The Minutes of the Meeting of 11th January 2005 were unanimously approved as a true record on a proposal by Cllr. Owen, seconded by Cllr. Kennington, and were taken as read.
He then went on to report on the meeting the evening before with "friends of the playground" group although he had not had a plan to show them which was considered suitable. He did note many comments regarding their vision for the area and now planned to convene a further meeting of the group within the next two weeks when he would have a revised plan available, hopefully for their approval.

Furthermore, he also indicated that a plan for an extended project to the total cost of £60-80,000 would be considered although additional funding for this must be sought from other than the Borough Council. It was agreed that the final proposals would be put to the Parish Council at its next Meeting on 8th March.

In conclusion to this Item, there were strong expressions of concern over the length of time which the project had taken to get to this stage, particularly from Cllr. Richardson and, at the Chairman's request, from Boro. Cllr. Kolker.

Boro. Cllr. Kolker reported that he would assist in an approach to the Airport Trust for at least some of the additional funding for the proposed enlargement of the new playground and that he had raised the issue of the gritting of New Platt Lane with Highways, their response now awaited.

In response to an enquiry from Cllr. Henley, Boro. Cllr. Furlong informed him that the process for applying for a special drinks licence would remain the same at least for the time being.

AMENITIES: There had been no meeting since the last Parish Council.

FINANCE: There had been no meeting since the last Parish Council.

VILLAGE HALL: Cllr. Sewell raised the following issues arising from this meeting.

a). Loop System: In view of the written representations for this service received from both branches of the Women's Institute, from the Flower Club and from St. Luke's Fellowship Local Ministry Team, Cllr. Sewell agreed to investigate this further.

b). TV Enclosure: The quotation from Gold Joinery was accepted at £97 plus the cost of securing with a lock and of staining if necessary.

c). Hire Charges: On a proposal by Cllr. Sewell, seconded by Cllr. Leake, a 10% increase was approved on a vote of 8 in favour with 1 abstention, the latter having argued in favour of a much higher increase. The only exception to this would be the Committee Room for which the current charge was agreed to remain unchanged.

d). Wall Mounted Projection Screen: The Parish Council unanimously agreed to the School's request to install a wall mounted projection screen in the Hall, which was primarily for the School's own use but would also be available for use by hirers, and it was agreed that the Council would consider making a contribution to this when the cost was known, Cllr. Sewell to obtain this from the School.

e). Village Hall Manager: Cllr. Sewell reported that the current temporary Village Hall Manager, Mr Terry Collins, had indicated his willingness for this arrangement to be made permanent and this was approved on a proposal by Cllr. Leake, seconded by Cllr. Salmon, subject to Mr Collins having read and fully understood his Job Description which he would confirm by signing a copy to be then held by the Clerk.

Cllr. Leake took the Meeting through the latest Planning Application Report, 113.

Acceptance of Payment Schedule 02.05 was proposed by Cllr. Henley, seconded by Cllr. Salmon and agreed unanimously.

The Clerk referred to Appendix 02.05 listing his actions resulting from the last Meeting and the correspondence received.

There were no questions on any of these but the Clerk asked for nominations to attend the next three training sessions by the Borough Council and these were offered, the Clerk to confirm to Cllrs. Kennington, Richardson, Robinson & Salmon the exact dates in March, April and May for which they had agreed to attend.

As indicated in Appendix 02.05., there were no Highways issues to address.

There was no further activity to record although, at the invitation of the Chairman, Boro. Cllr. Kolker reported on complaints by nearby Residents regarding a noisy generator and this was being investigated by the contractors.

Cllr. Salmon reported that a further meeting of the Steering Committee was to be held on 10th February in the Lounge of the Village Hall at 7.30pm.

It was agreed that this Item should be held in abeyance until the appointment of the new Chairman to be elected at the May Meeting.

The Clerk tabled a letter from the Legal Department of Cheshire County Council endorsing the disagreement with the Parish Council's interpretation of the Joint Use Agreement and on a proposal by Cllr. Henley, seconded by Cllr. Owen, it was agreed to accept that the Parish Council is responsible for its contribution to the cost of replacing the roof.

The Clerk was, however, instructed to write to the County Council asking for their assurance that the cost of the work was a competitive tender in order to satisfy Standing Orders that three quotations must be obtained to support expenditure of this value.

It was also requested of the Clerk that he write to the Chairman of the VHPFF asking if they still wish to be a signatory to a Joint Use Agreement, as the latest version had not been endorsed by them, and as the issue over payment for the new roof indicated that a new Agreement between the Parish and County Councils would now be appropriate.

Cllr. Owen commented on the poor announcement of the closure in the Parish Magazine and Cllr. Richardson reported on the current status of the search for a new Post Office location, Mrs. Kettle having kindly offered to find appropriate space in her store to which there has been some interest from individuals to man it.

At the Chairman's invitation, Boro. Cllr. Kolker commented on the need to provide disabled access should Kettle's Store become the venue and also raised the issue of a Mobile Post Office although he reported that the representative of Post Office Ltd. who is in charge of the relocation had shown little interest in this alternative solution.

It was agreed that the launch of the Parish Plan should be the central feature of the Annual Parish Meeting supported by guest speakers, probably again including representatives of the Police.

The date set for the Meeting was 28th April commencing at 7.30pm in the Village Hall and the Clerk was asked to cover this as an item in the Parish Newsletter although letters of invitation will be sent out in due course as in previous years.

a). Cllr. Ball reported on his attendance at the meeting of the VHPFF on the 25th January to discus the financing of the repair to the now unsafe all weather playing surface, the remedial work for which will take place during this month although this will leave the VHPFF very short of funds.

b). Cllr. Ball reported on his attendance at the latest training meeting with the Borough Council on the formulation of the Community Plan, his notes for which are available for those interested.

c). Cllr. Ball reported on his attendance at the meeting of the Cheshire County Council Town & Parish Council Annual Meeting.

d). Cllr. Ball reported on his attendance at the Cheshire Forum of M6 Councils at which it was agreed to submit a question to Government forcing them to divulge the outcome of the consultation exercise regarding the suggested Expressway.

e). Cllr. Richardson voiced his concerns regarding vehicles parking too close to the junction of Bank View & Main Road and undertook to raise this with the Cat Team.

f). Cllr. Sewell asked for space in the next Parish Newsletter to introduce the new format for this year's Garden Competition and she agreed to provide the copy.

g). Cllr. Leake suggested that there should again be a Chairman's Ball for 2005 and it was agreed that this be considered by the Amenities Committee.