C25/016 ELECTION OF CHAIRMAN

In the absence of the Chairman and Deputy Chairman, it was RESOLVED that Cllr Coan preside.

 

C25/017 PRESENT

Councillors Coan, Dalzell, Hartley and Watson.

A Keppel-Green (Town Clerk) and Cllr Johnson.

 

C25/018 APOLOGIES FOR ABSENCE

Apologies were received from Cllrs Forrest (health) and Russell (personal business)

 

C25/019 DECLARATIONS OF MEMBERS’ INTERESTS

No member declared an interest in any item under discussion.

 

C25/020 PUBLIC PARTICIPATION

No members of the public were present.

 

C25/021 CONFIRMATION OF PREVIOUS MINUTES

It was RESOLVED to approve the minutes of the meeting held 7th July.

 

C25/022 REVIEW OF YEAR TO DATE INCOME AND EXPENDITURE

The income and expenditure year to date was noted.

 

C25/023 CITIZENS ADVICE SERVICE

The Chief Officer of Citizens Advice Cheshire East North provided an update on the service to the committee and took questions. It was confirmed that those seeking an appointment will usually obtain one within two weeks, that minor queries are dealt with by telephone and that the service can provide ‘level one’ immigration advice, which is where there is still a valid visa in place. It was noted that the service was keen to expand its reach to provide more support to rural communities.

 

C25/024 COMMUNITY GRANT AWARDS

It was RESOLVED to award £1,500 to Hope Central towards their Christians Against Poverty Subscription.

It was RESOLVED to award £1,500 to Knutsford Tri Club to offer loss coverage and support to the 2026 triathlon.

It was RESOLVED to refuse the applications from Drawing Board Productions CIC and Art 4 Stable Minds.

It was agreed that the working group should undertake a review of the grants policy.

 

C25/025 COMMUNITY GROUP SURVEY

It was RESOLVED to endorse the new actions recommendations in the report.

It was RESOLVED to endorse the continuing actions recommendations in the report.

 

C25/026 STRATEGIC PLAN

It was noted that the ward walks were due to be reviewed and suggested that member resource would be better utilised building existing engagement opportunities. It was reported that the newsletters were being well received and suggested that more could be done to enable the council to benefit from connections with those in the community.

It was RESOVED to approve the following actions for 2026/27:

  • Implement projects under the Youth Strategy
  • Deliver a successful sixth ReFresh Knutsford community freshers fair
  • Publish a Knutsford community funding guide

 

C25/027 COMMITTEE BUDGET 2026/27

It was RESOLVED to approve the budget as submitted, noting that the community services budget could be utilised for action arising from the accessibility forum.

 

C25/028 OUTSTANDING ACTIONS AND PROJECT UPDATES REPORT

The outstanding actions and project updates report was noted and the Town Clerk reported on arrangements for the accessibility forum; it was suggested to promote the forum through the patient participation groups and other medical services.

 

C25/029 COMMITTEE WORKPLAN

The committee workplan was noted.

 

C25/030 QUESTIONS TO THE TOWN CLERK

The Town Clerk responded to a question advising that Hope Central is the town’s only food bank, Cllr Hartley reported that Sytner Group would be supporting Hope Central over the next year.

It was suggested that officers should assess what involvement members have within the community which could be utilised for community engagement and the Town Clerk advised that a meeting with Knutsford Heritage Centre may best be an informal meeting outside a committee meeting, noting that its objectives cross three committee remits.

 

C25/031 DATE OF THE NEXT MEETING

It was noted that the next scheduled meeting would be held on 15th December at 7:30pm.