These are draft minutes that have not yet been approved by the council. The minutes are subject to change and will be confirmed at the next meeting.
C24/055 PRESENT
Councillors Forrest, Banks, Hartley, Dalzell, Gardiner, McCulloch and Russell
A Keppel-Green (Town Clerk)
C24/056 APOLOGIES FOR ABSENCE
Apologies were received from Cllr Watson (personal business)
C24/057 DECLARATIONS OF MEMBERS’ INTERESTS
Cllr Hartley declared a personal interest in C24/061 having engaged with the First Responders and Community Garden group.
Cllr Gardiner declared a personal interest in C24/063 as the vicar of St Cross Church is his mayoral chaplain.
Cllr McCulloch declared a prejudicial interest in C24/061 as a member of Friends of St John’s Wood.
Cllr Gardiner declared a personal interest in C24/063 as a member of Friends of the Moor and in C24/061 as the vicar of St Cross Church was his chaplain during his mayoralty.
C24/058 PUBLIC PARTICIPATION
Cllr Gardiner arrived during this item.
A resident spoke in relation to the proposed CCTV camera on the Moor, questioning if it was being proposed for the sake of providing a camera or following an operational requirement, whether it would make a difference to anti-social behaviour and whether it would simply displace it.
C24/059 CONFIRMATION OF PREVIOUS MINUTES
It was RESOLVED to approve the minutes of the meeting held 25th November.
C24/060 REVIEW OF YEAR TO DATE INCOME AND EXPENDITURE
The income and expenditure year to date was noted and the Town Clerk explained that the income for the Town Awards was high due to the receipt multi-year sponsorship funds.
C24/061 COMMUNITY GRANTS
It was RESOLVED to exclude the public and press on the grounds that publicity would be prejudicial to the public interest. the committee discussed the detail of an application. It was RESOLVED to readmit the public and press.
It was RESOLVED to:
- Award a grant of £1,500 to Knutsford First Responders
- Purchase and donate a marquee for Knutsford Scouts
- Award a grant of £626 to Friends of St John’s Wood and provide the services of the Town Ranger to install the sign
- Refuse the application from St Cross Church
- Award a grant of £350 to the Knutsford and District Talking Newspaper
- Refuse the application from Knutsford Community Garden
C24/062 CRIME AND POLICING
It was noted that the crime rate was generally low. The committee discussed the impact of CCTV and changes to local policing.
C24/063 CCTV
Cllr Gardiner reported that the proposed cuts to CCTV services were rejected by the borough council when it went to committee, but that a review of the service and the out of hours service it provides was to be conducted, though not from a savings perspective.
The committee questioned the value of CCTV and its monitoring, and the Town Clerk encouraged all members to visit the CCTV control room to see the system in operation.
It was RESOLVED to defer consideration of funding a camera for the Moor until Cheshire East Council has concluded a review of the service.
C24/064 STRATEGIC PLAN
The strategic plan action plan status was noted.
C24/065 CRIME AND POLICING
PC David O’Connor joined the meeting for this item and reported that the police find CCTV extremely useful as corroborating evidence. He confirmed that a camera on the Moor would be helpful and stated he was unaware if the Police were involved in any audit of the CCTV system. PC O’Connor encouraged all residents to report crimes then encounter and confirmed the Police will investigate every report.
C24/066 OUTSTANDING MATTERS LOG
The log was noted.
C24/067 QUESTIONS TO THE TOWN CLERK
The Town Clerk was asked to coordinate a visit to the CEC CCTV control room for members, which he undertook to do.
C24/068 DATE OF THE NEXT MEETING
It was noted that the next scheduled meeting would be held on 14th April 2025 at 7pm