NALC Star Council Awards 2021 Finalist Graphic

Town Clerk in running for Clerk of the Year Award

Knutsford’s Town Clerk has been shortlisted for a national award.

Adam Keppel-Green, who celebrates nine years with the Town Council this month, is one of five in the running for the Clerk of the Year award in the NALC Star Council Awards which aim to recognise the role of town and parish councils and the contribution they make to their communities.

Adam, who joined the council in September 2012 as Deputy Town Clerk and became Town Clerk in April 2014 is also clerk to Gawsworth Parish Council, a Director of the Society of Local Council Clerks (SLCC), board member of the Cheshire Association of Local Councils and Training Officer for the Cheshire Branch of the SLCC.

Speaking on the announcement of the shortlist, Town Mayor Cllr Stewart Gardiner said “As Town Mayor I am very pleased that Adam has been nominated for this award and wish him well in the final.

“I am very conscious that he works tirelessly not just in his official capacity as Town Clerk but in supporting several of the volunteer organisations within the Town in their efforts too. Adam has been the inspiration behind many of the initiatives the Town Council has undertaken in recent years and the people of Knutsford should be pleased that he is our Town Clerk.”

“It is an honour to be shortlisted for this award amongst four other great clerks” Adam said. “The job of Town Clerk is extremely rewarding, and I am proud to work for a proactive and positive council; if I am fortunate enough to win, it would be as much an award for the council as it would for me personally.”

The winner of the award will be announced at an online ceremony in October.

Peter Coan reads the draft Neighbourhood Plan

Neighbourhood Plan Commended by RTPI

Planning experts at the Royal Town Planning Institute have commended Knutsford’s Neighbourhood Plan in their annual Planning Excellence Awards. The Knutsford Neighbourhood Plan received a commendation in the Spatial Planning category for the North West region, with judges praising the level of volunteer involvement from the community in developing the plan with the town council.

Bev Watson, Regional Co-Ordinator of the North West Royal Town Planning Institute said “Judges were impressed with the wide range of planning policies within the plan and the clear diagrams which hep to create a more user-friendly document. It is a good example of a community led plan, which has provided opportunities for engagement and which has helped to raise the awareness and understanding of planning issues across the community.”

The Neighbourhood Plan, which was developed by Knutsford Town Council working with representatives of the wider community, was approved at a referendum in March and sits alongside the Local Plan for use by Cheshire East planners making decisions about development in the Town.

Supported by Urban Imprint, the Macclesfield based planning consultants who helped create the plan, Neighbourhood Plan Committee Chairman Cllr Stewart Gardiner and Mr Brian Chaplin, who led the Housing and Employment working group, were interrogated by RTPI judges on the content and development of the plan.

Cllr Gardiner said “’As a member of the Royal Town Planning Institute I am extremely proud to have been the lead councillor in the team that delivered the Knutsford Neighbourhood Plan and to have been judged by my peers to secure this commendation.

However, this award is not about me, but an affirmation of all the hours of hard work and effort put into the process by my Town Council colleagues, The team at Urban Imprint and so many Knutsford residents; too many to name here but a big THANKS to you all- please share my pride”