Full Council
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Macclesfield Town Council Full Council
Macclesfield Town Council Notice of Meeting
19th March 2024
To Chair Cllr Chris Wilcock and Councillors James Barber, Sarah Bennett-Wake, David Edwardes, Emma Gilman, Alift Harewood-Jones, Mike Hutchison, Sandy Livingstone, Ruth Thompson, Mick Warren and Fiona Wilson
You are hereby summoned to attend a meeting of
Macclesfield Town Council’s Full Council meeting to be held at
Macclesfield Town Hall
on
25th March 2024
commencing at 7pm,
for the purpose of transacting the business shown on the attached agenda.
With thanks,
Laura Smith
Town Clerk
Agenda
The agenda of the meeting to be held on the 11th December 2023 at 7pm at Macclesfield Town Hall.
1 Apologies for Absence
To receive apologies and approval.
2 Declarations of Interest
To receive declarations of interests from members relevant to items under discussion at the meeting.
Public Questions
The meeting will be adjourned to invite comments and questions from the public.
The meeting will then be reconvened.
NOTE:
If you would like to speak during public session, please email
clerk@macclesfield-tc.gov.uk by 5pm Thursday 21st March 2024. Every practicable effort will be made to try and arrange your inclusion.
If you would like to submit a written statement, please submit your statement for inclusion and circulation to the committee to clerk@macclesfield-tc.gov.uk by 5pm Thursday 21st March 2024.
.
3 Minutes of the Full Council Meeting held 11th December 2023
Action: To approve the minutes.
4 Matters Arising from the Minutes
Action: To consider any matters arising from the minutes.
ou would like to speak during public session, please email
clerk@macclesfield-tc.gov.uk by 5pm Thursday 21st March 2024. Every practicable effort will be made to try and arrange your inclusion.
If you would like to submit a written statement, please submit your statement for inclusion and circulation to the committee to clerk@macclesfield-tc.gov.uk by 5pm Thursday 21st March 2024.
5 Finance Committee Minutes
5.1 Finance Committee Minutes 26th February 2024
To note the minutes.
5.2 Matters arising from the Minutes
To consider any matters arising from the minutes.
5.3 Spend to Date
Action: To approve the spend to date (Dec 23) of £712,275 as approved for recommendation by the Finance Committee 26th February 2024.
6 Planning Committee
6.1 Planning Committee Minutes 20th December 2023
6.2 Planning Committee Minutes 10th January 2024
6.3 Planning Committee Minutes 31st January 2024
6.4 Planning Committee Minutes 21st February 2024
To note the minutes above
6.5 Matters arising from the Minutes.
To consider any matters arising from the minutes.
7 Services Committee
7.1 Services Committee Minutes 11th March 2024
To note the minutes.
7.2 Matter arising from the Minutes
To consider any matters arising from the minutes.
8 Community Delivery
8.1 Local Police Unit
Chief Inspector to brief the Council.
8.2 CAB
To receive and note the report.
8.3 CCTV
To receive and note the report.
8.4 Silk Museum
To receive and note the report.
9 Governance Review
9.1 Councillors and Officers Intimidation Guidance
Action: To approve the above document.
9.2 Internet, Email and Social Media Policy
Action: to approve the above document.
9.3 Vexatious Communications, Complaints and Behaviour Policy
Action: To approve the above document.
9.4 Allotment Policy
Action: To approve the above document.
9.5 Risk Register
Action: To approve the above document.
9.6 South Park Pavilion Risk Assessment
Action: To approve the above document.
9.7 Investment and Treasury Management Policy
Action: To approve the above document.
10 South Park Pavilion Report for Council
10.1 South Park Pavilion Report, Budget and loan proposal
Action: To approve the report for Council, Budget for South Park Pavilion and the loan proposal within the report.
11 Ward Budget Proposal of Change of Procedure
Action: To consider the change in procedure for the ward budgets.
12 Proposal from Community Transport Working Group
Action: To approve the proposal in the attached report as approved by the Services Committee on 11th March 2024.
13 Date/Time and Place of Next Meeting
The next meeting of the Full Council will be held on 13th May 2024 at the Town Hall.
3. Full Council Minutes 25 03 24
5.1 Finance Committee Mins 26th February 2024
6.1 PC Minutes 20th December 2023
6.2 PC Minutes 10th January 2024
6.3 PC Minutes 31st January 2024
6.4 PC Minutes 21st February 2024
7.1 Services Committee Minutes 11 03 24
8.4 Town Council Grant Reporting – Silk Heritage Trust
9.1 Councillors and Officers Intimidation Guidance
9.2 Internet, Email and Social media policy
9.3 Vexatious Communication, Complaints and Behaviour Policy
9.4 Allotment Policy 9.7 Treasury Management and Investment Strategy
10. South Park Pavilion Report for Council
10. Appendix A Public Consultations
10. South Park Appendix B Budget
Macclesfield Town Council Full Council
Minutes
The minutes of the meeting held on the 25th March 2024 at 7pm at Macclesfield Town Hall.
In Attendance:
- Cllr Chris Wilcock
- Cllr Sandy Livingstone
- Cllr Fiona Wilson
- Cllr David Edwardes
- Cllr Ruth Thompson
- Cllr Sarah- Bennett-Wake
- Cllr Mike Hutchison
- Cllr James Barber
1 Apologies for Absence
Cllr Emma Gilman
Cllr Alift Harewood
2 Declarations of Interest
Cllr Sarah Bennett-Wake declared a non-pecuniary interest in item 8.2 as a – Trustee of the CAB.
Cllr James Barber declared an non-pecuniary interest in item 8.4 as a co-opted Trustee of the Silk Museum.
This isn’t relevant to this meeting as the minutes he is referring to are from 13th March which aren’t listed on this agenda.
Public Questions
The meeting was adjourned to invite comments and questions from the public.
Beverly Dooley wanted to ascertain the costs for South Park pavilion build and what the costs were to cover the build and was there any contingency built in. She referenced the Freedom of Information policy and points 3.1 and 3.2 of the policy there are certain exemptions and limitations which does not mean its exempt and asked who decides what is exempt. She also asked if the loan repayment was year on year. She said she would email the questions to the Clerk for a response.
The meeting was then reconvened.
.
3 Minutes of the Full Council Meeting held 11th December 2023
Resolved: The minutes were approved.
4 Matters Arising from the Minutes
Resolved: There were no matters arising from the minutes.
5 Finance Committee Minutes
5.1 Finance Committee Minutes 26th February 2024
The minutes were noted.
5.2 Matters arising from the Minutes
There were no matters arising.
5.3 Spend to Date
Resolved: The spend to date (Dec 23) of £712,275 was approved for recommendation by the Finance Committee held on 26th February 2024.
6 Planning Committee
6.1 Planning Committee Minutes 20th December 2023
6.2 Planning Committee Minutes 10th January 2024
6.3 Planning Committee Minutes 31st January 2024
6.4 Planning Committee Minutes 21st February 2024
The minutes were noted.
6.5 Matters arising from the Minutes.
Cllr Bennett-Wake asked for a small mistake to be corrected in the minutes on 20th Dec 23, as her declaration of interest should read Children and Families Committee not Trust.
There were no other matters arising.
7 Services Committee
7.1 Services Committee Minutes 11th March 2024
The minutes were noted.
7.2 Matter arising from the Minutes
There were no matters arising.
8 Community Delivery
8.1 Local Police Unit
PC Callum Burness attended the meeting, sending apologies from Inspector Richard Haque.
He gave an overview of Macclesfield:
The top 3 demands in the Macclesfield are:
Violence against persons where there are 55 less incidents than last year.
Theft has reduced by 22 less incidents than last year.
Public disorder where there is a decrease by 25 incidents from last year.
The local police have been working hard to make the public feel safer and there is ‘Safer Streets Policy’ which includes in the night time, a safer bus, which provides a safe space, first aid, defibs etc. It is staffed by police and volunteers from the community.
This is also part of a wider project to ensure woman and girls are safe.
They are also engaging with schools around fostering respect and working with local businesses to ensure their businesses are safe.
The last Community Cohesion group was last held in Jan 24 at Macc Academy, bringing together a diverse community. On March 19th they held a youth event at the Academy.
They also have ongoing operations working with BTB, to tackle networks which are entering Macclesfield, including knifes and county lines.
They are also working on Hibel Rd bridge and its safety, as there have been 20 reports in the last 3 years of incidents, and people putting themselves at risk. There have been meetings with police teams and CEC safer partnership teams to make the bridge safer with regard to suicide attempts.
They have also been looking at issues of fires and squatting in derelict buildings in the town centre including the 3 pigeons. This has been raised with the building controller and CEC and the building is secure at the moment.
Shoplifting is now a national priority, there is a zero-tolerance approach. This year has seen 51 reports in town so the police are working with businesses, offering safety advice and being more visible in the town. Home office shows that 70% of shoplifting is related to drug abuse.
24 people have been charged with shoplifting and the police are working hard to target prolific shoplifters. They have identified 3 shoplifters already and 1 person is subject to the criminal behaviour order (banned from the town centre)
The town has been targeted by criminals from outside of the county with shoplifting. 14 CBOs have been made banning people from the town centre and this has seen a reduction in criminal activity and ASB, this is making the town safer for residents.
There is also a new initiative called Operation Park Safe a scheme where residents can upload videos etc. of parking that is obstructive, and this will be dealt with by CEC traffic police.
Cllr Wilcock said that there is no PCSO in Broken Cross and Upton and has not been one for a while. Please could PC Burness get an update
Cllr David Edwardes asked about parking and if there are 2 wheels on the pavement, so long as wheelchair user can get through was that ok? PC Burness answered that so long as a pram, wheelchair and pedestrians can get past that was ok.
Cllr Edwardes also said he was delighted to be meeting the PC for Tytherington as it’s the first he has seen one for 5 years.
He also said Tytherington has seen an increase in ASB with around 10-year-old children, could PC Burness please find out what is being done?
Cllr Edwardes also said that graffiti was increasing again, and it is difficult to catch the perpetrators.
Finally, he mentioned there was trouble with pit bikes, could the police keep him up to date with what they are doing. PC Burness said they were aware and are looking to identify them in a safe manner as they cannot chase them or put residents in danger.
Cllr Livingston thanked the LPU and requested Cllrs have the names of PCs, and PSCOs in each ward. He also asked for regular updates on the Public Space Protection Order (PSPO) in the town centre.
Cllr Bennet-Wake thanked both PC Burness and PSCO Mandy as they work on Hurdsfield ward. She said Operation Park Safe was welcomed but she asked what was being done about car break-ins on Hurdsfield. PC Burness informed her that a particular culprit had been arrested.
She also suggested for Hibel Rd bridge that there could a project with positive paintings on it. PC Burness agreed.
Cllr Bennett-Wake also welcomed the safety bus and looking out for females and males in the night.
Cllr Hutchinson said its good to hear that incidents are reducing from last year, however graffiti is an issue, and he asked if they visited schools they could find out who the tags belonged to and they could be identified. PC Burness said he would take that back to the Tytherington PC and PCSO.
8.2 CAB
Will McKellar, CEO, gave an update on his submitted report, which compared to the last report (3 months ago) has seen less people (normal due to seasonal change. Even though they saw fewer clients, they have maximized more finances this quarter for residents.
Their specialist debt and mental health services are both working to capacity. They are also to launch a family service at Ash Grove family hub and looking at possible venues in Hurdsfield and Broken Cross.
The CAB have changed their phone service, sharing telephone services nationally so people can get an answer quicker as demand continues to outstrip capacity for delivery. If a face to face option is needed they will be redirected to a local CAB.
The cost of living crisis is still the number one issue, with peoples income outstripped by essential expenditure and debt continues to be a huge issue.
Finally, they have secured a small bit of funding to see if a CAB service at the hospital would be of value.
Cllr Bennett-Wake thanked Will and CAB once again for all the hard work. She was shocked to read case study 3 of the CAB report, about a pensioner who was 92 and owed a lot of pension money. Will explained this was a case of technology overtaking people’s capabilities.
She also asked about housing issues and no fault evictions, asking what is the best thing to do if you can’t afford your rent, Will said communication is the key. Private lets are shrinking and thus the prices can be driven up.
Social housing is a national issue as demand outstrips the availability.
Cllr Livingstone said that he also has residents struggling with housing issues also and thanked Will and CAB for the support they can odder.
Cllr Edwardes asked about banks closing and more and more people encouraged to use the internet for banking and fear of scams. Many older people find it very difficult.
8.3 CCTV
The report was noted.
8.4 Silk Museum
The report was noted.
9 Governance Review
9.1 Councillors and Officers Intimidation Guidance
Resolved: The above document was approved.
Cllr Wilson did note that there has been 31 million pounds from national government to be used to protect civil servants for the future. There would be a senior officer of the police available should one be needed and she asked if the clerk could contact the police to get the named officer and contact details.
9.2 Internet, Email and Social Media Policy
Resolved: The above document was approved.
9.3 Vexatious Communications, Complaints and Behaviour Policy
Resolved: The above document was approved.
9.4 Allotment Policy
Resolved: The above document was approved.
9.5 Risk Register
Resolved: The above document was approved.
9.6 South Park Pavilion Risk Assessment
Resolved: The above document was approved.
9.7 Investment and Treasury Management Policy
Resolved: The above document was approved.
10 South Park Pavilion Report for Council
10.1 South Park Pavilion Report, Budget and loan proposal
Resolved: The report and budget for South Park pavilion was approved by Council and it was approved to seek the approval of the Secretary of State for Housing, Communities & Local Government to apply for a PWLB loan of £1,250,000 over the borrowing term of 40 years for the purpose of building a new pavilion in South Park. The annual loan repayments will come to around £101,700 per annum.
The council tax precept will increase by 10% for the purpose of the loan repayments by which is the equivalent of an additional £5.21 a year per Band D household. This project has been subject to a precept increase consultation where the outcome was positive.
11 Ward Budget Proposal of Change of Procedure
Resolved: The change in procedure for the ward budgets was approved.
12 Proposal from Community Transport Working Group
Resolved: The proposal in the attached report as approved by the Services Committee on 11th March 2024 was approved.
13 Date/Time and Place of Next Meeting
The next meeting of the Full Council will be held on 13th May 2024 at the Town Hall.
Meeting closed: 20:43pm
Chair: Cllr Chris Wilcock
Clerk: Laura Smith