
Cllr Musgrove seconded this proposal
Nine out of ten in favour
Resolved: that the Parish Council should move forward with the proposal for Parrott’s Field.
The Clerk reported that she had spoken to Marianne Hodgkinson and she is calculating the costings for the work.
The subject of unlocking and locking of the gate at Parrott’s Field was discussed and it was agreed that the person who locks and unlocks the church would be approached to enquire whether he would consider completing this task on behalf of the Parish Council.
Cllr Burns proposed to amend the above proposal and put a consultation to the village including church plans, PCSO and Parrott’s Field.
No councillor seconded this proposal
The Clerk also reported that a supervisor for the Poynton LAP has now been appointed his name is Wes Hutton and his mobile telephone number is available for all councillors. He is making further investigations into the shredded paper that has been appearing on Macclesfield Road and Castlegate and as all the papers are shredded Macclesfield Express papers they have been asked if they have any explanation. He is also reported that a tree in front of the Bench on Bridge Green will have to be taken down within the next 12 months as it diseased.

36. Accounts for Payment APPENDIX A
Cllr Musgrove proposed that the accounts for July should be sanctioned for payment.
Cllr Jackson seconded the proposal
All were in favour
Resolved: That the Accounts for July should be sanctioned for payment.

37. Planning reports for 2nd, 8th & 23rd APPENDIX B
The Planning reports were noted.

38. To discuss the regeneration of the Village
The Chairman gave a summary of the discussions that have already been completed concerning this matter.
Shaun O’Neil spoke to the Council and brought along Alan White who used to run the Post Office in Broken Cross. He is currently the Post master at Cheadle and would be interested in taking over the Post Office in Prestbury, but he feels it would not be viable because of the rent and rates and really needs to be an add on the a thriving commercial business. There followed a discussion about it was the responsibility of the people of Prestbury to make this viable.
Susan Roebuck from the Legh/Nice felt that we have left it too long now and people have changed their habits.
Yvonne Dodd had contacted the Post Office within a few days of the Post Office closing and they made it very clear that the salary would not cover a minimum wage and it was agreed that a business on its own would not be viable and it would need a really successful retail business to work from.
There followed a discussion and it was confirmed that the core payment from the Post Office no longer stands. It was agreed that none of discussions were promising.
Cllr Burns asked the Principal Authority Councillors whether they knew whether Cheshire East was joining the Local Area Partnership. CE Cllr Findlow gave a summary and he suspects that it might be considered, but has no definite answers at present. He does not envisage a great deal of funding coming from this organisation.
Beyond the Post Office there are six empty shops and Cllr Hawkins made a suggestion that we had events that would bring people into the village.
The cost of rent/business rates was discussed and this was crippling to businesses. The process of getting rates reassessed was particularly difficult and this was a national problem and Cllr Burns agreed to draft a letter to Jamie Macrae, Cabinet Member for Prosperity.
Yvonne Dodd wished to add something more positive and informed the meeting that there was an application for “change of use” for the Old Pharmacy to open as a Chiropractor and he wishes to serve the community and bring employment and it wants to commit to six years; it was felt that this was very encouraging news. Carol Hamilton added that it was not all doom and gloom and a large problem was the Old Chocolate Box and over the years no one has been able to get a dialogue going with the owner and that was the “key”.
It was agreed that the Business Forum were doing a marvellous job to get things moving again.

39. To discuss the possibility of holding a Christmas Event
Cllr Parrish explained that this was an event, building on the Church event that was held last year and it would become a community and regeneration event. Following discussion it was agreed that it should be in the centre of the village with the road closed.
Cllr Parrish proposed that we support the idea for a Christmas Event
Cllr Dicken seconded this proposal
All in favour.
Cllr’s Parrish, Turner and Dicken agreed to work on this idea.

40. To discuss the possibility of funding a PCSO
There was a discussion whether it was felt Police presence was worth £11,700.
Cllr Dicken explained that the feedback was that spending this money at the present time was not acceptable and people felt that they pay for policing and they do not want to pay for it again.
Following a lengthy discussion it was agreed that if there was no other subject to consult the village then a letter would be written in newsletter as why the Parish Council have decided it was not good value to fund a PCSO at present.

41. To receive updates on the implementation of the Plan for Prestbury
Community & Sports facilities – Cllr Comber reported that the Tennis Club had withdrawn their interest and the school have written that they do not want to be involved at this stage.

42. To discuss St. Peter’s Church plans for the church extension and Ford House development
Cllr Hawkins reported that he attended the open meeting the previous Sunday and gave a detailed summary of the day’s events. There were some very positive comments concerning the re-building of Ford House. The Church hoped to submit plans before Christmas.
There followed a discussion concerning the plans. It was agreed that when this planning application is received the full council should consider this application.
Cllr Burns referred to the Plan for Prestbury questionnaire and a quarter of the population did not want any extension to the church and a further poll was taken at the P4P presentation with further different plans and she would urge the council to go to consultation on this subject as so much had changed.
Cllr Burns proposed that the question should go to consultation for views of the community and the Parish Council agrees to the consultation document at the August meeting, to go out after then.
Cllr Turner seconded this proposal
In favour (2) against (5) Abstention (2)

43. Cllr Burns to give an update on Transport and Planning Policy
Due to lack of time Cllr Burns agreed to e-mail her report to all councillors

44. To receive reports concerning Cheshire East Council (CEC) issues including the Local Area Partnership and devolved services
The Clerk reported that she had been informed at the LAP meeting that all Town and Parish Councils will be informed of which Services would be transferred to them prior to December in time for their Precept requests and Devolution of Services would be offered to all Town and Parish Councils over the next three years.
It was also reported that the Boundary Commission review may be put on hold and there has been a suggestion made that Woodford (BAE) became part of Cheshire East.

45. Reports -
Were not discussed due to lack of time

Correspondence
Conservation Officer’s letter concerning the Best Kept Village plaques were discussed and it was agreed that the council would wish to meet with him and discuss this further

Chairman