MIDDLEWICH’S Neighbourhood Plan will have to wait a while longer, councillors say, as the search for a full-time clerk continues.

The council is currently advertising for the vacant clerk role, with current interim clerk Lisa Benskin and administration officer Nicci Antoney working ‘flat out’ on the damning audit report published last year.

The report highlighted 28 potential breaches of the law which the council is currently working to redress.

Middlewich’s Neighbourhood Plan became only the third in the country to be rejected last March, with just 22 ‘No’ votes proving the difference.

READ >>> Successful Labour 'No' campaign sees Middlewich reject Neighbourhood Plan

The referendum came just three months before the council elections, leading Labour councillors to pledge to ‘rewrite’ the 15 per cent of the plan they disagreed with en route to winning 11 of the 12 council seats.

In response to a question about the progress made with said ’15 per cent’ from former councillor Bill Walmsley, Cllr Mike Hunter said officer time was currently in high demand.

Cllr Hunter said: “Lisa and Nicci are working flat on the audit report. It would be totally irresponsible of us not to fulfil what is in that document.

“We do not have officer time to devote to anything until the audit is finished. We have to spend officer time working flat out to make this council legal.

“Once that is done we will crack on.”

Mr Walmsley had taken issue with the time passed since the plan was rejected, and Labour councillors’ claims on social media that an RFO was required to complete a plan.

While a Neighbourhood Plan cannot block houses from being built, it gives residents a voice in shaping how development allocated within Cheshire East Council’s Local Plan materialises.

Cllr Hunter said: “We don’t have a full-time clerk. As soon as we do, it will be finished. We can’t do it until we have a full-time clerk and assistant.

“If people think we love sitting here going through all this external audit, that is wrong. We got on the council to make a difference and we have wasted nearly 12 months from what has gone before.

“All we can do is get through it.”

The clerk position is currently advertised at middlewich.org.uk with applications accepted until March 13.