The member of the Public thanked the retiring councillors for all their hard work over the years and was thanked by them for her kind words.

There were no Declarations of Interest registered.

Apologies for Absence were received from Cllr. Henley and from Boro. Cllr. Kolker.

Resolved to accept the Minutes of the Meeting of 14th March 2006 as a true record and to take them as read.

Cty. Cllr. Oliver reported the following County Matters to the meeting.

a) The 'Highways Agency M6 Study into increasing Capacity from J11a to J19', also attended by Cllr. Ball.
M6 capacity will be increased either by widening or by construction of a toll road. Completion is at present scheduled for 2017. A toll road, if the chosen solution, would be to the West of the M6 and would not have junctions corresponding to the present J17 and J18. The resulting work necessary to local 'A' roads (eg. A556) would be likely to use the entire regional budget. CCC will be engaged in consultation with the Highways Agency.
b) The ending of the Joint Highways Working arrangement. Congleton BC has withdrawn from the Joint Working arrangement as from 1st April 2006 and some functions previously provided by the Joint Highways Office will be carried out solely by the Borough Council. Cllr. Owen asked if the service provided would be as good as in the past and would roads be kept up to standard. Boro. Cllr. Furlong reported that decision making would rest with the same officers. He also referred to a letter advising contact details for the various functions. The Clerk confirmed that this had been received.

Boro. Cllr. Furlong reported the following County Matters to the meeting.

a) The Goostrey Pre-school have been awarded £1000 by Manchester Airport Community Trust Fund. The Members confirmed that this was being considered as a source of funding for stage 2 of the Booth Bed Lane playing field development.
b) CBC Planning Department are still investigating the application to continue an Agricultural Contracting Business at Barnshaw Bank Farm, Mill Lane.
c) Dane Housing have withdrawn the application for affordable housing at Twemlow Green. It is possible Goostrey will be considered a suitable alternative with its better transport, infrastructure and facilities.

AMENITIES: Whilst there were no issues from the last meeting requiring decisions from the Parish Council, the Chairman reported that she had agreed to organise the restocking of the Village planters during May. Preparations for the Open Garden Day on 2nd July were underway with posters and entry forms to be placed in local shops in the next few days.

VILLAGE HALL: The Chairman reported the following items from the last meeting:

a) The Village Hall caretaker has resigned with effect from the end of May. An advertisement has been placed in local shops and will be included in the May newsletter. There have been 2 applications so far.
b) CCC have appointed consultants to further investigate the problem of damp. It is thought that the toilet facilities need upgrading and this should be done at the same time as any remedial work. The Chairman would be seeking quotations.
c) In line with CCC's smoke-free policy, there will be a complete ban on smoking in the Village Hall with effect from 1st June. Signs have been ordered and the Clerk was asked to send a letter to all regular hirers and include this item in the May newsletter. The ban will also make it possible to install smoke detectors, connected to the main fire alarm, as recommended by the Fire Safety Officer.
d) The Members agreed that any charges for boiler servicing and repairs should be split between the School and the PC in the same proportions as fuel charges.
e) A Legionella risk assessment exercise will involve inspection of the showers.
The Members agreed that, if necessary and in view of the very limited use, the showers could be removed as part of the refurbishment.
f) The Rural Touring Theatre have offered partial funding for improved stage lighting and/or a curtain backdrop. Quotes are being sought.
g) The Members agreed that payment for repairs to the Hall roof would be paid in full upon receipt of an invoice from CCC.
h) Payment of the 2004-5 recharge is included in Payment Schedule 04/06. An initial draft of the 2005-6 bill has been received.

FINANCE: Minutes of the last meeting had been circulated and Unaudited Accounts for 2005-6 together with a report of Actuals against Budget were tabled. The Unaudited Accounts were accepted for presentation at the Annual Parish Meeting

Planning Report 132 had been circulated. The committee had made no objections to the latest application for rebuilding of 'Owl's Hoot'.
It was reported that the applications for one dwelling on the site of the Youth Centre and the building of a new youth facility adjacent to the school had both been approved by the CBC Planning committee.

Resolved to accept Payment Schedule 04.06

The Clerk referred to the items in Appendix 04/06

a) A reply from Cranage Parish Council on the subject of Police Community Support Officers. Cranage PC had resolved to reiterate its previous decision not to support this initiative. Replies from Twemlow and Allostock PC's are expected after their May meetings.
b) A letter from Cheshire Police Authority on the proposed merger of Cheshire and Merseyside Police, to be circulated to members.
c) A reply from Congleton BC on the subject of dog waste bins. The Dog Warden will assess the three suggested locations and arrangements will be made according to his recommendations.
d) A request from the Goostrey Footpaths Group to use the Village Hall address to receive orders for footpaths booklets. The Clerk confirmed she would be happy to receive orders and pass them on to members of the Footpaths Group.

Referring to the Clerk's actions from the last Meeting, Cllr. Salmon asked that the request for a notice board on the Bog Bean should be reconsidered as this area should be kept as uncluttered as possible both to preserve the open aspect and so as not to hinder grass-cutting.

The Clerk referred to the items in Appendix 04/06 and the following replies from Joint Highways.

a) Concerning the leylandii hedge at Cheshire House. This did not constitute a danger to road users but was instead a nuisance to neighbouring properties. The advice issued by the Office of the Deputy Prime Minister is that local authorities should only be involved as a last resort and people who wish to complain must demonstrate that they have tried to resolve the matter with the hedge owner and would be required to pay a fee for their complaint to be investigated. The clerk was asked to send a copy of this letter to those residents who had expressed concern.
b) Regarding the road surface at the Main Road/Mill Lane junction. The area had been inspected and failure of the surface dressing confirmed. Sweeping would be arranged to remove surplus material and a review of required remedial work undertaken. No timescale could be given.

This item was deferred to the next Meeting.

Cllr. Leake reported the completion of the base-line assessment, information having been collected on Main Road at the Bog Bean, Sandy Lane and near the Village Hall and also on Boothbed Lane. It was reported that speeding was more in evidence in the early mornings than in the afternoons. The equipment would be in live use as from mid-end May. The Council had been offered a speed gun with training scheduled for the end of May. More volunteers were still needed.

The proposed youth facility was discussed in the light of approval of the Planning applications. Cllr. Ball thought that there had been an unfortunate lack of communication between the Council and the School Governors and Cllr. Sewell commented that help and co-operation from the school was vital to the successful management of the Village Hall. It was resolved that no action would be taken at present as there was a possibility of an appeal by the School Governors and that Boro. Cllr. Kolker, acting on behalf of G.Y.P.P., should be asked to contact the School Governors to discuss their objections and try to reach an agreement. It would not be possible to proceed with the sale of the Youth Centre site for development as the two planning applications are closely associated, the one 'enabling' the other.

Copies of an invitation/agenda and Homewatch information have been prepared for delivery to every house in the village by the Members and the Clerk.

Following the address at last month's meeting by Simon Adderley of Cheshire Community Council, the Members discussed projects suitable for applications for funding from DEFRA. The Clerk was asked to inform Mr Adderley that funding would be sought for the following: Village seats, junction mirrors, hanging baskets with automatic watering systems, accessories (dryers, mirrors etc) for the Village Hall toilets and a catering grade portable kettle also for the Village Hall.

It was confirmed that there had been only five nominations for the Parish Council and therefore no election would take place. Various solutions to this unfortunate position were discussed and it was resolved to deliver a notice, drafted by Cllr. Salmon, to every house in the village. This notice, also to be included in the Newsletter, asks residents to come forward for co-option onto the Parish Council in order that a full complement of 10 Councillors can be achieved.

Cllr. Owen reported on the final meeting of the Railway Compound Liaison Committee. The subject of the station building had been raised. The canopy will interfere with signalling equipment and it or the entire building might be removed and replaced with a shelter. It was decided to delay consideration of this matter until after the Annual Parish Meeting and to involve the 'Friends of Goostrey Station'. In the meantime the compound site was being cleared.

Cllr. Owen reported that the Planning Focus Group had addressed the question of registering the Parish Plan as an Official Planning Document and had resolved that its Chairman should write to Bill Owen at the LSP to present the case.

Cllr. Richardson reported strong rumours and newspaper articles about the closure of Holmes Chapel Post Office. These could not be confirmed. Post Office facilities are now available in Goostrey and vehicles can be taxed at Plumley.

Cllr. Ball asked the Planning Committee to investigate the development at a property on Main Road, opposite Shearbrook Bank, where a landscaping project seems to be encroaching onto agricultural land behind the house.

It was confirmed that the date of the next Meeting would be 9th May 2006..

The Chairman closed the Meeting at 9.30 pm.

Cllr. Leake thanked the retiring councillors and said he had enjoyed working with them. The Chairman, Cty. Cllr. Oliver and Boro. Cllr. Furlong endorsed these remarks.