Please Note the Change of Venue

Please note the change of venue

To: All Members of Winsford Town Council

Local Press

MEMBERS OF THE PUBLIC ARE WELCOME TO ATTEND THIS MEETING

Dear Councillor

You are summoned to attend a meeting of Winsford Town Council to be held in the Cheshire West and Chester Council Chamber, Ground Floor, Wyvern House, The Drumber, Winsford CW7 1AH on Monday 20th February 2017 immediately following the meeting of the Finance Committee but not before 6.45pm.

Yours sincerely

Mark Bailey

Town Clerk/Finance Officer

AGENDA

PART A

1.  PRAYERS, at the discretion of the Town Mayor

2.  APOLOGIES

Members must provide apologies to the Town Clerk before 5.00pm on the day of the meeting, together with reasons for their absence.

3.  DECLARATIONS OF INTEREST

Members to declare any interest under the following categories:

·  Disclosable Pecuniary Interest

·  Outside Bodies Interest

·  Family, Friend or Close Associate Interest

4.  OPEN FORUM

An open forum will be held when members of the public will be invited to speak for a maximum total duration of 15 minutes on items included in the Part A agenda, copies of which will be available at the meeting.

The Town Council has been informed that a number of residents will be attending the meeting to speak to the agenda item ‘Consultation on Application for an Environmental Permit to operate a Small Waste Incineration Plant – Unit 4, Road Three, Winsford CW7 3PD’.

Those members of the public wishing to speak on this item should take note of the following: -

·  At least three clear days’ notice should be given to the Town Council of an intention to speak at this meeting

·  Any person wishing to speak will be required to provide their details including their name, address and a summary of the issues they wish to raise

·  The above information is contained on a form which will be sent out by the Town Council and which should be returned by 4pm on the day before the meeting

·  Anyone who has indicated their wish to speak at the meeting should arrive at the Town Council’s offices 15 minutes before the meeting starts

·  A time limit of three minutes will apply to each speaker

Once any member of the public wishing to speak has completed their contribution, then they will not be permitted to say anything further.

5.  CONSULTATION ON APPLICATION FOR AN ENVIRONMENTAL PERMIT TO OPERATE A SMALL WASTE INCINERATION PLANT – UNIT 4, ROAD THREE, WINSFORD CW7 3PD

In November 2016, OSL Ltd submitted an application to Cheshire West and Chester Council (CWAC) for a change of use at the above address in Winsford. The application stated that the operation of the new business would involve the “conversion of non-recyclable, non-hazardous materials and renewable energy”. The change of use was to apply to an existing warehouse. As part of the process of determining the application, Winsford Town Council recommended refusal on the basis that it was unclear as to what materials would be used at the site; that the industrial process is not appropriate to its location; and that the proximity of residential properties should be taken into account. Other representations were received from the Environment Agency (who had no objections to the change of use).

In determining the planning application, CWAC noted that the applicant had put in place plans for measures to restrict the impact of the plant on the local area. The conclusion from CWAC was that “the proposed development would have no unacceptable impact in respect of visual amenity or highway safety. It is considered that the proposal would not have a significant adverse impact on health or quality of life, having particular regard to residential amenity”. The report from the case officer therefore stated that “it is recommended that planning permission be granted”. A number of conditions were attached to this, including a maximum of 20 delivery vehicles allowed in and out of the site (10 in and 10 out) and also that there would be a need for the applicant to apply to the Environment Agency for permits and licences for the proposed plant. The decision to grant planning permission, therefore, was taken on 20th January 2017 by an officer at CWAC.

Subsequent to this, and in conjunction with the points outlined above, an application has been received by CWAC under the Environmental Permitting Regulations for a permit to operate this plant. As part of the process of deciding whether to approve the application, a consultation process is taking place. This consultation process will include consultation with Winsford Town Council, as well as other relevant agencies including CWAC ward members and the Environment Agency. Despite planning permission having been secured, the operator cannot operate without a valid permit. Any representations on the application for a permit need to be made by 24th February 2017. Once comments have been received, then a draft determination document will be drawn up, at which point a further consultation process will begin with 20 working days allowed for further comment. A final decision will be made at this point, which also will be subject to consultation.

In considering this matter, Members are asked to note the comments which have been made by CWAC to the Town Council. These comments have made it clear that any representations to CWAC regarding this permit application will be judged on their technical merits with the result that simple objections to the plans will not be considered as part of this process. Members will also note that the Town Council did register its objection to the original plans after they were submitted in November 2016, but the application was approved nonetheless.

In making contributions to this process via consultation, the Town Council should be aware that there are specific circumstances which will be taken into account when deciding on whether to grant a permit application or not. These include ensuring the operator has assessed the environmental risk of their proposals and that this assessment is sufficiently robust, as well as ensuring that proper mitigation has been put in place to deal with these risks. One such circumstance of potentially refusing an application might be if the environmental impact would be unacceptable. For instance, an operator might propose siting a new facility close to an extremely sensitive environment, but with no means of providing adequate control. It is these considerations that will be taken into account as part of the consultation process.

RECOMMENDED Members are recommended to consider the application being made for an Environmental Permit and make comments relating to this application.

6.  POLICE UPDATE

Representatives from Cheshire Constabulary will be attending the meeting to provide an update to Members and also to answer any questions.

7.  MAYOR’S REMARKS AND COMMUNICATIONS

A list of Civic engagements since the last meeting is attached (‘A’)

8.  MINUTES

To sign as a correct record the minutes of the meeting of the Town Council held on 16th January 2017 (‘B’)

9.  ARISING

To discuss any points arising from the above minutes.

10.  BUDGET 2017/18

The Finance Committee meeting held on 16th January 2017 recommended the following:-

(a)  That the Town Council’s budget requirements for 2017/18 be £401,672;

(b)  That the precept be set at £370,060 due to the receipt of a Council Tax Reduction Scheme grant of £31,612 from Cheshire West and Chester Council, resulting in an annual charge to Band ‘D’ properties of £45.45;

(c)  That the Capital Programme for 2017/18 will be around £91,000 as outlined in the attached document (‘C’)

Members are invited to endorse the budget for 2017/18 and the precept to be levied on Cheshire West and Chester Council (CWAC) for the provision of Town Council services in the next financial year. This precept request was sent to CWAC on 30th January 2017 in order to meet the CWAC deadline for precept requests of 3rd February 2017.

11.  FINANCE COMMITTEE

To ratify the minutes of the Finance Committee held on 16th January 2017 (approved by the Finance Committee at its meeting held earlier).

(‘D’)

12.  PLANNING COMMITTEE

To ratify the minutes of the Planning Committee meetings held on 17th January 2017; 30th January 2017; and 13th February 2017

(‘E’ – to follow)

13.  SALT FAIR COMMITTEE

To note the minutes of the Salt Fair Committee meeting held on 24th January 2017 (‘F’ – to follow)

14.  TOWN PARK STEERING GROUP

To ratify the minutes of the Town Park Steering Group meeting held on 7th February 2017 (‘G’)

15.  NEW DAWN FOR WINSFORD

To note the minutes from the New Dawn for Winsford meeting held on 26th January 2017 (‘H’)

16.  COMMUNICATIONS STRATEGY STEERING GROUP

To note the minutes from the Communications Strategy Steering Group meeting held on 15th February 2017 (‘I’ – to follow)

17.  MARINA BUILDING

Members will recall that the issue of the Marina Building has been discussed at previous Town Council meetings, specifically relating to the future ownership of the building. At present, CWAC owns the building and the building is closed. In May 2016, an offer was made to the Town Council to transfer the building on a ‘Tenancy at Will’ basis. This was accepted by the Town Council at its meeting in June 2016, subject to work being done on the building. Subsequently, it was decided by the Town Council to seek out partners in order to re-open the building and to manage it in the longer term. It is now clear that such approaches have come to nothing, although ongoing discussions are taking place with neighbouring marinas in the area to see if a project can be developed to further improve the Marina as a location for boaters and other visitors.

As a result of these discussions, it is now clear that there is a good opportunity to make use of the building as a base for utilities (including showers) which boaters can make use of following mooring at Winsford. In addition, there are a range of clubs and societies who wish to make use of the building. For this reason, it is proposed that the Town Council accepts the offer of a tenancy at will from CWAC for, initially, a trial period of six months and, during that time employs (on a casual basis) a key-holder/caretaker to look after the building and close/open it on a part-time basis. It is further proposed that the Town Council gathers quotes to make minor improvements to the look and structure of the building.

RECOMMENDED: Members approve the proposal for the Town Council to take ownership of the Marina Building on a tenancy at will basis as outlined above for an initial period of six months and then reviews the position at that time (August/September 2017) as to whether to continue with this arrangement.

18.  CONSULTATION ON CHESHIRE WEST AND CHESTER PARKING STRATEGY

CWAC are currently consulting on their Parking Strategy. This consultation is focused on dealing with key issues such as the rise in car ownership and the decrease in land available for car parks. The Council is seeking ways to cover costs and invest in additional car parking provision. The strategy also seeks to address the current position whereby some areas pay for parking in the CWAC area and some do not. A full copy of the Strategy can be found at http://inside.cheshirewestandchester.gov.uk/get_involved/consultations/parking_strategy_consultation and the consultation itself closes on 24th February 2017.

Members are asked to note the attached document, which is a suggested response to the Strategy on behalf of the Town Council and has been drafted by Members. Members are asked to approve or otherwise this document and ask for it to be sent to CWAC on behalf of Winsford Town Council. (‘J’)

RECOMMENDED Members asked to note the information provided. Members are recommended to agree definitive response from the Town Council.

19.  HS2 CONSULTATION – UPDATE

Members will recall that items on HS2 were included on the Town Council agendas in November 2016 and January 2017. On those occasions, it was reported that a number of changes are being proposed to the HS2 line north of Crewe, some of which will impact on Winsford.

A consultation process was launched based on these revised proposals and will last until 9th March 2017. The consultation itself is in two parts and is focused on the route refinements (changes to the route compared with the proposals put forward in 2013) with views being sought from those affected and the second part is on property schemes, whereby those who own properties affected by HS2 will receive support from the Government in the form of property purchases and compensation.

In terms of the route refinements, it is primarily the proposals for the route between Middlewich and Pickmere which potentially will affect parts of Winsford. The proposals from HS2 Ltd state that these changes (over a 26 km route) have been proposed to “avoid brining and gas storage infrastructure, and minimise the risk of subsidence due to underlying geological conditions” and also state that the changes have been introduced following comments received during the 2013 consultation.