When are Cheadle Town Council meetings?
- 7 days ago
- 4 min read
Town and parish councils across the UK provide low-level public services and have an important role to play in informing and influencing larger councils. They are often also allowed to do anything any reasonable person might and have the capacity to widely influence their specific area. Their work matters, and it is paid for from your council taxes. Town & Parish clerks are employed by the council to ensure the work gets done and the legal framework is maintained.
At Cheadle, town council meetings generally take place on the first Monday evening of every month, but they can change, and we can recall at least two occasions when they did change at short notice in the last two years. This meeting is referred to as full council, as it is when all councillors are required to attend and any actions of subcommittees are ratified.
About Committees
Cheadle Town Council runs a number of sub-committees - Planning, Leisure and Operations, Finance, Footpaths and Business, Tourism and Environment. The majority of these meetings are not only open to the public, but the council needs the public to provide information which helps them be directly and collectively informed about the area they serve and should feed their decision-making process too.
For the past few years, unless you are an actual councillor, it has been very difficult to know what council meetings are taking place, when, and also where they are to take place.
Cheadle Town Council Chambers were sold off a few years ago, and the same building is now rented to them by a private landlord, so wherever there isn't a need for a large space, they will typically meet at their office or the newly completed bowling pavilion. So it's not as simple as turning up and hoping there will be a meeting; even councillors occasionally find themselves at the wrong venue! If you want to speak, it can be daunting too if you've practiced what you want to say only to find you're not going to be able to say it; that can be frustrating and upsetting.
Knowing when the meeting is taking place and having an opportunity to attend is very important because it is where new building projects are approved, which can really affect the quality of life for people living in Cheadle. It's where the decisions are made on parks & cemetery improvements and many other matters which affect everyday life. It is also where members of the public can question Councillors on some of the issues affecting the town and them personally.
How Do You Know What's Going to be Discussed?
A list of items to be discussed, called an Agenda, is produced. This has sufficient information to inform the reader of the topic's outline, and each has a number. Items are discussed in number order, and the number stays with the item for the duration of its life. You can go to most towns and villages across the UK and find out what's being discussed. You'll also often find the minutes for the last meeting, so you'll have a good idea of what's topical in an area. Almost all councils have a website, and you can usually find this information on the website too. Not so in Cheadle.
The agenda, minutes, and supplementary notes for every meeting are sent out to councillors no later than 3 working days before the meeting is due to take place to enable them to be fully informed about the decisions they will be expected to make on the night. They are also supposed to be widely posted on notice boards. Cheadle has no shortage of notice boards. There are two just off the Tape Street car park, one in Morrisons, and one inside the B & M, Iceland & Fresh Produce Building, and more. We've never seen a single agenda or minutes posted anywhere.
February 26's Cheadle Town Council Full Council Agenda, item 6, states: “Public Participation Session – if any.” This is people's opportunity to speak out about our town - how can they speak when the meetings are hidden from them?
What Should They Do?
Under Government regulation, a Town Council must advertise the agenda and meeting times for council meetings on a notice board or website. Dave Mullington, our Town Clerk, has told COGNEWS that he has been having trouble loading the Town Council’s website with meeting information, but he has assured us that he will be contacting their web designer, Tim, to rectify this problem. That doesn't explain why printed versions are not prominently placed across the town, does it?
Since leaving the Council, Bernie and Lori have both asked for a copy of agendas to be emailed to them. Not only is it their democratic right to see them, but as members of the press, they have a legal right to attend also.
Reception at the meetings has been frosty for COGNEWS, with the Mayor Kate Mills actively facing only the councillors and speaking in such a low tone that her voice could not be made out. We solved this issue this month by purchasing high-quality microphones. Although if a member of the public was at the meeting, that wouldn't help them.
It is only by the public demonstrating their right to attend these meetings that our town becomes democratic. Please watch the Town Council space at cheadletowncouncil.org.uk for updates on this service
When are Cheadle Town Council meetings? - created 2nd February 2026
