A proposal to merge the council's bereavement and cemetery company with its waste collection firm has been dumped.

Cheshire East has been undertaking a review of its wholly owned companies, also known as ASDVs (alternative service delivery vehicles).

These include Ansa, which provides waste and recycling services along with grounds maintenance, fleet services and street cleansing, and Orbitas, which runs bereavement services, cemeteries and crematoria as well as a handyperson service.

The council's officers had suggested Orbitas be taken under the wing of Ansa, but councillors trashed the idea.

Orbitas are based in Crewe, meanwhile Ansa are stationed in Middlewich. So there would have to be a compromise regarding the location of their headquarters, if the two were to merge.

Macclesfield Hurdsfield Cllr Steve Carter a member of the working group set up to look at ASDVs, told Wednesday's meeting of the finance sub-committee that, when looking at Ansa, there had been concerns about the high levels of domestic waste collection during the lockdowns and the variation of prices received for selling the waste but he said all these matters had been explained.

"We concluded the Ansa business plan was sound and that there was sufficient funds in their reserve to cope with any of the risks," said the Macclesfield Labour councillor.

He said when looking at Orbitas, and considering whether it was viable, there were three options – that it continue as it is, it merge with Ansa and all staff would be transferred or, thirdly, it be taken back into council control.

He said when the working group had looked at the cost implications there was very little between the three options.

"The margins were so small it was almost ridiculous to choose one of the three, but the officers did make the recommendation that it should be taken into Ansa and the committee [working group] was unanimous that that shouldn't happen," said Cllr Carter.

He said councillors had felt there was no reason for such a change.

"We really liked the sort of ethical approach to bereavement that Orbitas offered," said Cllr Carter.

"Cllr David Marren, as one of the directors, spoke quite passionately about how a lot of bereavement services are very, very expensive, and that having this organisation as part of Cheshire East, offering a very good service and also offering a much cheaper service in many instances, was a proper and just thing for this council to do.

"Not making money out of bereavement, I think, is ethically a very, very positive part of the whole Orbitas brand."

The working group has requested that the Orbitas board work with the Ansa board to look at how they can grow their business.

The finance sub-committee agreed Orbitas should remain as an individual wholly owned company.

So from a Congleton-residents perspective, nothing will change.

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