Chapel-en-le-FrithFull Council meeting Minutes & Accounts 05.05.2026
CHAPEL-EN-LE-FRITH PARISH COUNCIL
Minutes of the Annual Parish Council meeting
held at 7.30pm on 5th May 2026
at Chapel-en-le-Frith Town Hall
DUE TO UNFORSEEABLE CIRCUMSTANCES THE MEETING STARTED AT 7.40PM
Present: Cllrs Jason Adshead, Mike Chantler, Andrew Foreshew-Cain, Nick Hill, Philip Ockenden & Chris Williams
In Attendance: Ms G Turner, Clerk
Councillor M Chantler opened the meeting.
27/043 Election of Chair for the year 2026/27 – The first item of business transacted was the election of a Chair. Councillor Hill proposed and Councillor Chantler seconded that Councillor Adshead be elected Chair. A vote took place with 3 Councillors in favour and 2 abstaining. There being no further nominations it was therefore agreed that Councillor Adshead be elected a Chair of the Parish Council for the period to the next Annual Meeting of the council. Councillor Adshead signed the Declaration of Acceptance of Office and took the Chair.
27/044 Election of Vice-Chair of the Council for the year 2026/27 – It was agreed to postpone the election of a Vice Chair until further advice is sought from DALC on whether someone currently on a leave of absence can be elected as Vie-Chair.
27/045 Apologies for absence were received from Councillors T Dales, Miss M Daniels, Mrs M Drabble, M Drabble, Jim Perkins & Stewart Young.
Councillors Foreshew-Cain and Williams stated that they would have to leave the meeting no later than 9pm. It was therefore agreed that the meeting would close at 9pm as it would no longer be quorate.
27/046 To make any Declarations of Interests – None.
27/047 To consider any applications for Dispensations – None.
27/048 It was resolved that there were no agenda items under the Public Bodies (Admission to Meetings) Act 1960 s1 that necessitated in the exclusion of members of the press and public to any agenda items on the grounds that publicity would be prejudicial to the public interest by reason of the confidential nature of the business to be transacted.
27/049 To agree any variations of order of business – It was agreed to discuss item 27/051 before item 27/050.
27/050 Police matters – PCSO Karen Green attended the meeting and gave the following update on crime figures during April.
| April | March | Feb | |
| Crime Type | No: | No: | No: |
| Theft | 5 | 6 | 2 |
| Criminal Damage | 2 | 3 | 2 |
| Assaults | 7 | 7 | 19 |
| Public Order | 4 | 3 | |
| Drug Offences | 1 | 1 | 1 |
| Sexual Offences | 1 | 2 | 12 |
| Stalking/Harassment | 3 | 7 | 7 |
| Domestic | 1 | - | - |
| Stop & Search | 3 | - | - |
| Traffic | 6 | - | - |
| Misc | 2 | - | - |
| 30 | 30 | 46 |
More detailed breakdown of the above figures:
Thefts
- 1x shop theft – attempted theft, items recovered by staff – cases ongoing
- 2x fuel thefts – fuel taken without payment – cases ongoing
- 1x 2 males take copper boiler from outside property – no suspect ID
- 1x Burglary – unknown offenders enter unlocked garage and take Surron bike – case ongoing
Criminal damage
- 2x criminal damage broken fence panel and damaged solar light on fence – cases ongoing
Assaults
- 7x assaults – 2 resolved by Community Resolution
Drug offence –
- 1x drug possession, juvenile female found to be in possession of cannabis
Sexual offence –
- 1x child receives hundred of sexual messages/images from unknown person – case ongoing
Stalking/harassment
- 1x stalking – unwanted communication from ex partner – case ongoing
- 1x harassment – suspect harasses victim by making false allegations – case ongoing
- 1x harassment – ongoing harassment who ha filmed IP – no evidence, case closed
Domestic – verbal argument with partner in vehicle – connected to a traffic offence below
Stop & Search
- 3x Due to information that they had been seen using drugs, namely gas/balloons – all negative
Traffic
- 2x contravening light signal – notice of intended prosecution issued.
- 1x drink driving – driver arrested
- 1x suspect failed to stop for police – case ongoing
- 1x speeding – CREST
- 1x driver involved in an RTA fled from seen – both arrested
Miscellaneous
- 1x dog causing injury – case ongoing
- 1 x child sent indecent medial from another snapchat user – case ongoing
In Doves holes there was:
1 x Verbal Argument – no further action.
1 x Assault – report of being attacked – no further action
1 x Theft – ex refusing to return belongings – case ongoing
27/051 Public Speaking – there were no members of the public present at the meeting.
County Councillor Nigel Gourlay was in attendance but did not wish to speak on any matters.
County Councillor Ruth George gave a brief update – Following last month’s Parish Council meeting she contacted East Midlands Combined Authority, regarding the support service for careers and the Mayor’s office are supporting the school with their careers benchmarks.
Councillor George has been helping some parents, whose children are due to go into year 7 in September, with appeals to Chapel High School. Fourteen appeals were heard last week and all were rejected. New Mills and Hope Valley college are also full to year 7 pupils this September.
Work continues with Peak Cluster to raise awareness and participation in the pipeline relay taking place on 11th and 12th July and also to raise awareness for the next round of consultations in the Autumn.
A person who is involved in Buxton Weather watch has agreed to produce some simulations of what could happen if a pipeline were to burst above the Whaley Bridge area. He has also been asked to do one for Chapel.
After meeting with the Chair and various residents concerned about the Barratts Development, Councillor George attended the Development Control Committee meeting where the development was passed unanimously. Councillor George however believes that the element of sustainability at the site wasn’t discussed adequately and some of the information given to Councillors was incorrect.
Councillor Ockenden asked whether DCC will be looking at the school provision for students in Chapel now that the housing development has been passed. Councillor George stated yes, it was anticipated that 30 extra spaces will be required once the new development is built. Councillor Ockenden suggested that the figure is likely to be higher, from his experience as a Governor at Chinley Primary School.
Concerns were raised about the depth of the pipeline and damage that could be caused should a wildfire occur.
Councillor George met with Blackbrook Housing Association regarding obtaining some land for a possible footbridge over Blackbrook, which residents are keen to get, as currently the walk to the centre of town and the local schools is unsafe. The first stage is to try and acquire some land on the Chapel side of Blackbrook.
Tunstead Milton Speedwatch Group starts next week.
Borough Councillors Angela Benham and Sally DePee sent their apologies as they were unable to attend due to other meeting commitments.
27/052 To consider whether to update the Neighbourhood Plan - The Clerk stated that the Planning Policy Officers from HPBC where again unable to make the meeting. It was agreed to invite them to the July meeting and defer this item until then.
27/053 To approve the minutes of the Full Council meetings held on 7th April 2026 – All agreed that the Chair be authorised to sign as being a true and correct record the minutes of the Council meeting held on 7th April.
27/054 The Chair’s Annual Report (see below) was circulated to members and noted.
27/055 To consider engaging the services of Hoey Ainscough Associates Ltd, who specialise in seeking to improve the way the council operates and deal with the underlying issues – Following discussion it was agreed that Councillors were in favour of engaging a specialist in this area, but that more quotes should be obtained. It was therefore agreed that the Clerk will request quotes from two other companies specialising in this type of work.
27/056 Review of the Council’s Policies and Procedures – An updated CCTV policy was circulated by Councillor Hill and all agreed to adopt the updated CCTV Policy.
It was agreed that all policies should have a review date on them, as not all policies have to be renewed every year, and that the review dates would be staggered throughout the year. The Clerk will contact DALC for advice.
It was therefore agreed to temporarily agree the policies but that Councillor Hill and the Clerk will review all the policies and procedures and bring them back to Full Council at a later date, with tracked changes where appropriate.
It was also agreed that all the policies and procedures will go onto a shared read only drive so that all Councillors can see them.
To receive updates on Actions from previous Minutes
27/08 To provide seed funding from the Parish Council for the implementation of joint working with Chapel High School/Local Businesses in the High Peak and Cheshire East areas – no update.
27/09 Peak Cluster proposal – see Public Speaking above.
26/424 Purchase or lease of a commercial van for Park Staff – defer to June meeting
27/057 Consideration of Planning Applications notified to the Parish Council
HPK/2026/0163 - Walton House Cottage, Unnamed Road from Eccles Road to Coal Yard, Chapel-en-le-Frith - Conversion of stables to provide new dwelling for holiday accommodation use. It was agreed that the Council has no objection this application.
HPK/2026/0168 - 14 South Head Drive, Chapel-en-le-Frith - Single storey rear extension. It was agreed that the Council has no objection this application.
HPK/2026/0166 - Fernshaw Farm, Beech Lane, Dove Holes - Proposed construction of an outdoor Padel Tennis Court (Class F2) with ancillary customer welfare building (portacabin) and associated car parking facilities. It was agreed that the Council has no objection this application.
27/058 Consideration of Planning Appeals notified to the Parish Council – none.
27/059 Comments on any Planning Decision Notices -
HPK/2026/0055 – Lydgate Farm, Eccles Road, Chapel-en-le-Frith - Listed building consent for addition of photovoltaic solar panels on the rear (south) facing roof slopes and air source heat pump at the rear of the house - refused.
HPK/2026/0055 – Lydgate Farm, Eccles Road, Chapel-en-le-Frith - Addition of photovoltaic solar panels on the rear (south) facing roof slopes and air source heat pump at the rear of the house - refused.
27/060 Finance – It was resolved to:
(a) Authorise the schedule of accounts presented for payment totalling £20,634.97 (including VAT).
(b) Authorise the following Direct Debits for the year:
· O2 – mobile phone charges £23.25
· Fuel Gengie – Fuel c£79.29
· HPBC – Business Rates £740.00
· HPBC – Flat at 47-49 Market Street (vacant) £386.00
· Trusted IT – IT Support £447.71
· B Online – Phone Broadband £53.85
· Castle Associates – HR £80.00
· WaterPlus – Town Hall c£140.00
· WaterPlus – 47-49 Market Street c£38.35
(c) To note the 2025/26 full year actual income and expenditure against budget.
27/061 To consider changing the IT systems and telephone provision – due to time constraints defer to the June meeting.
27/062 To consider the playground inspection SLA – It was proposed that now that the MUGA case has concluded the Council can move to quarterly external playground inspections rather than monthly. Park staff will continue with weekly safety checks of the playgrounds. The Clerk confirmed that the insurers were happy for the Council to move to quarterly inspections as long as the weekly internal inspections remained in place.
Three quotes for quarterly playground inspections were circulated to members. All agreed to continue with Alliance Norse, but on a quarterly basis as they offered the best value for money.
It was also agreed that the Park Manager should undertake Playground Inspection training every 3 years to keep his knowledge current.
It was further agreed that the Parks Staff should replicate the current Alliance Norse inspection report for their weekly reports.
27/063 To consider the insurance renewal – due to time constraints this was deferred to the June meeting.
27/064 Motion from the Finance & Assets Committee that the Amenities Committee is reinstated so that it can focus on the Parks, Medieval Cross and Nanny’s Well - due to time constraints this was deferred to the June meeting.
27/065 To consider which Councillors want to sit on each of the Committees – due to a number of Councillors not being able to attend the meeting this item was deferred to the June meeting.
27/066 To review the terms of reference for all Committees/Working Groups - It was also agreed that the Terms of Reference for each Committee should be looked at by the respective committees before being circulated at Full Council.
27/067 Motion from Councillor Chantler that delegated powers and decision making should be returned to the individual committees to allow the allow efficient decision making without all items needing to go to full council for decisions - due to time constraints this was deferred to the June meeting.
27/068 To consider the recent antisocial behaviour at the Memorial Park - due to time constraints this was deferred to the June meeting.
27/069 Motion from the Finance & Assets Committee that the Finance & Assets Committee initially look for the historical Bowling Club Health & Safety Report and ensure that all the actions highlighted in it have been actioned - due to time constraints this item was deferred to the June meeting.
27/070 Motion from the Finance & Assets Committee that an independent Health and Safety Report is commissioned to include all Parks, the compound and the Bowling Green - due to time constraints this was deferred to the June meeting.
27/071 Motion from the Finance & Assets Committee that if the Health & Safety Report on the Bowling Club is found and it suggests that the footpath needs repairing, the Council goes ahead and obtains 3 quotes for the necessary repairs - due to time constraints this was deferred to the June meeting.
27/072 Motion from the Finance & Assets Committee that they accept the proposal from DCC regarding accepting a 10-year term for the library lease with a rolling break after year one and that Councillors think about how to encourage community groups to use the library more – due to time constraints this was deferred to the June meeting.
27/073 Motion from the Finance & Assets Committee that where practicable the Parish Council supports a local first purchasing policy - due to time constraints this was deferred to the June meeting.
27/074 Motion from the Finance & Assets Committee that Full Council considers further the Dove Holes hanging baskets contract and invites the Dove Holes Community Association to a meeting with the Finance & Assets Committee - due to time constraints this was deferred to the June meeting.
27/075 Motion from the Finance & Assets Committee that the flat is marketed in its current condition at market rate and that tenants are made aware that improvements are planned, such as a new kitchen, but that as these improvements are made the rent will increase accordingly – Councillor Foreshew-Cain proposed that the flat should be marketed as soon as possible with an improvements clause inserted into the lease agreement, per the motion. Councillor Hill seconded the proposal and all agreed.
The Clerk will arrange for the flat to be cleaned and a lease agreement drawn up.
27/076 To confirm the date of the next Parish Council meeting.
It was agreed that Parish Council meetings will continue to be held on the first Tuesday of the month, with the next one being held on Tuesday 2nd June at 7pm.
It was further resolved that during the next 12 months two meetings will be held in Dove Holes, one in Coombs and one in Whitehough.
The Chair declared the meeting closed at 9.15pm.
______________________
CHAIR
