Last night I attended the second meeting of Wilmslow Parish Council where a lot of housekeeping issues were addressed and the new Council took the decision to rename themselves Wilmslow Town Council.
Councillor Gary Barton proposed the change of name "in recognition of the fact we are the largest Parish Council in Cheshire East", which was approved by fellow councillors - so from now on they will be known as Wilmslow Town Council.
It was also decided that for the foreseeable future monthly meetings of Wilmslow Town Council will be held at the Oakenclough Children's Centre, whilst committee meetings will either be held at the centre or in Wilmslow Parish Hall on Cliff Road.
In order to set up a bank account, and start receiving money from the precept, it is essential for the Council to have a postal address so the decision was taken to rent a room at the Parish Hall, at a cost of £50 per week, which will provide them with access to a post box as well as office equipment.
Councillor Martin Watkins, Chairman of the Finance Committee, said "This might not be perfect but it will do our immediate needs and by the next meeting we can have a bank account up and running, or as near as, so we can start to get our precept."
Another priority for the Town Council is to appoint a Town Clerk, with a salary of around £32,000 which was suggested by Cheshire East. The position will advertised on the Cheshire East Council website, in The Telegraph newspaper and on the Society of Local Clerks website.
Most of the evening was spent on essential administrative tasks, such as appointing members to various sub-committees and local organisations, but Wilmslow resident Brian McGavin, former Vice-Chairman of Wilmslow Trust, also attended to raise some concerns of behalf of the Trust.
He told councillors "The management of A board signage in the centre is still unsatisfactory. 18 months ago I counted 84 pavement signs in the centre, which are visually ugly on such a large scale and are a potential obstruction hazard.
"In February this year, after Councillor Menlove's proposition to 'manage' the issue better, I counted 104 A boards on the streets. On Saturday, 18th June, I counted 92 boards on the pavement - three new ones at the entrance to Sainsbury's and a large in-your-face advert hoarding by Quorum office rental as you come into Wilmslow's green corridor on Alderley Road.
"Some businesses have a better case than others to advertise because they don't have prime street frontage locations - the alternative health and therapy shop by the passage from Alderley Road to Green Lane for example, but others are just milking the opportunity to extend advertising onto the streets in copy-cat marketing. They see some shops doing it with no sanction and say 'me too'. The town's traffic wardens are well placed to monitor this issue."
Mr McGavin also raised the issue of the exit pavement from the Grove Arcade to Green Lane, which he said "is still jammed with opportunist parking space for 4 cars, presumably owned by local retailers. The same happens outside Tesco Express. This unsightly car parking in key visual locations is unnecessary and is likely to get worse. Now estate agents are starting to park cars on the attractive walkway along Alderley road, opposite Hoopers.
"We should push the idea we raised earlier with Cheshire East Council where the Council could offer a few free spaces in the nearby car park for these cars in return for the owners moving them off the Grove Arcade entry. Cheshire East seemed to think this sets a terrible precedent, but it is a logical and sensible way through the problem, that has absolutely negligable impact on parking spaces and a big impact on a better looking town centre."
He said "We (Wilmslow Trust) really feel this is something that the Council should make a priority."
Councillor Jim Crockett, Chairman of Wilmslow Town Council, commented "We're like a house that has only got to the foundation stage so we are not in a position to do very much. People should understand the situation we're in. We're very keen to get ahead and do things but until we can build a proper structure we can't."
Councillor Gary Barton added "Regarding A boards I agree. It comes down to enforcement. I've spoken to Councillor Menlove and if you can report signs which you think are in violation of the policy then they will be investigated.
"Can I recommend for the time being that you put complaints forward to Councillor Menlove. It is certainly something as a Town Council which we should be keeping an eye on because the appearance of our town is important."
Brian McGavin also raised the issue of empty shops in the town centre which Councillor Barton said was "something we're all concerned about.
"We'll engage with the Town Centre Manager to make those properties which are unlet are less of an eyesore but these are long term agendas which we cannot deal with yet."
Wilmslow Town Council will meet on the third Monday of each month at the Oakenclough Children's Centre. All meetings are open to the public, and he next meeting will be at 7.30pm on Monday 18th July - details of all future meetings will be included in our events calendar.
If you have any issues you would like to raise with the Town Council please email Helen Richards, the temporary Clerk, or call 01625 875508.
Update - Attached are the minutes from Wilmslow Town Council's inaugural meeting which was held on Monday 16th May.
I will be publishing the minutes on a monthly basis, each article containing Town Council minutes will be tagged as such, so going forward you can easily find them all.
Comments
Here's what readers have had to say so far. Why not add your thoughts below.
I am, however, surprised at the cost of £50 per week for the provision of a business address / services. Is this correct or should it be £50 per month? As a local business man I pay a lot less for the provision of an office address and business services from another Wilmslow business service provider.
Mr Stafford, I agree that much needs to be done to improve Wilmslow and I very much believe that the new Town Council can be at the heart of those efforts. WTC is currently less than two months old so what we can achieve is limited. Poynton's Council is many decades old and therefore much more developed. However, it does also provide a good model of what we will be able to achieve in Wilmslow.
Thank you both for your comments, and thank you Lisa for reporting on us!
Regards,
Cllr Gary Barton (vice-chairman WTC)
Thank you for such a quick response. I will send you a separate email to your cheshire east email address to continue my comments on the £50 a week issue.