A COUNCILLOR who has taken on a new role at Ansa says he would not have done it if it was not good for Middlewich.

Cllr Mike Hunter, Labour member for Middlewich on Cheshire East Council and chairman of Middlewich Town Council, has been named as a non-executive director at the Cledford Lane-based firm.

The CEC-owned waste management company has often come in for criticism by its Middlewich neighbours, most recently over smells emitted from the Cledford Lane site.

Cllr Hunter says his directorship is an opportunity to give the town a stronger voice while keeping check of Ansa.

He said: "It is not what a lot of people seem to think it is – I don't work for Ansa. The directorship is as a representative of the council and the role is to scrutinise the company, then we can highlight any problems.

"It gives Middlewich an opportunity to have the town represented rather than somebody from outside our area on that non-executive board.

"People from outside Middlewich won't know about things like the smells, or the traffic problems around town, or short-cuts that the trucks are taking.

"Obviously we have the liaison committee, but this is another opportunity to have an input on behalf of the people of Middlewich."

Cllr Hunter says he will be considering technical issues and audits in the role, which 'will be quite time consuming'.

He will receive an additional allowance for the role on top of the cash he already receives for being a CEC member, but Cllr Hunter insists the move is not about money.

Cllr Hunter added: "For this directorship, I receive £330 a month after tax and national insurance, and that is there to help me fulfil my duties.

"I gave up work to be a Cheshire East councillor because I could not fit it around work.

"I don't earn as much as I did before – but I enjoy doing the council, I enjoy standing up for our town and I get fed up when it doesn't get it's fair share.

Ansa is due to change the carbon pellets in the air filtration system at its Cledford hub next week, in a move the company hopes will improve the odour coming out of the hub.

Cllr Hunter believes the move 'will make a difference', but feels the issue may lie with Ansa not changing the pellets frequently enough, particularly during the summer when reported smells are worse.

He added: "This is the kind of thing I can talk to Ansa about as a non-executive director and why it is worth doing it.

"As a councillor they can just pay lip service to you, but they cannot pay lip service to us.

"If I did not think this would benefit the people of Middlewich I would not have done it."

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