Cllr Bryan (inset) is CWAC s homelessness lead THE policy which has reduced rough sleeping on Cheshire West and Chester’s streets to its ‘lowest ever level’ will continue despite the UK government’s decision to not re-start funding nationally. This was due in part to the government’s ‘Everybody In’ policy, which i News reported today (Wednesday, January 6) would not be restarted with the advent of a third national lockdown. Cllr Bryan told the LDRS: “It makes no difference to us. We started our own Everyone In policy and it will continue. We have got our own dedicated resources for it on top of prevention funding.
Cllr Bryan has praised a proper multi-agency approach to tackling the problem A SENIOR Cheshire West and Chester councillor says the borough’s rough sleeping rate is at its lowest-ever level. Cllr Matt Bryan, Labour, told the LDRS that the area has between ‘one and three on the rough sleeper count’ currently. Praising a ‘proper multi-agency response since March’, the Upton ward representative added: “We still have a huge amount of people in temporary accommodation. Our housing officers work around the clock to get them into long term accommodation. Quite often they don’t have cooking facilities so we have volunteer agencies helping.
The motion was approved at a feisty full council meeting 39-23. It was proposed by Labour Cllr Matt Bryan, who claimed hunting groups had been using trail hunting as ‘a smokescreen’ for live animal hunting. Cllr Bryan said: “Anyone who has grown up in the countryside or can read or use the internet knows they have been using trail hunting as a smokescreen for years. “We have a duty as a council to enforce protection on our land but also the flora and fauna on it. “Recently we have seen videos of the national hunt advising hunt masters to use the legal loophole of trail hunting to go about their hunting business.
Since the Hunting Act 2004, people riding to hounds have not been allowed to hunt foxes but have continued the tradition by laying false scent trails.
According to hunt supporters the vote to push forward with enacting a trail hunting policy without future transparency, means the Labour run authority could introduce curbs to lawful trail hunting and other hunting activities such as hound exercise, being conducted on council owned land, without sufficient scrutiny or input from the wider local community.
Labour Councillor Nicole Mearden, who seconded the motion, described trail hunters as “criminals”.
She said: “We don’t want to see it [the Cheshire countryside] ravaged by criminals and their hounds”.