As a new council, Wilmslow Town Council have been busy putting all the necessary procedures in place and establishing a number of sub-committees to deal with their various areas of responsibility.
As part of this process a Community & Order Committee has been established, whose initial projects include purchasing new Christmas lights for the town centre and looking at ideas for celebrating the Queen's Diamond Jubilee in Wilmslow next year.
The former Christmas lights used to decorate the town had reached the end of their life and have been scrapped, so the Town Council now faces the costly prospect of purchasing new lights.
Cllr Jo Milnes, Chairman of the Committee, told me "We have met with three suppliers and obtained three quotes. We are intending to purchase beautiful, tasteful lights to decorate Water Lane, Alderley Road, Grove Street and hopefully down to Waitrose.
"We are approaching local businesses to ask if they can help us by making a contribution towards the costs of decorating the Town Centre for Christmas, which will make the area more attractive for Christmas shoppers and will also in turn increase footfall and sales in the town."
The Community & Order Committee has been set up to deal with matters impacting or influencing the retail and commercial activity in the Town and will respond to local initiatives which assist the promotion either of the town in general or community well being.
They also aim to; understand the needs and aspirations of local businesses, in order to be able to support and promote these objectives, ensure either through direct action or through influence that the town is appropriately decorated with plants or lights throughout the year and promote the safety of the town, its residents and visitors by maintaining close liaison with the Police and other organisations as appropriate.
A Planning Committee has also been formed which at present meets on the first Monday of each month. If residents have any comments on a planning application they should send them to Cheshire East Council, but they may also wish to make the Wilmslow Town Council Planning Committee aware of their comments by emailing them to either the Chairman, Cllr Christopher Dodson or the Interim Clerk, Helen Richards.
Meetings of the Planning Committee are open to the public and at the Chairman's discretion interested parties will be permitted to speak for or against an application for a maximum period of three minutes. Members of the Planning Committee will listen to all opinions, but will make no comment prior to the consideration of the application at the planning meeting.
The Planning Committee are currently looking at the Cheshire East Local Development Framework consultation which is currently underway.
A Finance Committee has also been established which is chaired by Cllr Martin Watkins and oversees the financial matters of the Town Council such as the banking facilities, accounts for payment, budgeting and tenders.
Wilmslow Town Council meet on the third Monday of each month at the Oakenclough Children's Centre and all meetings are open to the public. Their next meeting is on Monday 15th August, the agenda can be downloaded here, and 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 or call 01625 875508.
