PRESENT

Councillors McCulloch, Beswick, Abel, Dalzell, Robertson and Lowe

A Keppel-Green (Town Clerk)

 

APOLOGIES FOR ABSENCE

Apologies were received from Cllrs Gardiner, Houghton and Power (personal business)

 

DECLARATIONS OF MEMBERS’ INTERESTS

Cllr McCulloch declared an interest in the Nature Action Plan item as the council’s representative to the Friends of St John’s Wood and the Kind Edward VII plaque item as a committee member of Friends of the Heath.

 

PUBLIC PARTICIPATION

A resident spoke in relation to Cheshire East Council’s weed spraying on green spaces, raising concern about the ecological and human health impact of the weed killer.

 

REVIEW OF YEAR-TO-DATE INCOME AND EXPENDITURE

The report was noted.

 

NATURE ACTION PLAN

The updated was noted. Members expressed support for the three suggested amendments to the plan.

 

DOG FOULING

 Members agreed that the full budget (£2,500) should be allocated for tackling the issue and agreed to the suggested plan. It was agreed that where possible, standard bins would be preferrable to dog waste only bins.

 

KING EDWARD VII CORONATION TREE PLAQUE

It was noted that permission was awaited from the owner of the Heath for any plaque replacement.

It was agreed that advice from the council’s arboriculturist should be obtained in relation to the retention of the plaque.

There was no overall consensus from the working group on the replacement of the plaque.

 

CHESHIRE EAST COUNCIL POLICY ON WEEDSPRAYING WHEN GRASS CUTTING

 It was agreed that the policy of spraying weeds was unfavourable and that Cheshire East Council should be petitioned to change it. It was agreed that ideally the Town should receive something in return of the spraying stopping in lieu of the time it takes.

It was agreed that in the first instance the Town Clerk should obtain more information on the practice, namely the frequency with which spraying takes place and exactly which spaces are affected (highway only, green spaces etc).

 

TOWN MAINTENANCE LOG

 The log was noted.  Cllr Lowe highlighted that Cheshire East Council takes into consideration the number of complaints received about a defect and suggested that the public be encouraged to report issues directly.

 

ACTIONS LOG

The log was noted.

Cllr Dalzell highlighted that ESAR were running therapy in Crewe and Macclesfield for those suffering long-COVID.

 

QUESTIONS TO THE TOWN CLERK

 The Town Clerk undertook to ascertain if the Great Race would be taking place in lieu of the 2020 event.