WILMSLOW ROAD - ONE DAY CLOSURE

CE Highways have confirmed to me that Wilmslow Road will be closed on Wednesday 11th April, between 9.30am and 2.30pm. The closure will be between the junction with Heyes Lane and Ryleys Lane, to enable a topographical survey, as well as a survey of the railway bridge deck and approaches, including the footpaths. The work is being undertaken as a prelude to further work, which is expected to take place later in the year. I will give more details as and when I am able to.

CHURCH LANE DISABLED PARKING SPACES

I am pleased to report that the disabled parking bays I announced a few months ago have now cleared the final hurdle and following a recent consultation by CE Highways (to which no objections were received), implementation can now go ahead. The two disabled bays will be in operation between 8am and 6pm every day and will help visitors to St Philips Church, the new Heritage Centre and of course Alderley Edge Community Primary School. The new bays should be in place within the next few weeks and I am sure they will be appreciated by some of our less mobile residents and visitors.

WEEKLY TRAFFIC MANAGEMENT REPORT

Please be aware that the following works have recently been confirmed by CE Highways:

Lydiat Lane - 32m of ducting being laid by BT - two way traffic signals on 8th April
Macclesfield Road - excavation by BT - two way traffic signals between 26th and 28th March from "Red Acre" to "Thornfield"
Macclesfield Road - excavation of footpath by Electricity NW - two way traffic signals between 5th and 11th April outside the property known as "Edgecroft"
Chorley Hall Lane - excavation of footway and carriageway by Electricity NW - traffic control between 5th and 13th April outside the property known as "Netherbrook"

Please take extra care if you are in the area and allow extra time for your journey.

COMMUNITY SURGERY - MARCH

I am pleased to confirm that my community surgery this month will be held on Saturday 24th March, starting at 10am at Alderley Edge Library. Please do come along and join me for a coffee and a chat about local issues, as well as using the opportunity to have your say on the proposed new opening times for the library (there is a consultation on the new times, which you can comment on between now and Tuesday 3rd April).

SPEEDWATCH RESULTS - WILMSLOW ROAD

Yesterday morning, I joined local Speedwatch volunteers on Wilmslow Road (near the Harden Park junction). Between 10-11am, we recorded a total of 29 vehicles travelling in excess of 35mph (the speed limit on this section is 30mph), of which 22 vehicles were travelling between 36-39mph and a further 7 vehicles were travelling in excess of 40mph. The highest recorded speed was 44mph, whilst the average speed of all recorded vehicles was 38mph.

We have been joined by a further three new volunteers and as a result, from April we are planning to increase our presence to two speedwatch sessions per month, which we hope will boost our visibility and driver awareness. Next month, we will be carrying out sessions on Congleton Road and Wilmslow Road (opposite Piccolino's). If anyone can spare an hour and would like to join us, please let me know in the comments box below.

WEST STREET ONE-WAY SCHEME FUNDING CONFIRMED

I am delighted to announce that a recent meeting of the Wilmslow Area Highways Partnership confirmed the funding for this scheme. The meeting, which took place on Thursday 8th March, confirmed the West Street One-Way Scheme as a priority project for 2018/19. It is hoped that this scheme, once introduced, will help improve pedestrian and vehicle safety at the blind junction between South Street and West Street, where vehicles can regularly be seen mounting the kerb. It is proposed that the one-way traffic will move in the direction of London Road and that this will facilitate the creation of turning-right and turning-left lanes from West Street onto London Road.

CONSULTATION ON WASTE BIN CHARGES

Cheshire East Council is consulting on whether to introduce charges for new and replacement waste bins. The council currently spends £360,000 per year on providing new and replacement bins, which it says is unsustainable. It is proposing to introduce charges as follows: £30 for green and silver recycling bins and £35 for standard black bins. They are also proposing to put addresses on the bins, to help discourage theft. The consultation can be completed online from Tuesday 13th March using the following link: (https://surveys.cheshireeast.gov.uk/s/Bins18/) 

CONSULTATION ON LIBRARY OPENING TIMES

Cheshire East Council has recently announced their proposed new opening times for Alderley Edge Library. The proposed hours which will be effective form Monday 4th June, are:

Monday: closed
Tuesday: 09.30 - 13.30
Wednesday: 09.30 - 13.30
Thursday: 14:00 - 18.30
Friday: 09.30 - 13.30
Saturday: 09.00 - 13.00
Sunday: closed

Residents are encouraged to have their say on these proposed opening times, by completing one of the feedback forms available at the library, or by sending an email to joanne.shannon@cheshireeast.gov.uk with the subject title “Alderley Edge Library: Revised Opening Hours”.