There were no issues raised at this point by members of the public. The retiring Chairman, Cllr Kennington, then opened the meeting.

Standing Orders were approved on a proposal by Cllr. Salmon seconded by Cllr. Leake.

Cllr. Leake proposed Cllr. Gordon Salmon for the position of Chairman and this was seconded by Cllr. Richardson. There being no other nominations, this was agreed unanimously by the Meeting and he took the Chair.

Cllr. Salmon then signed a formal declaration of his acceptance of Office.

Cllrs. Leake, Mitchell, Richardson and Sturman signed a formal declaration of acceptance of office.

The Chairman explained that 5 Applicants were to be co-opted using the voting procedure recommended by the Association of Local Councils. The Clerk conducted a ballot for each of the vacant places, the following applicants being successful.

Shirley Collins
David Craggs
Malcolm Nicholls
Mandy Padley
Mary Robertson

The co-opted members Collins, Craggs & Padley then took their seats on the Council.

Cllrs. Collins, Craggs and Padley signed a formal declaration of acceptance of office. Cllrs. Nicholls and Robertson, who could not attend the meeting, to be asked to sign declarations at the next meeting.

Cllr. Leake was proposed by the Chairman, seconded by Cllr. Richardson and there being no other nominations, Cllr. Leake was unanimously elected Vice Chairman.

The following were appointed to serve on the Committees of the Parish Council:

AMENITIES: Cllrs. Collins, Craggs, Mitchell, Padley & Richardson
FINANCE: Cllrs. Richardson & Sturman
PLANNING: Cllrs. Collins, Craggs, Mitchell, Padley & Sturman
VILLAGE HALL: Cllr. Richardson

Further appointments to be made at the next meeting. Chairpersons of the Committees will be appointed at the next Committee Meetings.

VHPFF: Cllr. Craggs
ASSOCIATION OF TOWN & PARISH COUNCILS: Cllr. Richardson
SCHOOL GOVERNOR: To be considered at the next meeting.
POLICE FORUM: Cllrs. Leake & Richardson
FORUM OF M6 COUNCILS: To be considered at next meeting.

Resolved to continue subscriptions to:

Cheshire Association of Local Councils
Society of Local Council Clerks
Cheshire Community Council
Village Hall Forum

Cllr. Leake consented to continue as a signatory and Cllrs. Richardson & Sturman agreed to their addition as signatories.

There were no Declarations of Interests registered

Apologies for Absence had been received from Cllrs. Nicholls & Robertson and from Boro. Cllr. Furlong. The Chairman expressed the Council's congratulations to Boro. Cllr. Furlong on retaining his seat on Congleton Borough Council.

Resolved to accept the Minutes of the Meeting of 11th April 2006 as a true record and to take them as read.

Cty. Cllr. Oliver reported the following County Matters to the meeting. a) An election for Chairman of Cheshire County Council will take place on Thursday 18th May, the only nomination being Cty. Cllr. Neville Price from Sandbach.
b) On 31st March, CCC had closed 4 schools. Cty. Cllr. Oliver explained that money for education had to be directed to the right places in the interests of children in school. An evaluation of schools in the Congleton Borough would take place in approx 18 months time. Goostrey Primary School was considered to have a good number of pupils.
c) Replying to comments from the Chairman about the poor condition of many roads, Cty. Cllr. Oliver explained that money spent on resurfacing rather than complete reconstruction of roads was considered to be most effective in terms of road safety. He reported that 2006-7 Winter gritting routes were being decided and asked if the Council was satisfied with gritting in Goostrey. Goostrey PC pays for gritting of Church Bank and Cty. Cllr. Oliver was asked to report back on the cost of gritting New Platt Lane.
d) Cllr. Richardson asked about restructuring of resources in Social Services and was asked to submit a written question.

The Chairman reminded the meeting that questions on County and Borough matters should be notified in advance to the Chairman and the County or Borough Councillor.

Boro. Cllr. Kolker entered the meeting and reported as follows: a) There would be a Police Community Action Meeting on 25th May.
b) Boro. Cllr. Kolker explained that money from Central Government for Highways was approx. half of that received 5 years ago. Cheshire 'A' roads are far above the standard elsewhere in the country.
c) Boro. Cllr. Kolker advised that Louise Wallace of CBC Planning Department had visited Goostrey Station on the morning of 9th May and had photographed the station building with a view to applying for listed building status. There are no costs involved in making an application but there would be future upkeep costs. An application would need supporting information, history and pictures. The matter was considered fairly urgent.

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

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

VILLAGE HALL: The Chairman gave a brief introduction to the responsibilities of the Village Hall Management Committee and advised that the main current project was damp reduction and refurbishment of the toilets. Consultants' reports were not yet to hand and estimates were being sought.

Cllr. Leake reported that a sub-committee had interviewed three applicants for the position of Village Hall caretaker and recommended the appointment of Sue Higginson. She was considered a very suitable person and the role of caretaker would fit in very well with her other job of school cleaner. Resolved to offer the post to Sue Higginson.

The Chairman reported that a special meeting of the VHMC had been arranged for 7.30pm on Monday 26th June in the Junior School to discuss the proposed Youth Centre. He advised the new councillors to attend to familiarise themselves with the situation and asked the Clerk to inform the Committee Chairman of this suggestion.

Planning Report 133 had been circulated.
The Planning Committee had considered the retrospective application for revision to Planning Permission to convert a derelict barn into one 4 bed house at 97B Main Road. The Council had made no objection to the original application but had made comments about parking and access which should be repeated in relation to the current application.
The Chairman asked about the landscaping project at a house on Main Road, reported at the last meeting. Cllrs. Leake and Craggs agreed to review the situation.

Resolved to accept Payment Schedule 05.06.

The Chairman explained that the Parish Clerk had been appointed in January subject to a 6-month probationary period but the Council had been very satisfied with the Clerk's work to date. On a proposal by Cllr. Leake, seconded by the Chairman it was resolved to make the appointment permanent.

The Clerk referred to Appendix 05.06. listing her actions resulting from the last Meeting and the correspondence received.
a) A telephoned report from Pat Scholfield that the gate latch at Booth Bed Lane Play Area was broken. This had been reported to CBC who had issued a works order for repair. Litter had been reported in the area after the Easter holidays but this had now been cleared away.
b) An invitation to run a side-stall at Goostrey Rose Festival on 24th June. The Clerk was asked to return the booking form and make this an agenda item at the next meeting.
c) Details of training sessions offered by the Cheshire Association of Local Councils, to be circulated to all Members.
d) A reply from CBC refusing the requested 3 extra dog waste bins. The Clerk was asked to acknowledge receipt, express disappointment and suggest the matter would be taken further. A copy to be sent to Boro. Cllr. Kolker also asking him to ascertain the cost of installing bins. CBC should also be asked to replace the notice about a fine for dog fouling on the post near the Manor Avenue junction.
e) A letter from Mr R Roberts, enclosing an article in 'Modern Railways' about reduced frequency of trains between Alderley Edge and Crewe. The Clerk was asked to write to Northern Rail asking for confirmation of the reported reductions.

The Clerk then tabled the following additional correspondence, received since setting the Agenda.

a) A letter from John Hopkins expressing his dissatisfaction with policing policy and responses and asking the Council to use its influence to complain and seek improvements. A reply to be sent stating that whilst the Council sympathised with his views at a national level, the response to incidents in Goostrey had been satisfactory and there had been a significant decrease in the number of incidents. The speed-reduction exercise and Homewatch initiative had helped to build a good relationship with the local police team. Mr Hopkins was to be advised of the Police Community Meeting on 25th May at the Hermitage Primary School.
b) An e-mail from Ray Owen about resumption of the train service and the station building. Mr Owen had been advised by Network Rail that the target for completion of the signalling system and resumption of service was still the end of June. On the matter of the station building, he had advised Network Rail that the Annual Meeting had been overwhelmingly in favour of saving the whole building. He recommended asking if planning permission would be needed to demolish the building, looking into listed building status and making contact with 'Friends of Goostrey Station' all as matters of some urgency. The Chairman agreed to contact Martin de Kretser.

There were no items in Appendix 05.06.
Cllr. Leake reported an incident of a tractor blocking the footpath on Main Road while the driver visited one of the shops. A wheelchair user had been unable to pass. He agreed to seek help from the police in identifying the tractor owner so that the Council could write.

Cllr. Richardson commented on the general problem of building contractors' vehicles blocking footpaths, this to be monitored and reported to Congleton BC if necessary.

There was nothing to report and this item was deferred to the next Meeting.

The Chairman explained about the Councils contribution of £2000 towards the purchase and operation of a 'smiling face' traffic speed indicator and also a speed gun. Training was to be arranged for use of the speed gun. Volunteers were still needed for future sessions.

The Chairman outlined the background to the Youth Centre project, the sale of the current site being necessary to fund a new building and the objections of the school governors to the proposed position next to the Village Hall. He encouraged the Members to attend the special meeting of the VHMC.
The Chairman and Cllr. Leake suggested that residents should be consulted, possibly by referendum, before the scheme went ahead.

Cllr. Richardson reported rowdy behaviour in the car park at the Main Road shops in the early hours of Saturday and Sunday mornings. This is believed to result from drunken youths leaving the Red Lion. The Clerk was asked to send a report to the Police Community Action Team.

The Chairman reminded Councillors that the Chairperson is the spokesperson for the Parish Council. No approach should be made to the Press and any contact by the Press should be referred to the Chairperson.

It was confirmed that the date of the next Meeting would be 13th June 2006.

The Chairman closed the Meeting at 10.05pm.

There were no members of the Public present at the conclusion of the Meeting.