North Rode Parish Council
Draft Minutes of the Meeting held on Thursday 6th November 2025 at Daintry Hall
Present :-
Councillor Huw Williams, Chairman
Councillor Jacqui Lea
Councillor Alastair Bayley
Councillor Brian Evans
Councillor Mark Bullock
Councillor Lesley Smetham – Cheshire East Councillor
Brenda Lomas – Clerk
Members of the Public – Mr Andrew Syson, Mr I Crewe
1. Apologies for absence –
Councillor Georgina Bailey, Vice Chairman& Councillor Jon Burwood
2. Public Participation
Mr Crewe was interested in the current position in respect of the planned improvements to Daintry Hall. It was explained that a number of CEC imposed pre-commencement planning conditions were currently being met and that it was hoped that initial works could commence in 2026.
3. Presentation from Mr Steven Purdham on Cheshire & Warrington Devolution
Steve Purdham, resident of North Rode, has a leading role in the Cheshire & Warrington Devolution Advisory Board and gave a presentation on the process and the advantages of its success to the North West if it was approved. Steve explained that Cumbria, Lancashire and Cheshire are the only areas in the country that currently don’t have their own Mayors and therefore there is no real representation to Central Government from those areas. Funds from central government are generally allocated to areas with Mayors. He explained that if Devolution is accepted then more finance would become available from Central Government to the North West area covered by Warrington, Cheshire West & Chester and Cheshire East Councils. Such additional finance could be put towards improved travel, transport, housing and skills. If successful, £650 million pounds would be awarded over a 30 year period. It is a political vote and so far, support has been mixed from the various political parties. The vote for a Mayor will take place in May 2027. In the meantime a joint committee will move forward as a shadow mayor. There is a Cheshire & Warrington Devolution website which provides detailed information.
The Chairman thanked Steve for attending the meeting and for providing an overview – following which Steve and Julie Purdham left the meeting. Note – ChALC have asked the Parish Council to complete a survey in respect of Devolution which will be completed within their deadline.
4. To receive any Declarations of Interest
None received
5. To review, approve and sign the minutes of the previous meetings – held on 7 th August 2025
Resolved – Councillors approved the minutes
6. To discuss any matters arising from the minutes of the meetings
Resolved – Councillors felt all was up to date or to be discussed in this meeting
7. To discuss the Well Dressing Event – The Chairman had made a start on digging out the old well and found that a new top stone is required. Huw advised that additional work to dig out the back of the well and to put the stone in place was necessary. Peter Brocklehurst had offered to supply the stone and it was agreed that a working party could be arranged on Saturday 8 th November at 10am. Huw, Mark & Ian volunteered. There is still some considerable work and organizing of the event to be done – and therefore the well dressing will be the main village event in 2026 – with a likely date of 1st September.
Action – Huw to put ideas and plans together to make it a special day – possibly to include Morris dancers
8. Poppy Displays – Huw advised that the poppy making workshop held in his garage on Saturday 18 th October was very successful such that the Parish Council village now has a total of 650 poppies to put around the village for Remembrance Day. The cost of making 400 additional poppies was £128.
Resolved – Councillors agreed to the expenditure
9. Defibrillators – maintenance and ongoing costs
Councillor Brian Evans has taken responsibility of the defibrillators and advised that the electrode pads in the Daintry Hall defibrillator had been changed by John Miller of Dane Valley First Responders – at a cost of £83. For future information – it’s important to ascertain the ‘use by’ date on defib equipment as these had been expected to last for a longer period of time. The lock on the Station Road defibrillator had malfunctioned and a replacement lock has been obtained (at no cost). New pads have been ordered for that defibrillator as well. It seems that the pads will need changing every 2 years as the glue within the pads deteriorates. This will cost the Parish Council £640 for both units. The Parish Council therefore needs to allow £215 per annum per defibrillator as an ongoing maintenance cost. Bleed packs will be supplied by John Miller – and will be placed in a red box to go inside the defibrillator cabinets.
Resolved – Councillors to note the increase in annual maintenance expenditure
10. Polling Station – possible move back to North Rode
The Clerk had been contacted by the election services of CEC as a formal polling station review is about to be undertaken. Due to a combination of the future ward change and also correspondence sent by the Parish Council approximately 2-3 years ago to query the reason why the polling station had been moved from North Rode to Eaton – the enquiry related to whether the polling station could return to the village and if so – where it could be located. The proposed pavilion would be ideal but won’t be completed before the next election. The Church was considered as a possibility. However – the matter had subsequently been discussed with Wendy, proprietor of Daintry Hall Nursery, and she was happy that it could come back to Daintry Hall. The Clerk / Parish Council will receive further communication from the elections department following the outcome of the polling station review.
11. To discuss the proposal for a new town at Adlington
Resolved – it was discussed and agreed that this proposal is not a matter in which the parish council would become involved.
12. Planning Applications
The Parish Council had been consulted by Cheshire East Council in relation to :-
25/2416/DSC Discharge of condition 5 on approved 24/2680C (noise management plan) – Bank Farm, Bank Lane, North Rode – change of use of agricultural land and woodland to a wedding venue. In support of the discharge condition, the applicant had updated and improved the Noise Management Plan for the venue. This included the installation of a noise controlled ‘sound array’ system (speaker system) for the playing of amplified music. The Chairman had been invited, along with other affected villagers to witness a test of the sound array system and found that the music was significantly attenuated. They had been advised that the noise would continue to be monitored for future events. Dealing with noise complaints in a timely manner was also improved within the noise management plan. It was agreed that the updated noise management plan was now considered to be sufficiently robust.
Resolved – Councillors agreed that the condition 5 could now be discharged. The clerk to submit a response to Cheshire East Council.
13. Planning Enforcement (the below to remain on the agendas until resolved)
a) Tinker Bells Hollow, Bramhall Hill Lane – No change – it is understood that the mobile home on the site is not being lived in at present
b) Land behind Daintry Hall – No change
c) Mobile caravan at North Rode Stables, Bank Lane, North Rode – The Clerk had referred this issue to the CEC planning enforcement department – but no update / response had been received.
d) Far Whittles, Farm, Bramhall Hill – use of chalet for holiday accommodation The Clerk had referred this issue to the CEC planning enforcement department and received a reference of 25/0259/ENF Dougey P3 – but no further update / response has been received.
14. Highways – the following highways issues were discussed:
a) Update on traffic issues on Bank Lane / Church Lane
The Chairman advised that he had reported 6 incidents of HGV’s travelling down Church Lane / Bank Lane since the last meeting. It is important that everyone continues to report any such sightings – taking as much details as possible in respect of the vehicle involved.
b) CEC Traffic Survey –The Chairman has attempted to make contact with the Highways traffic officer / traffic design officer to discuss the recent traffic count / traffic survey on Bank Lane – but had been unsuccessful in obtaining a response. CE Councillor Lesley Smetham offered to also ask for a response.
Resolved – Councillor Smetham to assist the Chairman in obtaining information from the Highways Dept
15. Finance
The current balance of the Parish Council is £5188.89
a) The annual Parish Precept was discussed and Councillors agreed that the Parish Council should request the same precept from Cheshire East Council as in previous recent years – of £2255.
Resolved – Councillors agreed that the parish precept should remain at £2255. – Proposed by Cllr Jaqui Lea and seconded by Cllr Mark Bullock
b) Approval of the following expenditures :-
Defibrillator electrode pads – £83
Hire of Daintry Hall for the PC meeting – £30
Poppy making equipment – £128
Resolved – Councillors agreed to the above expenditures – Proposed by Cllr Mark Bullock and seconded by Cllr Jaqui Lea
c) Pre-approval of future expenditure :-
It had been discussed in the last meeting that the Parish Council might purchase and plant daffodil bulbs towards the visual enhancement of the village. It was agreed that an amount of £80 could be spent on bulbs.
Resolved – Councillors agreed to the future expenditure of £80 for the purchase of daffodil bulbs. – Proposed by Cllr Brian Evans and seconded by Cllr Huw Williams
16. Parish Council Liaison Meetings
The Chairman advised that at the last meeting – it had been agreed to write to the CEC Planning Department regarding concerns that the relatively new planning portal was difficult to view and also concerns as regards certain documents being on the system whilst others documents didn’t appear at all. The Cheshire Wildlife Project was also further discussed in terms of a multi-parish wildlife mapping survey.
17. Police and Crime Commissioners Parish and Town Council Meeting
The Chairman and Cllr Jon Burwood had recently attended a meeting which was presented by Dan Price and included discussion on a ‘swap fund’ to reduce crime.
18. AOB –
Daintry Hall improvements – The Chairman was concerned that the CEC planning department may be slow to approve the pre-commencement conditions to allow start on the Daintry Hall improvement works. It was agreed that correspondence should be sent from the PC to request that the decisions in relation to the submissions were expediated as the improvements were important to the village.
Resolved – Clerk to write to CEC Planning Department
Daffodil Bulbs – Cllr Mark Bullock offered to source and to purchase the bulbs on behalf of the Parish Council – following which – volunteers would plant them around the village. It was estimated that around 350 bulbs could be purchased for the agreed £80 expenditure.
Resolved – Cllr Mark Bullock to purchase the daffodil bulbs
19. To confirm the dates of the next two meetings
Thursday 5th February 2026
Thursday 7th May – to include the Parish Meeting and AGM
The meeting closed at 10.00pm