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Council backtracks on proposals to merge Wilmslow, Handforth and Chorley

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Cheshire East Council has backtracked on its proposals to merge the parishes of Wilmslow, Handforth and Chorley to "form a single community" called Wilmslow.

However the Final Recommendation do include transferring the new housing development of 185 properties between Clay Lane and Sagars Road be from the parish of Styal to Handforth.

The review also proposed an increase in the number of seats on Wilmslow Town Council from 15 to 20 and from 9 to 12 members on Alderley Edge Parish Council from 9 to 12 members.

The above recommendations were the result of a borough-wide review carried out by Cheshire East in 2018 to ensure that community governance arrangements 'continue to reflect local identities and facilitate effective and convenient local government'.

The review considered changes to parish areas and parish electoral arrangements across the whole Borough. Proposed changes include the alteration, merging, creation and abolishing of parishes; the naming of parishes, and the adoption of an alternative style for new parishes. They also include changes to the electoral arrangements for parishes (the council size; the number of councillors to be elected to the council, and whether to divide the parishes into wards for the purposes of elections).

The Council published its Draft Recommendations in March 2021, which were approved for consultation by Full Council in June of that year. The Council then held a 12-week public consultation on the Draft Recommendations, which ran from 6th September to 28th November 2021.

A total of 4,824 responses were received during this consultation stage. The Borough Council has now analysed all these submissions and in early 2022 held further informal workshops with elected Members. Following that stage, the Borough Council produced its Final Recommendations, which are set out in Summary Report prepared for the Community Governance Review SubCommittee meeting on April 4th.

These Final Recommendations will form the basis of a new Cheshire East (Parish Areas and Electoral Arrangements) Order. The Council intends that this Order will be in place in time for the next ordinary elections for the parish councils which is scheduled for 2023.

The Final Recommendations that the Council is making include:

  • Alderley Edge – no change and keeping the number of seats on the Parish Council at nine.
  • Chorley – no change and and keeping the number of seats on the Parish Council at seven.
  • Handforth – External boundary change and increasing the number of seat numbers on the Two Council from 7 to 11. with 4 East seats (increase from 2), 3 South (increase from 2) and 4 West (increase from 3).
  • Wilmslow – No change to the total number of 15 seats on the Town Council, but internal changes in each ward – Dean Row 4 seats (no change), East 3 (decrease from 4), Lacey Green 3 (increase from 2), West 5 (no change).
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