Vacancy for Moss Ward Councillor

Following the resignation of Cllr Evelyn Briggs there is a vacancy for a Councillor for the Moss Ward of the Parish of Gawsworth.

An election to fill the vacancy will be held if ten electors for the said Electoral area give notice to the Returning Officer requesting such an election within 14 days (excluding Saturdays, Sundays, Christmas Eve, Christmas Day, Good Friday or a Bank Holiday) of the date of this notice.

The address of the Returning Officer is:

The Returning Officer
Cheshire East Council
Westfields
Middlewich Road
Sandbach
CW11 1HZ

If no such notice is given the Parish Council will fill the vacancy by co-option. For further advice on procedure for requesting an election please call the Elections Office at Cheshire East Council on 01270 685922

If a co-option takes place, this will be advertised and applications for a councillor invited. To register your interest in becoming a councillor please email clerk@gawsworthpc.org.uk

Publication of unaudited accounts 2021/22

1. Date of announcement 30th June 2022

2. Each year the smaller authority’s Annual Governance and Accountability Return (AGAR) needs to be reviewed by an external auditor appointed by Smaller Authorities’ Audit Appointments Ltd.  The unaudited AGAR has been published with this notice. As it has yet to be reviewed by the appointed auditor, it is subject to change as a result of that review.

Any person interested has the right to inspect and make copies of the accounting records for the financial year to which the audit relates and all books, deeds, contracts, bills, vouchers, receipts and other documents relating to those records must be made available for inspection by any person interested. For the year ended 31 March 2022, these documents will be available on reasonable notice by application to:

(b)   Adam Keppel-Green

        33 Manor Crescent, Knutsford, WA16 8DL

        clerk@gawsworthpc.org.uk | 07584 057 228

commencing on (c) Friday 1st July 2022

and ending on (d) Thursday 11th August 2022

3. Local government electors and their representatives also have:

• The opportunity to question the appointed auditor about the accounting records; and
• The right to make an objection which concerns a matter in respect of which the appointed auditor could either make a public interest report or apply to the court for a declaration that an item of account is unlawful. Written notice of an objection must first be given to the auditor and a copy sent to the smaller authority.

The appointed auditor can be contacted at the address in paragraph 4 below for this purpose between the above dates only.

4. The smaller authority’s AGAR is subject to review by the appointed auditor under the provisions of the Local Audit and Accountability Act 2014, the Accounts and Audit Regulations 2015 and the NAO’s Code of Audit Practice 2015.  The appointed auditor is:

PKF Littlejohn LLP (Ref: SBA Team), 15 Westferry Circus, Canary Wharf, London, E14 4HD (sba@pkf-l.com)

5. This announcement is made by (e) Adam Keppel-Green, Clerk and RFO.

The AGAR 2021/22 can be viewed here: AGAR 2021/22 (unaudited)

LOCAL AUTHORITY ACCOUNTS: A SUMMARY OF YOUR RIGHTS

Please note that this summary applies to all relevant smaller authorities, including local councils, internal drainage boards and ‘other’ smaller authorities.

The basic position

The Local Audit and Accountability Act 2014 (the Act) governs the work of auditors appointed to smaller authorities. This summary explains the provisions contained in Sections 26 and 27 of the Act. The Act and the Accounts and Audit Regulations 2015 also cover the duties, responsibilities and rights of smaller authorities, other organisations and the public concerning the accounts being audited.

As a local elector, or an interested person, you have certain legal rights in respect of the accounting records of smaller authorities. As an interested person you can inspect accounting records and related documents. If you are a local government elector for the area to which the accounts relate you can also ask questions about the accounts and object to them. You do not have to pay directly for exercising your rights. However, any resulting costs incurred by the smaller authority form part of its running costs. Therefore, indirectly, local residents pay for the cost of you exercising your rights through their council tax.

The right to inspect the accounting records

Any interested person can inspect the accounting records, which includes but is not limited to local electors. You can inspect the accounting records for the financial year to which the audit relates and all books, deeds, contracts, bills, vouchers, receipts and other documents relating to those records. You can copy all, or part, of these records or documents. Your inspection must be about the accounts, or relate to an item in the accounts. You cannot, for example, inspect or copy documents unrelated to the accounts, or that include personal information (Section 26 (6) – (10) of the Act explains what is meant by personal information). You cannot inspect information which is protected by commercial confidentiality. This is information which would prejudice commercial confidentiality if it was released to the public and there is not, set against this, a very strong reason in the public interest why it should nevertheless be disclosed.

When smaller authorities have finished preparing accounts for the financial year and approved them, they must publish them (including on a website). There must be a 30 working day period, called the ‘period for the exercise of public rights’, during which you can exercise your statutory right to inspect the accounting records. Smaller authorities must tell the public, including advertising this on their website, that the accounting records and related documents are available to inspect. By arrangement you will then have 30 working days to inspect and make copies of the accounting records. You may have to pay a copying charge. The 30 working day period must include a common period of inspection during which all smaller authorities’ accounting records are available to inspect. This will be 1-14 July 2022 for 2021/22 accounts. The advertisement must set out the dates of the period for the exercise of public rights, how you can communicate to the smaller authority that you wish to inspect the accounting records and related documents, the name and address of the auditor, and the relevant legislation that governs the inspection of accounts and objections.

The right to ask the auditor questions about the accounting records

You should first ask your smaller authority about the accounting records, since they hold all the details. If you are a local elector, your right to ask questions of the external auditor is enshrined in law. However, while the auditor will answer your questions where possible, they are not always obliged to do so. For example, the question might be better answered by another organisation, require investigation beyond the auditor’s remit, or involve disproportionate cost (which is borne by the local taxpayer). Give your smaller authority the opportunity first to explain anything in the accounting records that you are unsure about. If you are not satisfied with their explanation, you can question the external auditor about the accounting records.

The law limits the time available for you formally to ask questions. This must be done in the period for the exercise of public rights, so let the external auditor know your concern as soon as possible. The advertisement or notice that tells you the accounting records are available to inspect will also give the period for the exercise of public rights during which you may ask the auditor questions, which here means formally asking questions under the Act. You can ask someone to represent you when asking the external auditor questions.

Before you ask the external auditor any questions, inspect the accounting records fully, so you know what they contain. Please remember that you cannot formally ask questions, under the Act, after the end of the period for the exercise of public rights. You may ask your smaller authority other questions about their accounts for any year, at any time. But these are not questions under the Act.

You can ask the external auditor questions about an item in the accounting records for the financial year being audited. However, your right to ask the external auditor questions is limited. The external auditor can only answer ‘what’ questions, not ‘why’ questions. The external auditor cannot answer questions about policies, finances, procedures or anything else unless it is directly relevant to an item in the accounting records. Remember that your questions must always be about facts, not opinions. To avoid misunderstanding, we recommend that you always put your questions in writing.

The right to make objections at audit

You have inspected the accounting records and asked your questions of the smaller authority. Now you may wish to object to the accounts on the basis that an item in them is in your view unlawful or there are matters of wider concern arising from the smaller authority’s finances. A local government elector can ask the external auditor to apply to the High Court for a declaration that an item of account is unlawful, or to issue a report on matters which are in the public interest. You must tell the external auditor which specific item in the accounts you object to and why you think the item is unlawful, or why you think that a public interest report should be made about it. You must provide the external auditor with the evidence you have to support your objection. Disagreeing with income or spending does not make it unlawful. To object to the accounts you must write to the external auditor stating you want to make an objection, including the information and evidence below and you must send a copy to the smaller authority. The notice must include:

• confirmation that you are an elector in the smaller authority’s area;
• why you are objecting to the accounts and the facts on which you rely;
• details of any item in the accounts that you think is unlawful; and
• details of any matter about which you think the external auditor should make a public interest report.

Other than it must be in writing, there is no set format for objecting. You can only ask the external auditor to act within the powers available under the Local Audit and Accountability Act 2014.

A final word

You may not use this ‘right to object’ to make a personal complaint or claim against your smaller authority.  You should take such complaints to your local Citizens’ Advice Bureau, local Law Centre or to your solicitor. Smaller authorities, and so local taxpayers, meet the costs of dealing with questions and objections.  In deciding whether to take your objection forward, one of a series of factors the auditor must take into account is the cost that will be involved, they will only continue with the objection if it is in the public interest to do so. They may also decide not to consider an objection if they think that it is frivolous or vexatious, or if it repeats an objection already considered. If you appeal to the courts against an auditor’s decision not to apply to the courts for a declaration that an item of account is unlawful, you will have to pay for the action yourself.

For more detailed guidance on public rights and the special powers of auditors, copies of the publication Local authority accounts: A guide to your rights are available from the NAO website.

If you wish to contact your authority’s appointed external auditor please write to the address in paragraph 4 of the Notice of Public Rights and Publication of Unaudited Annual Governance & Accountability Return.

Have your say on council’s new objectives

Our Draft Vision

The vision is our overall objective, it’s the idea of what we are working towards.

In 2027, Gawsworth will be a tinder and better cared for parish than in 2022. The natural environment will have been enhanced as part of a community wide initiative to be a more environmentally aware parish and the built heritage of the parish will have been better understood and conserved by the community.

Gawsworth will be a healthy and resilient community with access to the affordable housing it needs. Active travel networks will have been improved and people will feel safer using roads and footpaths to travel and there will have been a focus on improving accessibility across the parish.

The Neighbourhood Plan will continue to be effective in ensuring appropriate development and there will be a welcoming rural feel across the entire parish. Any new residents from the LPS15 development will feel part of Gawsworth community.

The parish will have a strong civil society with an actively engaged community. There will be evidence strong partnership working across the various organisations operating in the parish.

Our Draft Priorities

We’ve drafted six strategic priorities which will help us meet the vision. Under each priority we then have a number of more specific objectives. Once these have been agreed we’ll develop specific actions under each to ensure we can deliver.

GPC1 – The Parish Council will work to enhance the natural environment, built heritage and open spaces within the parish.

• Complete a review of the Gawsworth Conservation Area
• Develop a Green Gawsworth Strategy
• Develop a business case to create a new public open space on the former depot at Maggoty Lane
• Continue to deliver on its park and woodland management plans

GPC2 – The Parish Council will work to deliver a strong and resilient civil society

• Develop stronger links between the parish council and community organisations
• Ensure that community groups have the support they need to be successful
• Support the development of organisations/networks to fill gaps
• Develop a communications strategy
• Develop a Community Resilience Plan
• Ensure a strong and skilled Parish Council

GPC3 – The Parish Council will play an active role in the planning system and protect the rural identity OF Gawsworth

• Uphold the policies of the Gawsworth Neighbourhood Plan
• Seek to influence local planning policy where appropriate
• Undertake a review of the Gawsworth Neighbourhood Plan
• Ensure access for Gawsworth residents to any affordable housing developed in the parish

GPC4 – The Parish Council will enhance accessibility and active travel across and outside the parish

• Undertake a survey of the PROW network to identify improvements
• Undertake an accessibility audit across the parish
• Identify and lobby for improvements to promote cycling to/from Macclesfield and Congleton
• Explore the creation of permissive path routes to enhance the PROW network
• Explore the submission of DMMO applications to register new PROW
• Ensure bus shelters and crossing points (etc) are well maintained

GPC5 – The Parish Council will improve the standards of maintenance across the parish

• Create a definitive list of the maintenance that needs to be undertaken across the parish
• Investigate employment/contracting of a parish ranger to deliver a parish maintenance plan
• Review the provision of litterbins

GPC6 – The Parish Council will maximise the use of IT and promote skill sharing the community

• Explore ways to take advantage of existing data
• Actively seek local community based partners when delivering projects
• Develop a community skill directory

What do you think?

We want to ensure that our new five year plan serves the needs of the community, so please let us know what you think. Have we missed anything? What is most important to you? How do you think we could meet these goals?

To provide feedback simply email: clerk@gawsworthpc.org.uk by 10th June.

John Upton Charity Draft Rules

The John Upton Charity is currently updating its Operating Rules and Financial Regulations to better meet the needs of the Gawsworth Community.

Here is a draft of the proposed regulations: Draft Operating Rules and Financial Regulations.

Please email Loraine at johnuptoncharity@gawsworthpc.org.uk with any comments or suggestions. Thank you.

Community Governance Review Consultation

Cheshire East Council is consulting on proposals to amend the boundary of Gawsworth and move the Gawsworth Moss area and a number of fields into Macclesfield Town.

The borough-wide Community Governance Review is looking at governance arrangements for the parishes across Cheshire East and can consider a range of matters including the boundaries of parishes, number of councillors and warding arrangements.

The proposals for Gawsworth are:

• To move the Gawsworth Moss area into Macclesfield Town Council
• To move a number of fields, including the LPS15 development, into Macclesfield Town Council
• To retain a total of nine parish councillors with no need for warding arrangements

The proposals also state that if the area is not transferred, warding arrangements could continue with three councillors for Moss and seven for village (an increase of one).

You can view a map of the proposed area to be removed from Gawsworth and the explanatory report here: Extract from Cheshire East Council Consultation Documents.

The proposals being consulted on go against the suggestions made by Gawsworth Parish Council in the early stages of this review. Gawsworth Parish Council proposed that the warding arrangement should be removed and should this not be possible that:

• The Moss Ward be extended to cover all of LPS15 and LPS19 which is currently in Village Ward
• Residents of Moss Ward should have opportunity to agree a new name for the ward which better fits that community
• The council should retain nine councillors but five should be assigned to Village and four to Moss.

The Parish Council had presented Cheshire East Council with survey data showing that the majority of respondents to a survey of Moss Ward residents want to remain in Gawsworth parish. This was dismissed by Cheshire East Council.

The Parish Council strongly urges residents in both Village and Moss wards to make their voice heard in this consultation. If there is not a strong voice from the residents of Moss ward then it is likely the proposals will go through.

To respond to the consultation you can:

• Complete the CEC Consultation Survey here: https://surveys.cheshireeast.gov.uk/s/CGReview2/
• Email your views to: communitygovernancereview@cheshireeast.gov.uk
• Write to Cheshire East Council, Community Governance Review Consultation, Westfields, Middlewich Road, Sandbach, CW11 1HZ

The consultation closes on 28th November.

Notice of conclusion of audit

The audit of accounts for Gawsworth Parish Council for the year ended
31 March 2021 has been completed and the accounts have been
published.

The Annual Governance & Accountability Return is available for
inspection by any local government elector of the area of Gawsworth
Parish Council on application to Adam Keppel-Green (Clerk), 33 Manor Crescent, Knutsford, WA16 8DL / clerk@gawsworthpc.org.uk.

Monday to Friday 9am to 5pm.

Copies will be provided to any person on payment of £NIL for each
copy of the Annual Governance & Accountability Return.

Announcement made by Adam Keppel-Green (Clerk)

Date of Announcement: 16/09/2021

Completed AGAR 2020/21

LPS15 Development

On Tuesday 7th September, the Parish Council hosted a virtual community meeting with representatives of Redrow and Jones Homes concerning the LPS15 development application.

The application is now live on the Cheshire East Council website reference 21/4113M.

You can watch a stream of the meeting here:

At the meeting, the representatives of the developers undertook to provide answers to some questions that they couldn’t answer on the night.

Has the land been tested for leachates from the old tip?

When the Intrusive Investigations are completed the ground will be tested for a range of contaminants. The Phase 1 report forms the basis for the testing which would highlight any off site issues that need to be taken in to account. All the works will need to satisfy the Local Authority and NHBC in order to obtain the necessary certification for the properties to be sold and inhabited.

Did traffic assessment take account of the closure of Congleton tip?

The consultant  didn’t take account of the closure of Congleton tip.  Congleton tip has only just closed (5^th September) so the evidence of things being much busier is a limited.  In terms of the TA it looks at the morning and evening peak flows which are not busy times for a tip.  Indeed the evening peak is 17:00 to 18:00 and the tip is actually closed during this period.  This will only affect flows to and from the south west and in the context of the TA this is just the site access which has plenty of spare capacity.  Where capacity is tight to the northeast – Flower Pot junction and the Congleton Road junctions with Moss Lane and Thornton Avenue the closure of Congleton tip won’t have any impact on flows.

Did the TA take account of Covid?

They were done in May and June when traffic is less than normal due to Covid?  The TA authors were advised by Cheshire East officers to do counts as they were of the opinion that flows had returned to normal.  They had been doing survey work in other locations during the weeks before.  They did do some checks against old count data and information from the South Macc TA which showed the figures were not materially different.

Is there any information on comparing the traffic counts done against pre- covid conditions?

As Above

Has the effect of the opening of the Congleton Link road been included in the TA and the effect on the traffic cameras being put in on this stretch of road? 

The Congleton Road bypass was open at the time of the surveys so yes this has been taken account off.  The timing of the counts was carefully monitored to avoid the road works on Congleton Road.

What are the peat depths across the site?

 Below is an extract from the site investigation report showing the location of peat in the area. The depth ranges from 1m – 2.5m below ground level.

Vacancy for Parish Councillor

Due to the resignation of Cllr Lisa Tyrrell, there is a vacancy for a Councillor for the Village Ward of the Parish of Gawsworth.

An election to fill the vacancy will be held if ten electors for the said Electoral area give notice to the Returning Officer requesting such an election within 14 days (excluding Saturdays, Sundays, Christmas Eve, Christmas Day, Good Friday or a Bank Holiday) of the date of this notice.

The address of the Returning Officer is:

The Returning Officer
Cheshire East Council
Westfields
Middlewich Road
Sandbach
CW11 1HZ

If no such notice is given the Parish Council will fill the vacancy by co-option.

Rebrand for Gawsworth Shop

During the coming months you will see some exciting changes in our community facility.

We will rebrand our Community Shop and Hub under a new banner

Why are we making this change?

Today, thanks to the dedication of our volunteers, both past and presents, and with the support of the whole community, we are more than a successful community shop.  

Gawsworth Hub “Serving our community” was chosen as our new name and strap line as we felt that it encapsulates who we are and what we stand for.

Gawsworth Hub is situated in the heart of the village, and it offers a wide range of activities owned, and run, by the community for the community.

Gawsworth Hub includes a

• Successful community shop, wherever possible, offering local-sourced products and always giving friendly service 
• New warm and welcoming space for us to
• meet, and/or make new, friends
• take refreshments (pick up a Drinks Loyalty Card)
• join champion-led activities and services, e.g. “Chit & Chat”, assist residents to order items/services on-line, etc.
• attend pop-up surgeries, e.g. PCSO, Parish Council, etc.
• take part in fun events or mark special days
• support local charities’ initiatives
• etc., etc,  

• Accessible toilet and baby changing facility
• Free WiFi

Community Shop Chairman to stand down

9 July 2021 – Ray Shaw, the longstanding and acclaimed Chairman of Gawsworth Community Shop, is to step down from his role. A new chairperson will be appointed later this year and the recruitment process to find Ray’s successor is now underway.

In the interim period, Ray will assist the Board to implement a new IT infrastructure comprising electronic point of sale hardware and software and a modern website to help the shop run more effectively. Ray’s wife, Val Shaw, will also relinquish her director’s position on the community shop’s Board as the pair prepare to enjoy retirement following their outstanding contribution for the people of Gawsworth parish.

“I have achieved everything that I set out to do five years ago and feel that now is the right time to handover to a new chairperson to deliver the Board’s vision for the next phase. I look forward to working with them to ensure a smooth transition”, said Ray Shaw.

Following a background in IT consultancy Ray Shaw has given ten years of dedicated volunteer service to Gawsworth Shop fulfilling several roles, including Company Secretary and Deputy Manager shortly after the shop opened in March 2011. In 2016, Ray became Chairman and has played a leading role in preserving the future of the last remaining shop in the Gawsworth community.

Under Ray’s guidance, Gawsworth Community Shop celebrated its tenth anniversary in March. More recently, the shop has been transformed into a community hub with a bright future ahead which will deliver a wide range of new benefits to the local community. The hub will formally be opened later this year.

“Transforming a village shop into a community hub has been a complex and hugely challenging project. It has also been an immensely rewarding one, not just for me personally, but because it provides facilities that many communities lack,” explained Ray Shaw.

“It has required an enormous team effort from the start. I want to thank all our volunteers, employees, directors, shareholders and funding organisations for their support, commitment and effort, as without them, it would not have turned out to be the success it has been,” continued Ray.

The search has begun to appoint a new chairperson for Gawsworth Community Shop by the end of this year. Interested candidates should email volunteering@gawsworthshop.co.uk with a covering letter outlining their suitability for this volunteer-based role, or contact HR coordinator Daryl Williams for an initial discussion on 07967 408865. The closing date for applications is 31 August.