ET23/001 PRESENT
Councillors Russell, Banks, Coan, Johnson, Mears and Watson.
A Keppel-Green (Town Clerk) and Cllrs Dalzell and Hartley
ET23/002 APOLOGIES FOR ABSENCE
Apologies were received from Cllrs Lowe (health) and Robertson (personal business)
ET23/003 DECLARATIONS OF MEMBERS’ INTERESTS
Cllr Coan declared a personal interest in ET23/011 on the grounds of being a trustee of Knutsford Heritage Centre.
ET23/004 PUBLIC PARTICIPATION
No members of the public wished to speak.
ET23/005 COMMITTEE TERMS OF REFERENCE
The terms of reference were noted.
ET23/00620’s PLENTY FOR CHESHIRE EAST
The committee received a presentation from a representative of 20’s Plenty for Cheshire East, who explained that the organisation’s objective is to secure a default 20mph limit in place of the existing 30mph limits except where it is demonstrated a higher speed is safe. The committee discussed the presentation noting differing views on the impact and benefits of 20mph schemes and noting that there may be differing views as to its desirability within the community.
It was RESOLVED to defer consideration of 20s Plenty to the next meeting with all members undertaking sufficient research to enable an informed discussion.
Cllr Dalzell left the meeting.
ET23/007 CONFIRMATION OF PREVIOUS MINUTES
It was RESOLVED to approve the minutes of the Environment and General Purposes committee meeting held on 27th March 2023.
ET23/008 REVIEW OF YEAR TO DATE INCOME AND EXPENDITURE
The committee income and expenditure year-to-date was noted.
ET23/009 STRATEGIC PLAN
It was RESOLVED to adopt the actions suggested in report ET-23-02 as the committee action plan for the current financial year with the addition of exploring the creation of conservation area guidance leaflets for the Cross Town, Town Centre, Heathfield Square and St John’s conservation areas and exploring improved public rights of way signage to indicate where paths lead to.
It was RESOLVED to defer consideration of actions for future financial years and detailed consideration of the individual actions identified in the consultation.
ET23/010 UPGRADING OF LADIES MILE PATH TO TABLEY ROAD
It was RESOLVED to approve the project to upgrade the footpath from Ladies Mile to Tabley Road. It was further RESOLVED to refer the project to the CIL Projects Advisory Committee for funding with CIL.
ET23/011 REPAIR TO AND ADOPTION OF THE CANUTE MOSAIC AND PAVING
It was RESOLVED that the council should tender for repairs to the paving and to recommend to Full Council that it authorise an application to register the land.
ET23/012 QUEEN ELIZABETH II CORONATION TREE PLAQUE
It was noted that Friends of the Heath had offered to make a donation of 50% of the cost to a replacement plaque.
It was RESOLVED to install a new cast aluminium plaque for the tree.
ET23/013 BENCH SPONSORSHIP POLICY AND REPLACEMENT BENCHES
It was RESOLVED to approve the bench sponsorship policy, with an amendment to cover replacement in the event of vandalism.
It was RESOLVED to replace the two benches on the Heath.
ET23/014 CLOSURE OF KNUTSFORD RAILWAY STATION TICKET OFFICE
It was noted that closure of ticket offices would disproportionately affect the older members of the community, those who do not use the internet to buy tickets and those who require additional guidance planning journeys.
It was RESOLVED to write to Northern and Esther McVey MP outlining objections to the proposed ticket office closure, that members will advise the Town Clerk of further points to include in the objection by email but that in parallel the Town Clerk should investigate options for a community operated shop from within the closed ticket office building.
ET23/015 NATURE ACTION PLAN
The status of the actions under the Nature Action Plan 2020-23 was noted. The committee agreed that the 2023-27 plan should include verge planting and encouraging individuals to plant trees in gardens.
It was noted that neighbouring parish councils were seeking Cheshire East Council to tackle ragwort growth.
ET23/016 COMMITTEE WORKING GROUPS
It was RESOLVED to appoint:
- Cllrs Coan, Mears and Watson to the Nature Action Plan working group
- Cllrs Hartley, Johnson and Watson to the Blue Plaque Appraisal working group
- Cllrs Banks, Lowe and Russell to the Active Travel Infrastructure Plan working group
ET23/017 OUTSTANDING MATTERS LOG
The log was noted. The Town Clerk undertook to chase Cheshire East Highways with respect to the signage for the Knutsford Revolution cycle route and it was suggested that donations towards the conservation of the statuette be sought from McCarthy and Stone, British Red Cross and local churches.
ET23/018 QUESTIONS TO THE CLERK
No questions were raised.
ET23/019 DATE OF THE NEXT MEETING
It was noted that the next scheduled meeting would be held on 25th September 2023 at 7:30pm.