Parish Council Meeting – 9th June 2021

Report Statement

Meeting:                  Parish Council Meeting

Report Purpose:      To provide a report from Cllr Marren (CEC)

Version Control:      v0

Author:                    Cllr Marren (CEC)

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Business grants update

CEC is continuing to invite applications for the new Restart Grant, which supports eligible businesses with one-off grants of up to £18,000 to help them reopen safely. To apply go to:

https://www.cheshireeast.gov.uk/…/coronavirus-covid-19…

More than 1,500 grants have already been paid out, totalling £12m. The first phase of the Additional Restrictions Grant (ARG) is closed to new applications and all funding has been allocated in line with the policy. CEC has so far paid out grants totalling more than £8.41m and businesses that are still required to close will continue to receive grant funding up until 21 June, in line with the roadmap out of lockdown.

Phase two of ARG will see the Council provide additional funding, to around 720 businesses totalling £11.1m. The Council anticipates the receipt of £3.4m in government funding to give further support to businesses up to March 2022.

A phase three ARG policy to cover this new allocation of funding is being developed.

‘Computers for Kids’ scheme launched to further support vulnerable learners

Cheshire East Council has announced that the first computers have been distributed to schools as part of its ongoing commitment to support learning for vulnerable children across the borough.

The scheme has been launched off the back of the national campaign, ‘Laptops for Kids’, which has been promoted in different parts of the country. It involves local businesses donating laptops and computers, which are then repurposed and distributed through schools to children, who will most benefit from having the opportunity to use IT equipment to enhance their learning.

It is felt that donating a laptop or a computer will make a huge difference to the lives and education of children and families in Cheshire East. The devices don’t need to be new – the Council will upcycle them. They just need to be in good working order and capable of running Windows 10.”

The first computers made available and distributed to schools in Congleton and Crewe have already been donated by Cheshire East Council.

Businesses that have computers to donate should make contact, in the first instance, with Cheshire Young Carers via email at info@cheshireyoungcarers.com or call 0151 356 3176.

Historic day as Cheshire East Council moves to new Committee System

Tuesday, (4 May) saw Cheshire East Council made the historic change to operate a committee system for decision-making.

The council has operated under a cabinet system since it was formed in 2009. Now, decisions previously made by the cabinet, will be made by ‘service committees’.

Each new service committee has 13 members. These members collectively make decisions. The political make up of each committee reflects the political make-up of the council. Members debate and vote on decisions, so decisions are made collectively by the cross-party membership.

The chairs of the service committees are as follows:

• Chair of the Corporate Policy Committee – Cllr Sam Corcoran

• Chair of the Finance Sub Committee – Cllr Amanda Stott

• Chair of the Children’s and families Committee – Cllr Kathryn Flavell

• Chair of the Health and Adults Committee – Cllr Jill Rhodes

• Chair of Economy and Growth Committee – Cllr Nick Mannion

• Chair of the Highways and Transport committee – Cllr Craig Browne

• Chair of the Environment and Communities Committee – Cllr Mick Warren

Tuesday also saw the appointment of the new Mayor of Cheshire East, Cllr Sarah Pochin, and also the reappointment of the Leader, Cllr Sam Corcoran, and the Deputy Leader, Cllr Craig Browne.

PROPOSED EXPANSION OF SPRINGFIELD SCHOOL ON TO A SATELLITE SITE LOCATED AT THE PREMISES FORMALLY KNOWN AS DEAN ROW DAY CENTRE, DEAN ROW ROAD, WILMSLOW.

There is a growing need across Cheshire East for more specialist places. The council have completed a sufficiency review of its special educational needs provision across the local authority and it has identified that there is a growing need to provide at least 250 specialist places in a variety of settings.

This current lack of provision means that some children are being educated in schools outside of Cheshire East. This not only can incur transport costs for the local authority but has a significant disadvantage to the child who often spends a considerable time travelling to and from school and it also reduces their opportunities to develop friendships with children who may live close by, further isolating them within their local community

The proposal, if agreed, would involve the refurbishment and remodelling of the former Dean Row Day Centre to create the required accommodation for up to 80 pupils aged 4-19 for pupils, with a range of needs including Autistic Spectrum Condition (ASC), Severe Learning difficulties (SLD) and Profound Multiple Learning Difficulties (PMLD). The site in Crewe is not closing this will be an additional site.

Feedback your views….

The Local Authority is seeking feedback from all interested parties on the proposal.

All feedback received during the consultation period will be collated and a report will be prepared and presented to the Council’s Children & Families Committee on 12 July 2021 for a decision.

It is important to note that no decisions have been taken at this stage and anybody who wishes to respond should visit the Council’s website at:-

https://www.cheshireeast.gov.uk/…/springfield-school…

where you can read the consultation document and submit the electronic survey, or complete the feedback form, before the closing date of 14 June 2021.

Housing Supply

The Council publishes information each year about its housing supply – how many homes have been built and the future pipeline supply of homes.

The Council has published an updated 5-year housing land supply position. National planning policy requires all councils to maintain a minimum 5-year supply of deliverable housing land. Not having a 5-year supply can have implications for planning application decision making, whereby the ‘tilted balance’ in favour of granting planning permission can apply. The Council’s deliverable supply as at 31 March 2020 was 6.4 years. You can read more detail about this in the latest Housing Monitoring Update via this link:

Cheshire East’s Highways programme 2021/22

Highways has been allocated around £15 million capital funding from the Department for Transport (DfT) for the 2021-22 financial year which sees a reduction of 21% to the maintenance budget (approx £4 million) from the previous year.

So, being clear, the GOVERNMENT has reduced the Council’s repair programme by £3,951,000.

Due to this reduction in funding, road repair programmes will be focussing on the key routes on the highway network only! (that is A, B and C roads and other important link roads). This means that the programme of work will concentrate on roads with the greatest usage and those with the greatest risk to enable the money to be used in the most effective way. That will be the Highways argument.

Estates, like Park Estate, will not be programmed for repair although it undoubtedly needs repair and has been accepted by Highway Officers, previously, as in need of level 3 (resurfacing) repair.

The council has sought to offset some of the impact in the reduction in central government funding by providing £3m (which is an extra £1.3m up on the previous year) of its own capital funds, but it is not just going to be invested into roads. They intend to target, what they would argue is much needed extra investment into drainage, bridges and structures and street lighting, with £1.2m being targeted at the repair and improvement of the drainage network following recent adverse weather events. Funding is also being invested into footways and cycleways across the borough. Those services with an increased investment are arguably positive steps towards recovering from flood damage, supporting active travel and reducing the carbon footprint.

There is no getting away from the fact that there is a reduction in funds and that will hit hard. The Council will say that it recognises that the level of funding provided for these areas still isn’t enough and it hopes that government will make up this significant area of underfunding in future budget setting. Political pressure is going to be required at local and national level!

The approved capital programmes of work cover: Road and Footway Repairs, Drainage Improvement works, Bridges and Structures, Street Lighting, Traffic Signals, Road Markings, Safety Barriers, Road Safety and Sustainable Modes of Transport (STEPS).

Road Repair Programme 2021-2022–Programmed Patching

There are 118 schemes being considered by Cheshire Highways, all point scored, to determine which will be delivered within the allocated budget. A detailed site investigation will need to be undertaken first to understand the costings associated with each of the 118 schemes in order to determine how many in the list are affordable.

Once a detailed site analysis is complete with costs, a definitive programme budget line will be applied to the long list of roads but it is going to take until July apparently. This would suggest that very few will see any repair before the end of May, though Crewe Road, by the traffic lights and Dodd’s Bank has seen some much welcomed (and social media derided) temporary repairs.

I don’t think that most of these 118 roads will be repaired because the money will run out. Crewe Road and Rope Lane bridge though are in the top quartile relative to points scored, so I think that is good news.

The next meeting of the Highways and Transport Committee is on Monday, 19th July 2021 at 10.30 am should any Councillor wish to attend and make their views known to the Committee, before they presumably finalise the repair programme.

Committee Members are Councillors Mike Benson (C), Craig Browne (I and Chair), Barry Burkhill (I), Laura Crane (L and Vice Chair), Hazel Faddes (L), Alan Gage (C), Les Gilbert (C), Mike Hunter (L), Rob Moreton (I), Mike Sewart (C), Don Stockton (C), Phil Williams (I).

The contact details for the Committee Members who sit on the Highways and Transportation Committee can be found at :

http://moderngov.cheshireeast.gov.uk/…/mgMemberIndex…

and then click upon the Committee Member.

It is important that residents keep the pressure up on CEC about the state of the roads in Shavington by continually reporting them via fix my street https://www.fixmystreet.com/

And also via:

https://www.cheshireeasthighways.org/report-it-general.aspx

Residents can also Call Highways on 0300 123 5020 during working hours or out of working hours on 0300 123 5025 to report any issues that present an immediate danger.

If drivers have suffered vehicle damage, they should also claim because the claim will influence the work programme . That can be reported at :

https://www.cheshireeast.gov.uk/…/making-a-claim.aspx

Drivers have a right to make a claim for compensation if their vehicle has been damaged as a result of a pothole or other defect on a road or footpath. But they will only be given compensation if CEC is found to have been negligent or in breach of its legal duty under the Highways Act to maintain the highway. More claims translate to more points!

Councillors can also lobby Highway’s Committee Members.

To access the highway capital programmes 2021/22 go to:

https://www.cheshireeast.gov.uk/…/road-repair-programme…

Puffin Crossing on Crewe Road

This crossing is being provided through a S278 agreement to be installed direct by the developer (Taylor Wimpey). It has been delayed as most of the housing sites were shut down during the first Covid lockdown and even when that was lifted many works like these were not seen as a priority.

The contractor has now submitted an application to work and that has been approved. The start date is 2/8/2021 until 28/8/2021.

New Toucan Crossing in Rope Lane provided through a S.106 agreement. Planning reference number 17/1507D

A condition attached to the approval of the Wainhomes North West development at Chatsworth Park is that the developer must pay to the Council a sum sufficient to finance the construction of a Toucan Crossing in the vicinity of the development. The purpose is to provide safe crossing for pedestrians and cyclists from the development over Rope Lane. The sum is in the hands of Cheshire East Council and has been for a while.

The intent has been to construct the crossing at the end of the cycle path near to the flyover.

I have pointed out to those responsible for this project that, in my view, the crossing will be unused by pedestrians and quite possibly cyclists. Part of the reasoning is that there is no footpath between Broomhall Drive and the point of the proposed crossing and so it is likely that any pedestrians leaving the Chatsworth Park development will cross in the vicinity of the junction if heading towards the High School. I have also warned that constructing the crossing in this location is likely to generate national media interest. More positively, I have suggested an alternative location which is at the end of the Public Right of Way which is broadly opposite Burlea Drive. However this does have its own issues:

a. There may be a need for some land acquisition to ensure a safe landing place for the toucan crossing.

b. There will be a need for some vegetation clearance to improve visibility.

c. Will the existing “kissing gates” need to be removed to accommodate cyclists?

d. Consideration of what other opportunities exist to connect cycling into a crossing e.g. on road cycle lanes?

There is sufficient time with the S106 funding to get the right solution here so consideration of the right location will continue a while.

These are the only two options (besides giving the money back).

Consultation launched on Cheshire East Council’s biodiversity plan

Cheshire East Council is inviting comments on a planning document that would provide further advice to developers and property owners on how they can improve the environment when preparing planning applications.

The draft Biodiversity Net Gain Supplementary Planning Document (SPD) has been published for consultation. If adopted, it will provide additional guidance on policies of the Local Plan Strategy, which sets out the strategy and requirements for development across the borough.

Biodiversity net gain is the term used to ensure that when new development impacts on a habitat or the ecology of a site, that developers provide more and better habitat as a replacement.

An SPD is not part of the statutory development plan, but it is a recognised way of putting in place more guidance that can help the council to decide planning applications. In this instance, the SPD will help the council to achieve improvements to the environment by setting out a clear process that applicants should follow.

If adopted, this document would form an important part of the guidance that helps the council secure improvements to the environment across the borough.

Comments on the document are invited until Monday 14 June.

To view the documents and to have your say, visit the consultation portal at: https://cheshireeast-consult.objective.co.uk/…/pla…/spd/

Feedback can also be posted to: Strategic planning (Westfields), c/o Municipal Buildings, Earle Street, Crewe CW1 2BJ.

Boundary Review

A 12-week consultation on the proposals put forward by the Community Governance Working group has not yet started and is at least 6 weeks behind schedule. The referendum amendment has temporarily derailed the review, I think.

Resident Issues

Cheshire’s new Police and Crime Commissioner

PCC John Dwyer assumed the role on Thursday 13 May, which he will hold for the next three years. The term of office is normally four years but it has been reduced to three after the elections were postponed from May 2020 due to the coronavirus pandemic.

He previously held the same post between 2012 and 2016..

I wrote to Mr Dwyer on the 11^th May expressing concern about the speeding on Main Road and Rope Lane and invited him to meet me on site to observe and discuss. His response:

“I have put your e-mail in my To Do list and, when I am settled in, my PA will contact you to arrange for us to meet up as you suggest.”

We’ll see, if we meet.

School Crossing Patrol

This won’t be easy to secure. A potential School Crossing Patrol (SXP) site would be assessed by Transport Service Solutions on request.  The amount of accompanied and unaccompanied pupils would be taken into account as well as the amount of traffic during the time pupils would usually be walking to school – this would depend on the site but usually 15 minutes before and after the normal opening times of a school.

I have been told that should I have a specific site in mind an assessment can be carried out. The location I have in mind is Main Road, where there used to be a crossing. I am liaising  with the Primary School as to whether this is worth taking forward.  

An SXP would be funded through Cheshire East Council and costs just over £4,000 per annum.

The Parish Council can finance School Crossing Patrols where CEC will not justify.

Blocked Ditch

I met representatives from Guinness and Cheshire Highways on the 20^th May outside of Santune Court to discuss a ditch that clearly used to carry water away from the fields before any of the houses were built. The ditch, which you can see from Rope Lane lies in between properties on Burlea Drive and Santune House and

a number of other properties not yet identified. The water doesn’t run but just lies there as the ditch is blocked.

The Highways Officer was from the Flood Team and he has now spoken with the lead Flood Risk Engineer and it has been confirmed that as Lead Local Flood Authority (LLFA), under the Land Drainage Act 1991 the council can identify and inform those that own and maintain land encompassing the blocked ditch of their responsibilities as Riparian owners.  To this end, he will speak with their asset management team and undertake the necessary searches via the Land Registry.  Once established, they will write to those individuals, offering additional advice as necessary.

 I can’t see this being a quick and easy process but it has started.

Planning Related

Do garden walls built next to the Public highway need planning permission?

As a general rule of thumb if a wall runs parallel to and is within two metres of a highway it should only be 1 metre in height without the benefit of planning permission. Anything set further back can be to a height of 2 metres.

Shavington / Wybunbury Triangle – Phase 3 consultation—

I’m aware that the Parish Council has been briefed by the developer. Cllr Clowes and myself were separately briefed. I am sceptical about the benefit of having another community building have asked the developer to consider an investment in existing buildings as an alternative. The suggestion was supported by Cllr Clowes.

Wain Homes development off Chestnut Avenue

Enforcement and planning officers have been in contact with the developers, Wain Homes to ensure that all the conditions relating to 17/6487N are being discharged. Several conditions have been discharged to the satisfaction of the Local Planning Authority. However, condition 10, which relates to the ditch which runs to the rear of the properties on Northfield Close has yet to be discharged completely. This matter is the subject of an ongoing enforcement investigation ref. 20/00583E.

Contact has been made with the developer advising them that the ditch should be reinstated and maintained as per condition 10 of the grant of planning permission. Whilst the developers have submitted two applications in an attempt to discharge this application both have been rejected.

Should they fail to submit and have approved and thereafter implement a suitable scheme consideration will be given to the issue of a Breach of Condition Notice against which there is no right of appeal.

27 Crewe Road

Officers from the Housing team have visited both the property and the owners of the property who were unaware that the site was open to access as the gates are secure, that said – obviously people are jumping the gates to get in.

They have been asked to board up the property to avoid access but they have also advised that they are in discussion with builders as well as in the process of selling the property itself – hopefully this will secure improvement.

A housing officer will be checking that boarding has taken place in the interim period.

Gresty Lane traffic

Highways have programmed in ATC’s (Automated Traffic Counters) to be placed along Gresty Lane. Initially, these surveys were due to take place in the New Year, however the national lockdown was imposed and that held up any further progress.

The ATC’s are now programmed to take place next month on Gresty Lane (date to be confirmed). Therefore, by late June/early July Highways will have some vehicle speed/flow data to analyse what vehicle speeds are like in the area.

Once the surveys have been completed and analysed, the results will be published in a report format and distributed to me for reference and perusal

Blocked Gulleys- Gresty Green Road

Garden and septic tank flooded. Gulleys now cleared.