Cheshire County Council has established Locality Boards in each of the six Cheshire districts in support of local community and partner engagement, involvement and consultation. Each Board has considered and agreed how they will engage locally with partners and members of the public on matters of concern, though their core purpose is to facilitate improved communication between County Councillors and officers on local service and Local Strategic Partnership (LSP) issues and the County Council's responsiveness to identified needs and priorities.
As locally focused member bodies, the important test for items of business will be their timeliness in responding to local needs and issues with a view to identifying a specific outcome to progress matters. Important for Locality Boards will be:-
- strong cross-service communications and action on local service, community, partner and partnership issues;
- a good understanding of those local issues and opinions, backed by local information, evidence and research;
- the opportunity to advise the Council and district LSPs on local priorities and supporting evidence-based decision making;
- the ability to influence the development and delivery of public services both directly and in conjunction with partner organisations and LSPs and consider the impact of significant changes to such services on local strategic objectives;
- a scrutiny of local service delivery and monitoring performance of County Council and other services in the locality;
- monitoring effectiveness of locally funded projects and initiatives;
- co-ordination of County Council input and responsiveness to LSP and other district level partnerships;
- co-ordination of County Council input and responsiveness to local plans and strategies e.g. district community plans, parish plans, neighbourhood action plans etc.;
- the challenge to other partners on issues impacting upon the County Council locally and advocate on behalf of local communities;
- their advice and oversight of "discretionary" financial resource allocations deployed at a local level (e.g. locality budgets, grants to voluntary organisations, Local Transport Plan area programme budgets etc.) and reporting back to the local community on this.
The six Locality Boards comprise the local elected Members supported by the nominated Management Board representative, County Managers and appropriate key locality staff. Their core purpose, operating principles and terms of reference have been locally agreed and each has an elected Chairman.
Locality Boards will meet a maximum of six times per year though additional ad-hoc meetings may be convened when appropriate to consider urgent business. These will be issue-led and focus on public involvement and consultation. Each Locality Board will also consider and determine the involvement of third parties, including District, Town and Parish Councils and other community representatives.
Locality Board Membership (*denotes the current Chairman):
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Chester
Cllr Colin Bain (Lib Dem)
Cllr Peter Byrne (Lab)
Cllr Brendan Doyle (Lab)
Cllr Molly Hale (Lib Dem)
Cllr Eleanor Johnson (Con)
Cllr Eveleigh Moore Dutton (Con)
Cllr Stephen Mosley (Con)
Cllr Sue Proctor (Lib Dem) *
Cllr David Rowlands (Con)
John Weeks
(Management Board lead) |
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Congleton
Cllr Mark Dickson (Con)
Cllr Rod Fletcher (Lib Dem)
Cllr Roy Giltrap (Lib Dem)
Cllr Peter Mason (Con)
Cllr Ken Oliver (Con) *
Cllr Neville Price (Con)
Cllr Bill Wolstencroft (Con)
Jan Burns
(Management Board lead) |
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Crewe & Nantwich
Cllr David Brickhill (Con)
Cllr Dorothy Flude (Lab)
Cllr Gordon Fyffe (Lab)
Cllr Arthur Moran (Ind) *
Cllr David Newton (Lab)
Cllr Peter Nurse (Lab)
Cllr Alan Richardson (Con)
Cllr Margaret Simon (Con)
Tom McCabe
(Management Board lead)
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Ellesmere Port & Neston
Cllr David Andrews (Con)
Cllr Derek Bateman (Lab) *
Cllr Lynn Hardwick (Con)
Cllr Brian Jones (Lab)
Cllr Pat Merrick (Lab)
Cllr Larry Toale (Lab)
Joan Feenan
(Management Board lead)
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Macclesfield
Cllr Mark Asquith (Con)
Cllr Adrian Bradley (Lib Dem)
Cllr Nell Carter (Lab)
Cllr Chris Claxton (Con)
Cllr Ken Edwards (Lab)
Cllr Pat Fearnley (Lib Dem)
Cllr Paul Findlow (Con)
Cllr David Freear (Con)
Cllr Barrie Hardern (Con)
Cllr Sylvia Roberts (Lib Dem)
Cllr Steve Wilkinson (Con)
Vacancy (Knutsford electoral division)
Jeremy Taylor
(Management Board lead)
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Vale Royal
Cllr Pam Booher (Lab)
Cllr Malcolm Byram (Con)
Cllr Gretta Cousins (Con)
Cllr Nora Dolphin (Con) *
Cllr Tony Hooton (Lab)
Cllr George Mainwaring (Lab)
Cllr Herbert Manley (Con)
Cllr Andrew Needham (Con)
Cllr Danny Maguire (Lab)
Paul Heath
(Management Board lead)
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In addition to the Locality Board arrangements, the County Council continues to operate locally through its six Highways & Transportation Local Joint Committees. These are joint decision-making bodies with an equivalent number of District Councillors and devolved budgets through the Local Transport Plan. A protocol for engagement with Local Councils also exists.
In addition, the County Council administers six Public Transport Liaison Committees which include district council, provider and passenger representatives.
Both of these arrangements will form part of a review of the County Council’s overall approach to local working, the ongoing development of partnership working and the evolving work of the Locality Boards.
For further information on Locality Boards, contact:-
Jim Tunley, Locality Business Manager (Chester and Vale Royal) on 01244 973725
Marion Kennerley, Locality Business Manager (Congleton and Crewe & Nantwich) on 01625 374720
Zandra Neeld, Locality Business Manager (Ellesmere Port & Neston and Macclesfield) on 01244 977559 or Alison Armstrong, Strategic Partnerships Manager on 01244 973336
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