Agenda and draft minutes

No apologies for absence were received.

Members are reminded of their responsibility to declare any personal interest in respect of matters contained in this agenda. If the interest arises only as result of your membership of another public body or one to which you have been appointed by the Council then you only need to declare it if you intend to speak.

If the personal interest is a prejudicial interest, you must withdraw from the meeting. Normally you should leave the room before the business starts to be discussed. You do, however, have the same right to speak as a member of the public and may remain in the room to enable you to exercise that right and then leave immediately. In either case you must not seek to improperly influence a decision on the matter.

No declarations of any interest were declared.

To confirm as a correct record the minutes of the meeting of the Community Governance Review held on 25 November 2010 (enclosed)

RESOLVED – That the minutes of the Community Governance Review Committee meeting held on 25 November 2010 be held as a correct record for signing by the Chair.

Report of the Director of Transformation (enclosed)

The Terms of Reference document will follow as soon as possible.

The Committee received a report of the Director of Transformation introducing the Terms of Reference document for the Community Governance Review of the Buckshaw Area.

The Terms of Reference was the legal document that provided;

• The scope of the Review;
• A framework for the conduct of the Review;
• The factual background on which recommendations would be based; and
• Potential outcomes

Its purpose was to ensure that all parties involved in the process were clear as to what issues were to be considered and what information would be used to prepare any recommendations.

The Chair drew Members attention to some of the key elements contained within the document, particularly in relation to the possible outcomes, consultation arrangements and timescales for the Review.

The Review would look at all options for future parish governance arrangements, that included:

• creating a new parish for Buckshaw made up of parts of the current Euxton and Whittle-Le-Woods Parish Councils;
• status quo, with current parishing arrangements remaining unchanged;
• the unparishing of some or all of the area under consideration;
• the unparishing of some or all the area under consideration, with a recommendation to reconsider the position if district boundaries are reviewed by the Boundary Commission for England which put all of Buckshaw Village under one District Council; and
• any other arrangements which come out of the consultation process for the review and receive significant support.

During the Review the Council proposed to use the following mechanisms to keep consultees informed:

• General press releases;
• Council website;
• Key documents on deposit at the Town Hall, Chorley library and relevant branch libraries.
• Briefings/public meetings with Buckshaw Village Community association, Euxton Parish Council, Whittle-Le-Woods Parish Council and RMG, the Management Company who manage and maintain the community facilities and open spaces on Buckshaw Village.
• Direct personal communication.

The Committee had previously agreed a timeframe for the conduct of the Review with information and proposed deadlines on each of the stages. It was proposed that the draft recommendation stage be put back to the end of May/early June. Changes to dates, would be published on the Council’s website.

It was acknowledged that the Community Governance Review would be a lengthy process but the regulations required that the Review be concluded within a 12 month period and the Committee was confident that this would be achieved.

The Final Proposals and request to make a Resignation Order, if required,  would go before a Full Council meeting in the autumn of 2011 to allow for any changes to be implemented by 1 April 2012.

RESOLVED – That the Terms of Reference be approved for publication, including the revised timeframe indicated in the document.