Council make U-turn on boundary changes
CHESHIRE East Council have made a u-turn on their plans on the future and boundaries of local councils.
After more than three years of work and a 12-week consultation on the community governance review, the council has decided not to go ahead with the proposed changes.
The review received widespread opposition in rural communities and villages such as Sutton, Lyme Green and Gawsworth.
Sutton councillor Andrew Gregory, said: “This was an unfortunate waste of an awful lot of people’s time.
“The good news is they agreed not to pursue their proposed changes and I am happy about that but the whole thing took an enormous amount of time and effort for lots of people for nothing to come of it anyway.
“These changes were seen as unnecessary and an inconvenience by residents.”
The most controversial plan appeared to be the proposal to abolish the Wincle and Wildboarclough parishes which were to be rolled into an enlarged Sutton Parish Council.
Residents feared there would be a loss of local representation on matters such as housing developments and services would be less tailored to an area’s needs.
The other major proposed change to move the village of Lyme Green out of Sutton Parish Council into Macclesfield Town Council was vigorously opposed by many residents.
Coun
Gregory said:
“People understood the implications very well and the response was strong.
“Those persons putting forward these proposed changes didn’t recognise the unique presence of Lyme Green village as a semi rural location, they have a strong sense of community.”
“We need to be active and object to proposed changes. If there wasn’t so much vocal opposition they would have gone through.
“There may be a review about boundaries for electoral purposes in the future so we need to remain vigilant.”
Cheshire East also proposed to reduce the number of parish councillors in Rainow village from ten parish to eight.
But residents in a large area with farms and land into the Peak District meant a need for a wider range of representation.
Gawsworth councillor Lesley Smetham was among those who worked to inform people in Eaton and Gawsworth of the proposed changes and how these would affect them.
She successfully argued against the changes which took some land out of Gawsworth Parish Council and 88 per cent of surveyed residents felt the same way.
Coun Smetham said: “The overwhelming majority of residents wanted to keep the boundaries the same.
“I was shocked at the proposals to submerge Gawsworth Moss with Macclesfield town and to abolish the parish council as they are high functioning and have their own expertise and the idea to remove Eaton Parish Council was bonkers.”
At a full council meeting at Macclesfield Leisure Centre the changed community governance recommendations were approved.
Council leader Sam Corcoran said: “This community governance review was necessary to ensure that town and parish arrangements meet local needs and are fit for purpose for the future.
“I would like to thank the many members of the public who contributed so much to help deliver a successful outcome of this process.
“The changes made to the proposals, following consultation, demonstrate that the council has listened.”