A Keppel-Green | Knutsford Town Council

11Jun2021

Notice of Public Rights and Publication of Unaudited AGAR 2020/21

ACCOUNTS FOR THE YEAR ENDED 31 MARCH 2021

Local Audit and Accountability Act 2014 Sections 26 and 27
The Accounts and Audit Regulations 2015 (SI 2015/234)

Date of announcement Friday 11 June 2021

Each year the smaller authority’s Annual Governance and Accountability Return (AGAR) needs to be reviewed by an external auditor appointed by Smaller Authorities’ Audit Appointments Ltd. The unaudited AGAR has been published with this notice. As it has yet to be reviewed by the appointed auditor, it is subject to change as a result of that review.

Any person interested has the right to inspect and make copies of the accounting records for the financial year to which the audit relates and all books, deeds, contracts, bills, vouchers, receipts and other documents relating to those records must be made available for inspection by any person interested. For the year ended 31 March 2019, these documents will be available on reasonable notice by application to:

Adam Keppel-Green, Town Clerk
Council Offices, Toft Road, Knutsford, WA16 6TA
townclerk@kntusfordtowncouncil.gov.uk – 01565 653 929

commencing on Monday 14 June 2021
and ending on Friday 23 July 2021

Local government electors and their representatives also have:

The opportunity to question the appointed auditor about the accounting records; and
The right to make an objection which concerns a matter in respect of which the appointed auditor could either make a public interest report or apply to the court for a declaration that an item of account is unlawful. Written notice of an objection must first be given to the auditor and a copy sent to the smaller authority.

The appointed auditor can be contacted at the address in paragraph 4 below for this purpose between the above dates only.

The smaller authority’s AGAR is subject to review by the appointed auditor under the provisions of the Local Audit and Accountability Act 2014, the Accounts and Audit Regulations 2015 and the NAO’s Code of Audit Practice 2015. The appointed auditor is:

PKF Littlejohn LLP (Ref: SBA Team), 1 Westferry Circus, Canary Wharf, London, E14 4HD / sba@pkf-littlejohn.com

This announcement is made by Adam Keppel-Green, Town Clerk and Responsible Financial Officer

The unaudited AGAR can be seen here: Unaudited AGAR 2020/21 (PDF)

9May2021

By-Election Results

TWO NEW councillors have been elected in by-elections held on Thursday 6th May; both by-elections had been delayed due to the suspension of elections during the coronavirus pandemic.

The Bexton Ward by-election was called following the death of Cllr Barbara Hamilton Coan in November 2020 and two candidates sought election. Millie Morris (Conservative) was elected with 422 votes, defeating Amy Rosalind Hobson (Liberal Democrat) who secured 394 votes. The turnout was 38.78%.

In Nether Ward the by-election was called following the resignation of Cllr Katherine Fletcher in April 2020. Three candidates sought election but it was Scott Lowe (Independent) with 379 votes who was elected, beating Annie Greer (Conservative) with 319 votes and Bill Tenger (Liberal Democrat) with 162 votes. The turnout was 40.91%.

The Town Council congratulates its two newest members on their election and thanks all five candidates for putting themselves forward to represent their community.

27Apr2021

2021 Annual Town Meeting

Knutsford Town Council is inviting residents to join its first virtual Annual Town Meeting next Tuesday evening and has booked two special guests for the evening: Claire Sawyer of We are Knutsford and Davina Armitage, owner of Cocoranti.

Claire will be giving a talk on how We are Knutsford was founded to support the community through the first lockdown and the great work it has been doing for Knutsford over the last year. Davina will be interviewed by Town Centre and Marketing Officer Sandra Curties as a special edition of her ‘behind the door’ talks with local businesses on how Davina adapted her business to survive the pandemic.

There was no town meeting in 2020 due to the coronavirus restrictions but legislation allows for the meeting to be held virtually for 2021. The meeting, which is chaired by the Town Mayor, is not a council meeting but an opportunity for the town to come together to raise and discuss issues affecting the community.

“The Town Meeting goes back over 100 years when it was how town councillors were elected; now it is an opportunity for residents to directly raise any issues that they feel need to be addressed by the council or wider community. It could be to draw attention to an issue, or to see if there are others in the community interested in working to tackle a problem” said Town Clerk Adam Keppel-Green.

The meeting starts at 7pm on Tuesday 4^th May. Residents can either join via Zoom or watch live on Facebook. The agenda and more information is available at https://www.knutsfordtowncouncil.gov.uk/council/town-meeting.

14Apr2021

College Wood Community Meeting

“How can we improve College Wood” is the question Cllr Andrew Malloy will be asking at a community meeting next week.

After a successful community meeting in February to set up a Friends of St John’s Wood the Town Council is now turning its attention to College Wood, the small woodland on Thorneyholme Drive which is owned by the Shrewsbury Roman Catholic Diocese.

Cllr Andrew Malloy, one of six Over Ward councillors on the town council, lives opposite the woodland and will chair the meeting which will be hosted on Zoom.

In 2019 the council secured the woodlands registration as a ‘town green’; a designation which permanently protects the public’s right to use the woodland for recreation. Now the council is keen to hear from those who visit the woodland and the residents living nearby to discuss how College Wood can be improved and what the community wants to see change and what it wants to stay the same.

The meeting will also be streamed to Facebook where residents can comment along to have their voices heard. At the end of the meeting will be an opportunity for people to put themselves forward to form a committee for a new Friends of College Wood community group. All residents are welcome to join the meeting and there is no obligation to put oneself forward for the committee.

If any residents are unable to attend the meeting but want to comment on how the woodland could be improved, they can email enquiries@knutsfordtowncouncil.gov.uk or call 01565 653929.

The meeting will take place at 7pm on Tuesday 20^th April. For details of how to join the meeting visit: www.knutsfordtowncouncil.gov.uk/collegewood

12Apr2021

Town Mayor’s tribute to HRH Prince Philip

At noon on Saturday, Town Mayor Cllr Stewart Gardiner laid a bouquet at the foot of the flagstaff outside the Town Council offices to mark the death of Prince Philip.

The Mayor, whose badge of office was covered by a black velvet pouch; as convention requires, was accompanied by his consort, the Deputy Mayor at other members of the Town Council.

This short ceremony took place 24 hours after the announcement from Buckingham Palace that His Royal Highness, The Prince Philip, Duke of Edinburgh had died and coincided with the national 41-gun salute.

Before placing the bouquet of white roses and lilies in a vase, the Mayor said that he lay the flowers on behalf of all the people of Knutsford. He went on to say they were laid in memory of the Duke of Edinburgh, in thanks for his life and all his achievements and in the hope that he might Rest in Peace.

Standing for a short period in silence, after laying the flowers, the Mayor then read a short piece reflecting on death from ‘The Prophet’ by Kahlil Gibran which included the poignant line ‘For life and death are one, even as the river and the sea are one’ and ending quite hopefully ‘… and when the earth shall claim your limbs, then shall you truly dance.’

The Mayor then thanked those who had attended the short Act of Remembrance.

9Apr2021

Death of HRH The Duke of Edinburgh

The Town Council is saddened to hear of the passing of His Royal Highness the Duke of Edinburgh.

A condolence book will be opened at the Town Council Offices on Monday 12th April. Those who do not wish to visit the offices but wish to have their condolences recorded in the Town’s record can email them to hrh@knutsfordtowncouncil.gov.uk.

Floral tributes may be laid at the front of the Council Offices near the flagpole. We ask that where possible no plastic/cellophane is used.

The flowers will be collected after the funeral and composted; the compost will be used to fertilise a tree which will be planted in his memory.

Speaking on the announcement from the Palace, the Town Mayor Councillor Stewart Gardiner said:

“I was saddened to hear the news earlier today that The Prince Philip, Duke of Edinburgh has died. On behalf of the people of Knutsford, I would like to extend our deepest sympathies to Her Majesty the Queen and to his children and grandchildren. I trust that all their wealth of shared memories will be of some consolation to them all at this very sad time.

I would also like to pay tribute to the Duke of Edinburgh for all he achieved; particularly for the World Wildlife Fund and with the Duke of Edinburgh Award Scheme and to thank him for his unflinching service to our country; both as a naval officer during World War II and as Consort to the Queen.

God Save The Queen.”

The Town Council is encouraging residents to stand in their doorways for a minute silence at 3pm on Saturday 17th as part of a national silence.

9Apr2021

By-Election Candidates Announced

Both by-elections taking place on May 6th have been contested meaning electors in these wards will go to the polls to vote for who they want to see representing them on Knutsford Town Council until 2023.

Bexton Ward

Two candidates have stood for election.

Amy Rosalind HOBSON of 111 Ashworth Park (Liberal Democrats)

Millie MORRIS (address in Cheshire East) (Conservatives)

Nether Ward

Three candidates have stood for election.

Annie Greer (address in Cheshire East) (Conservatives)

Scott Lowe (address in Cheshire East) (Independent)

Bill Tenger of 33 Manchester Road (Liberal Democrats)

Register To Vote

If you were registered to vote in the last election and your details have not changed, you don’t need to take any action. If in doubt, you can check with Cheshire East Council on 0300 123 5016.

It only takes 5 minutes to register to vote and you can do this online at www.gov.uk/register-to-vote

The deadline to register is midnight on 19 April 2021.

If you want to vote by post, you can apply to do this now. This will make sure your application is processed early, and your postal vote can be sent to you as early as possible.

To apply to vote by post you need to download, print and fill in a postal vote application form. If you can’t print the form, contact the Electoral Services Team at Cheshire East Council by calling 0300 123 5016 so that a form can be posted to you.

Once you have completed the form and signed it, you can email scanned forms to postalvoting@cheshireeast.gov.uk or post them to the Electoral Services Team, Cheshire East Council, Macclesfield Town Hall, c/o Municipal Buildings, Earle Street, Crewe, CW1 2BJ.

The deadline to apply for a postal vote in is 5pm on 20 April 2021.

If you are not able to vote in person, you can ask someone you trust to vote for you. This is called a proxy vote and the person is often referred to as your proxy.

To apply for a proxy vote, complete the form to vote by proxy, explaining why you can’t get to your polling station in person. The person voting on your behalf can either go to your polling station to vote or can apply to vote for you by post.

The deadline to apply for a proxy vote is 5pm on 27 April 2021.

29Mar2021

Notice of By-Elections

The countdown to two by-elections for Knutsford Town Council has officially commenced with the publication of the formal notice of election.

The elections, which if contested will both be held on Thursday May 6^th, were called following the resignation of Katherine Fletcher in April 2020 (Nether Ward) and the death of Barbara Hamilton Coan in November (Bexton Ward). The elected councillors will serve until the next full elections in May 2023.

Those vying for election can download nomination papers from the Electoral Commission website or from Macclesfield Town Hall and candidates now have until 4pm on Thursday 8^th April to hand-deliver their nomination papers to the Returning Officer at Macclesfield Town Hall.

Candidates need a proposer and seconder living in the ward in which they are standing and must phone 01270 685922 to make an appointment to deliver completed nomination papers.

Town Clerk, Adam Keppel-Green said “This is your opportunity to put yourself forward to represent the community and help direct the work of the town council. We will provide all the training and guidance that new councillors need, and councils are strongest with a diverse membership, so please don’t think that being a councillor is not for you.”

Unlike borough councillors, town councillors do not receive an allowance and freely give their time in service to the community.

Residents who are not yet registered to vote in the by-elections, which take place the same day as elections for the Police and Crime Commissioner, have until 19^th April to apply – applications can be made online at www.gov.uk/register-to-vote. Applications for postal or proxy votes must be made by 5pm on Tuesday 20^th April

Formal Notices

Notice of Election – Bexton Ward

Notice of Election – Nether Ward

22Mar2021

Music Festival Postponed to August

Knutsford Music Festival has been postponed to August 2021 by organisers Knutsford Town Council.

The festival, traditionally held in June, was due to feature from 11^th to 13^th June 2021, but has been rearranged for 13^th to 15^th August. This is to allow a better chance for the festival to proceed safely as the country slowly moves out of Covid-19 lockdown restrictions over the spring and summer months. The festival was launched in 2017 and enjoyed three successful years before the pandemic saw its cancellation in 2020.

The Town Council is keenly now planning for an August festival which will bring together an array of musicians in a three-day celebration of local talent. The event will feature festival staples including folk events, free Saturday afternoon session Music on the Moor as well as the fringe festival featuring many local businesses.

Music will also be brought directly to the town centre streets as musicians will entertain shoppers and visitors throughout the festival weekend.

Any musicians wanting to apply to perform at this year’s festival can still get in touch by contacting info@knutsfordmusicfestival.com.

Knutsford Town Council will continue to monitor the current lockdown situation and whether the event can go ahead and will provide updates to the public as plans proceed. For full updates and news you can visit www.knutsfordmusicfestival.com or follow the festival on Facebook, Twitter and Instagram.

16Mar2021

The Mayor’s Virtual Quiz – 26th March 2021

The Mayor of Knutsford is inviting residents for an evening of fun at home with his first fundraising event of 2021 – a virtual quiz next Friday (26^th March, 7:30pm)

The lockdown restrictions have meant that the quiz is Cllr Stewart Gardiner’s first fundraising event since his term began in November and he is keen to welcome as many people as possible to get involved and raise some much-needed funds for his chosen charities, the Royal British Legion and St Vincent de Paul Society.

Stewart said: “Do you think you have what it takes to be a contestant on The Chase or Pointless but not sure if you know your Archimedes from your archipelagos? Well, here’s your opportunity to test your knowledge and have some fun at the same time by joining the Town Mayor’s virtual quiz and helping me raise funds for my chosen charities.”

The quiz, which has been written by the Mayor’s Consort, Simon Hutchence, will take place using Zoom with teams working in breakout rooms to test their knowledge. Teams are capped at six people and with a £5 per person entry fee which supports the mayor’s chosen charities.

To register your team contact Dan Wheatcroft on dan.wheatcroft@knutsfordtowncouncil.gov.uk with the details of your team – a team name, the names of participants and email addresses for each Zoom group within your team.

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