MERRY CHRISTMAS AND A PEACEFUL NEW YEAR

On Tuesday 17th December I hosted a thank you party for our library group and community speedwatch volunteers. I was delighted to acknowledge the work of these local residents in helping to keep our library open when it was threatened with closure over 12 months ago, as well as our other volunteers who help to keep our roads a little bit safer. Over 30 volunteers came together to enjoy a cup of mulled wine and mince pies.

Thanks to our dedicated group of volunteers, who have been helping to keep the library open on Tuesday afternoons, the number of people visiting and using this important community resource has increased this year for the first time in several years. I would like to thank each and every one of them for helping to make this possible. As a result of their efforts, a number of new groups have been set up this year, including a craft club, a book reading group and a poetry reading circle.

I would also like to thank the members of our Community Speedwatch team, who regularly stand at the kerbside in all kinds of weather to record speeding vehicles. Margaret, our Speedwatch Co-ordinator then takes the details of each vehicle to Wilmslow Police Station, where they are matched up with the Police National Computer Database and the driver then receives a letter or visit from a police officer.

I would like to take this opportunity to thank all the volunteers who make such an important contribution to the life of our village, across these and other community groups. I wish everyone a very Merry Christmas and a peaceful New Year.

FOOD WASTE BIN SERVICE TO LAUNCH

A new food waste recycling service for Cheshire East residents will start in January 2020. From 6th January, people will start to receive a small green food caddy. This will enable food waste to be separated easily from the rest of everyday household waste. 

Residents can start using their caddy as soon as they receive it. An initial supply of biodegradable liners will be provided with the caddy. However use of these is optional. Once the caddy is full the food waste goes directly into the garden waste bin along with garden waste, with or without a liner.

As a result of this new service, green garden waste bins will be collected every two weeks throughout the year, rather than there being a break in collections during the winter months which has happened over the last few years. From January, mixed food and garden waste will be taken to a special processing plant in Crewe, where it will be recycled into compost.

LONDON ROAD SPEED ASSESSMENT

Many of you will have noticed that wires have been placed at intervals across London Road over the last couple of days. The wires are part of a speed assessment which I have asked for, following requests from a number of residents to do something about speeding vehicles through the centre of our village, particularly at weekends and during the evening.

I am aware that this has been an ongoing problem for some time and I have been pressing Cheshire East Highways to consider various traffic calming options as a result; however, any action taken by Cheshire East Highways has to be evidence based and that is why they have agreed to carry out a speed assessment.

The speed assessment can only take into account the AVERAGE speed of all vehicles moving along London Road, so whilst we can all probably cite examples of vehicles we have seen using excessive speed, Highways will only be able to take action is there is evidence that most vehicles are travelling above the speed limit at this location.

Back in February, the Parish Council invested in an additional Speed Indicator Device which has been located on Congleton Road. This afternoon I have downloaded all the data that has been collected over the 9 month period since then and have now shared this with the engineers from Cheshire East Highways, to support our case. The data shows:

- an average speed of 34 mph
- a top speed (southbound) of 86 mph
- a top speed (northbound) of 97 mph
- a total of 362,632 vehicle movements over the period

SINK HOLE ON MOTTRAM ROAD

Following a report from a resident, I recently went out to inspect the site of a pothole on Mottram Road. Closer inspection revealed that it is in fact a sink hole and I would like to reassure residents that this has now been reported to Cheshire East Highways as a priority for action. A traffic cone has been left in front of the sinkhole to indicate its presence, but I would like to advise all drivers and pedestrians to take extra care if they are in the vicinity. I will provide an update in due course.

SPEEDWATCH RESULTS - THURSDAY 31ST OCTOBER

Last Thursday I joined a group of residents and volunteers from our Community Speedwatch Team. On this occasion we were stationed on Brook Lane, where we were joined by our PCSO, Anna Jenkinson. There was a marked reduction in vehicles recorded, although this could have been as a result of it being half-term week. The results in full were as follows:



- 23 vehicles recorded exceeding the speed threshold
- 18 vehicles exceeding the threshold but travelling below 40mph
- 5 vehicles travelling at 40mph or above
- highest recorded speed was 44mph

Our next session will be on Thursday 21st November. We are always pleased to welcome more volunteers to our group, so if you are able to spare an hour a month to help out, please get in touch.

MOTTRAM ROAD PATCHING WORKS

This afternoon I have been along to inspect progress on the patching works currently taking place on Mottram Road. This is being funded through Cheshire East Council’s Highways Improvement Programme and I have been pushing for the works to be completed since the election back in May. I am pleased that the works are now approaching completion and would like to that officers and engineers from Cheshire East Highways for giving Alderley Edge a high priority in their annual programme.


 

LOCAL TRANSPORT PLAN

At a recent meeting of Full Council, I was delighted to propose in my new role as Deputy Leader, our new Local Transport Plan. The plan includes a wide range of actions to improve travel choices and promote greater reliance on sustainable travel, including walking, cycling, public transport and low emission vehicles. It also seeks to address a number of challenges in Cheshire East, including; 

• Protecting and improving the environment;
• Supporting economic growth;
• Ensuring accessibility to essential services;
• Promoting health, wellbeing and physical activity; and
• Maintaining and managing the road network.

Although the plan’s main focus is transport and infrastructure needs within the borough, it also proposes actions to support regional and national road and rail projects. 

As a policy framework document, the plan sets the agenda for improving sustainable transport links across the borough – with priorities such as: new cycleways, electric 

vehicle charging points, safe walking routes to school and bus rapid transit routes.
 

Our intention is to bring forward proposals related to transport improvements and management measures based on detailed studies and the dynamics in each town across Cheshire East.

Each of these town based delivery plans will be consulted on prior to any decisions, covering all aspects of local transport including parking.”

LOCALISED FLOODING UPDATE

A number of residents have contacted me today, following the recent heavy downpours. Although the rain has currently stopped, the impact on the highways network over the last 24 hours has been significant.  Many locations have experienced flooding and there have been over 100 calls since yesterday evening to the Customer Contact Team, who are still working to clear floods, provide sandbags or close roads.

The following roads remain closed:

A34 Melrose Way, Nether Alderley

A34 Pendleton Way, Wilmslow

A555 Manchester Airport Relief Road

A50 Liverpool Road West, Church Lawton

A5011 Linley Lane, Alsager

A51 Nantwich Road, Calveley

A530 Shrewbridge Road, Nantwich

Merrymans Lane, Great Warford

Maw Green Road, Crewe

Gresty Lane, Rope

Peover Lane, Chelford

Bonis Hall Lane and Lees Lane

Skellhorn Green Lane and Street Lane, Adlington

Middlewood Road, Poynton

Coole Lane, Nantwich

Cheshire East Council will continue to work to clear these floods and reopen roads where possible but it is likely that most will remain closed overnight. In the meantime, residents are advised to contact Customer Contact Centre on 0300 123 5020 in case of emergency.

COMMUNITY SURGERY - SATURDAY 26TH OCTOBER

I would like to take this opportunity to remind all residents that I will be holding my regular monthly surgery on Saturday 26th October at Alderley Edge Library from 10-11am. Do drop in and join me for a coffee and a chat about any local issues that may be causing you concern.

LEVEL 2 PATCHING WORK - WARD PRIORITIES 2019/20

As part of the new administration's commitment to greater member engagement, all Cheshire East Councillors have recently been asked to identify and prioritise up to five areas of their Ward where the road surface is in particular need of patching work. Level 2 patching work is used where there are several road defects within a small area and recent examples of this having been carried out in Alderley Edge include: Orchard Green, Oakfield Road, Carlisle Street, Downesway, Blackshaw Lane.

The five areas I have put forward as priorities for Alderley Edge in 2019/20 are:

- South Street (from the junction with Orme Street to South Street Car Park)

- Moss Lane (outside the entrance to Alderley Edge Cricket Club)

- Trafford Road (upper section, around the junction with Woodbrook Road)

- Moss Road (at the junction with Heyes Lane and Duke Street)

- Lydiat Lane (approaching the junction with Chorley Hall Lane)

There is currently no guarantee that all or indeed any of these works will be carried out within the current financial year; however, I wanted residents to know that these are the areas I have put forward for consideration in Alderley Edge.

COMMUNITY SPEEDWATCH - WILMSLOW ROAD

Yesterday I joined Parish Cllr Bev Chapman as well as volunteers from our Community Speedwatch team on Wilmslow Road. This location has been highlighted to us by a number residents and a range of traffic calming measures are due to be introduced on Wilmslow Road over the next few months. On this occasion, we recorded 50 vehicles exceeding the speed threshold over the course of an hour.

Of the total number of vehicles speeding, 36 were travelling below 40mph with a further fourteen vehicles travelling at 40mph or above, whilst the top recorded speed was 45mph. Each of the speeding drivers will receive an advisory letter from Cheshire Police, whilst the speed data will be passed on to Cheshire East Highways to support additional traffic calming measures in future.

CHRISTMAS LIGHTS SURVEY - THE RESULTS

Alderley Edge Parish Council recently carried out a survey of your preference for new Christmas Lights in the village. We presented three different options for column decorations and we were delighted that 148 residents completed the survey and gave us their views. I am now pleased to confirm the results which were as follows:

Option 1 (Star Blizzard) received just 10% of the first preference votes (3rd place)

Option 2 (Star Turn) received 33% of the first preference votes (2nd place)

Option 3 (Star Delight) received 57% of the first preference votes (1st place)

Having received over half of the first preference votes, Option 3 (Star Delight) was therefore the clear winner and an order has now been placed for this decoration to be installed on the fourteen lamp columns on London Road, from Piccolino's to Coggles in time for this year's Christmas Lights Switch-On event which will take place on Thursday 21st November.

The Parish Council have carried out a tender exercise to obtain the best price for the column decorations, which we will have for the next three years (although they will be taken down each January and stored securely until the following November). In order to allow us more time to fundraise, we have taken the decision to delay the replacement of the tree lights until next year.

COMMUNITY SPEEDWATCH - THURSDAY 29TH AUGUST

On Thursday 29th August I joined local residents and members of our Community Speedwatch team on Brook Lane, between 10am and 11am. On this occasion we recorded a total of 30 vehicles exceeding the speed threshold (this is on the approach to a school safety zone, where the speed limit is 20 mph, although of course being August the schools were not in). The results in full were:

22 vehicles travelling at or above 36 mph (the speed threshold) but below 40 mph
8 vehicles travelling at or above 40 mph
The average speed of all vehicles was 39 mph

Our next session will be on Thursday 26th September. We are always keen to welcome new volunteers to the team, as the more volunteers we have the more sessions we will be able to run. If you are interested in joining the team, please drop me an email (craig.browne@cheshireeast.gov.uk).

THE SHELL TROPHY - FINALISTS 2019

We are pleased to announce the winners of this year’s Shell Trophy (awarded in memory of Ian Miller), which will be presented at the Annual Village Show tomorrow afternoon at the Festival Hall. This year’s competition was judged by Parish Cllrs Mike Dudley-Jones, Bev Chapman & Craig Browne after careful consideration of approximately 80 contenders.

We would like to congratulate this year’s winners and runners up and thank them and all the other contenders for their contribution to the visual appearance of the village. The key criterion for each entry is that the display or garden must be visible from the public highway. The winners for each category are as follows:

Best Residential Display (Winner): Mr & Mrs B Kerr, 10 Moss Road
Best Residential Display (Highly Commended): Mr & Mrs P Smallwood, 18 Windermere Drive
Best Residential Display (Highly Commended): Mrs E Jackson, 3 Beech Cottages

Best Retail Display (Winner): Grantham’s Fine Food & Wine, 68 Heyes Lane
Best Non-Retail or Office Display (Winner): McAlister Family Law, 4 West Street
Best Cafe, Restaurant or Bar Display (Winner): De Trafford Arms, 2 Congleton Road
Best Church, Charity or Community Display (Winner): St Philip & St James, Church Lane

COMMUNITY SURGERY - SATURDAY 31ST AUGUST

I am pleased to announce that my next community surgery will be held on Saturday 31st August, from 10-11am at Alderley Edge Library. Please do call in and join me for a coffee and a chat about any local issues that may be giving you cause for concern. I look forward to seeing you there.

PARISH COUNCIL CHRISTMAS LIGHTS SURVEY

Over recent months, a Parish Council Working Group led by Cllr Liz Marshall, Cllr Rachael Grantham & Cllr Craig Browne has been looking at ways of improving the Christmas Lights in our village. A catalyst in this decision has been the fact that the existing tree lights on London Road have reached the end of their natural life and are not expected to function beyond this year.

Last year the Parish Council invested in new lights for the three Christmas Trees (one at the junction of Ryleys Lane, one at the junction of Macclesfield Road and one at Wood Gardens); ideally we would have liked to replace the tree lights on London Road this year, but the cost of doing so has proven prohibitive, meaning that we need more time to fundraise for this project.

This year therefore, we have been working with a range of suppliers to obtain designs and costings for decorative lights on the lamp columns along London Road (from the junction with Ryleys Lane to the junction with Macclesfield Road). The LoveAlderley Traders Group have helped us to shortlist the various options, which we would now like to put to the village for your feedback.

We would like to invite you to indicate your order of preference from the shortlist of three designs, by following the link https://www.surveymonkey.co.uk/r/CDTGQF3 or scanning the QR code below. The supply costs are the same regardless of which option is chosen and are in the region of £5,000 to cover the 14 lamp columns concerned.

The survey will remain open until Monday 26th August and we hope to publish the results on Tuesday 27th August.

SUMMER ACTIVITIES AT THE LIBRARY

I am pleased to share details of a number of events that are being at Alderley Edge Library this summer, many of which are being subsidised by Alderley Edge Institute Trust to help make them accessible for everyone. I would like to take this opportunity to encourage as many people as possible to take advantage of the events being organised and to support our library staff in their efforts.

- Weds 14^th August from 10.30am, children are invited to create simple circuits to create playable instruments and make a badge to take home. Suitable for ages 7-11, £2 per child;

- Thursday 15^th August at 3pm, children are able to come and create  their own solar system wooden mobile.  Suitable for ages 5+, £3 per child if registered for the Reading Challenge at Alderley Edge Library, £5 for non-participants;

- Tuesday 20^th August 10 -11 am, children can try using augmented reality to bring their pictures to life during an interactive storytime. Suitable for ages 4+, £2 per child;

- Wednesday 21^st August at 10.30am, come and take part in Oliver’s Chocolate Party where you can make edible slime and chocolate lollipops! Suitable for ages 5+, £3 per child if registered for the Reading Challenge at Alderley Edge Library, £5 for non-participants;

- Thursday 22^nd August. Macclesfield Astronomical Society will be talking to the children about Space and missions to the Moon! Suitable for ages 5+ with a £1 donation to the society.

COMMUNITY SURGERY - SATURDAY 27TH JULY

I am pleased to confirm that my next community surgery will be held on Saturday 27th July between 10am and 11am at Alderley Edge Library. Please do come along for a coffee and a chat about any local issues that may be giving you cause for concern.

SITE ALLOCATIONS DOCUMENT - FINAL DRAFT

Cheshire East Council has now published its long awaited Site Allocations Development Policies Document (SADPD), which will be considered at a meeting of the Council’s Strategic Planning Board on Wednesday 24th July. The document sets out the remaining sites to be allocated for housing across the borough, this time focusing on the smaller towns and villages such as Alderley Edge.

Locally, we have been allocated three small sites; two of these were in the initial draft of the SADPD which was published in 2018, a further site has been added and one site has been removed (land at Horseshoe Farm, which had previously been identified as safeguarded for employment use). As a result, the sites which now appear in the submission version of the plan are:

- land at Jenny Heyes (ALD 1) for the development of approximately 10 homes;
- land at Ryleys Farm (ALD 2) for the development of approximately 45 homes;
- land at Ryleys Farm (ALD 3) safeguarded for a future plan period, after 2030;
- land north of Beech Road (ALD 4) for the development of approximately 35 homes.

There will be a full public consultation on these plans, starting in mid-August and running for 6 weeks until approximately the end of September. Once the consultation has been launched, I will be organising meetings for residents of the areas immediately affected, to explain the plans in more detail as well as familiarising them with how to respond to the consultation process.

COMMUNITY SPEEDWATCH - CONGLETON ROAD

On Thursday 18th July, volunteers and residents from our Community Speedwatch team carried out another session on Congleton Road, this time supported by our PCSO (Anna Jenkinson). The results on this occasion were as follows:

14 vehicles were recorded exceeding the speed threshold
11 vehicles were speeding but travelling under 40mph
3 vehicles were speeding and travelling over 40mph
43mph was the highest recorded speed

The results represent a marked reduction in the number of vehicles recorded speeding at this location, which of course is good news. The details of our next session will be announced shortly; if you would like to join the team for an hour a month, please get in touch.

ALDERLEY EDGE CIVIC SERVICE - SUNDAY 7TH JULY

Earlier today I attended our Annual Civic Service, which this year was hosted by the Parish Church of St Philip & St James. Rev Robin Pye officiated, assisted by Rev Sue Swires (Minister at Alderley Edge Methodist Church). Children from the choir of Alderley Edge Primary School gave a rendition of “I am the Earth”, a song written by Glyn Lehman, whilst Cllr Mike Dudley-Jones (Chair of Alderley Edge Parish Council) introduced a speech by Greta Thunberg to the UN Climate Change Conference in Katowice, Poland - https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=HzeekxtyFOY

We were also pleased to welcome civic dignitaries from other parts of the borough, including Mayor of Cheshire East Cllr Barry Burkhill and the Mayoress, Mrs Sue Bidwell; also the Mayor of Bollington, Cllr Andrew Langdon; the Mayor of Knutsford, Cllr Andrew Malloy; and the Deputy Mayor of Poynton-with-Worth, Cllr Lee Podmore. Alderley Edge Parish Council were also represented by Cllr Geoff Hall.

WEST STREET ROAD CLOSURE - MONDAY 15TH JULY

West Street will be closed on Monday 15th July, from approximately 09.30 to 15.30. The closure is necessary to lay and connect underground power cables in preparation for one-way directional signage which will be installed later this month. The one-way traffic regulation order will come into effect on Friday 2nd August.

This project has been funded through the Area Highways Group, of which I am currently the Chair, at a cost of approximately £6,000 and is intended to improve pedestrian and vehicle safety at the blind junction of West Street and South Street. The work was originally intended to be completed in April; however, there has been a delay as the Council's legal services did not act on the initial instruction.

This issue has now been followed up and resolved. Access to South Street Car Park will be unaffected, during the short-term closure of West Street.

COMMUNITY SPEEDWATCH - RYLEYS LANE

On Thursday 27th June I joined members of our local Community Speedwatch group. On this occasion we were positioned on Ryleys Lane, just next to the School Safety Zone. Between 2.30pm and 3.30pm we recorded 32 vehicles exceeding the speed threshold, with the results in full as follows:

- 23 vehicles exceeding the speed threshold, but under 40 mph
- 9 vehicles exceeding 40 mph
- the highest recorded speed of any vehicle was 48 mph
- the average speed of all recorded vehicles was 38 mph

Our next session will be on Thursday 18th July. Please get in touch if you would like to join us, as the group is always keen to welcome more volunteers.

PARK MASTER PLAN BEING PREPARED

Many of you will have noticed that in recent days the flower bed by the bandstand has been recreated, as part of our attempts to improve the appearance of the park and to make this particular area a centre-piece feature. Unfortunately, many of the plants we put in last year had failed over the course of the winter and the had lead to the bed looking less impressive than we had hoped for.

Over recent weeks I have been holding a series of meetings with representatives of ANSA (Parks Maintenance) and they have agreed to install a raised bed at this location, at the same time as drawing up a master plan for the park, including additional raised beds, as well as improvements to the bowling green, the creation of a skating area and installation of keep-fit equipment for adults.

As an interim measure and in preparation for the visit by judges from North West in Bloom on Tuesday 2nd July, ANSA officers have helped us to grass over part of the original bandstand bed and planted out a much smaller and more manageable triangular bed as a temporary measure. In due course, this will give way to a much more impressive raised bed with additional planting.

I would like to thank ANSA officers for working with me, the Parish Council and members of the Alderley Edge in Bloom group, ahead of the judges visit. I expect to be able to share the master plan and to invite comment on the new proposals over the next few weeks. The plans will also include a scheme to improve drainage and usability of Chorley Hall Lane Playing Field.

NEXT COMMUNITY SURGERY - SATURDAY 29TH JUNE

I am pleased to confirm the date for my next community surgery, which will be held at Alderley Edge Library from 10am till 11am on Saturday 29th June. Do come along and join me for a coffee and a chat about any local issues that may be giving you cause for concern.

ADDITIONAL SECURITY MEASURES IN THE PARK

Following the recent traveller encampment, the Parish Council resolved at its meeting on Monday 10th June to have an emergency operating procedure to deal with any future occupation of our open green spaces. Chairman of the Parish Council, Mike Dudley-Jones, is leading on this project and is in discussion with the Gypsy & Traveller Team at Cheshire West & Chester Council.

In the meantime, I have asked our Parish Lengthsman to look at improving security at the entrance to the park on Ryleys Lane, by installing some new boundary posts, which he has done today. I have also been in discussion with the CEC Control Room Manager with a view to having the CCTV system extended to the park for additional security and peace of mind.

Whilst evidence from other parts of the borough suggests that it is impossible to completely prevent the arrival of traveller encampments, we can try to make our open spaces as secure as possible. The park is there for everyone to enjoy and our aim is to make residents feel as safe as possible whilst they are using it.

COMMUNITY SPEEDWATCH - BROOK LANE

On Thursday 30th May I joined local residents and volunteers from our Community Speedwatch group on Brook Lane. This was a particularly busy session, as we recorded 47 vehicles in total exceeding the speed threshold. The results in full were as follows:

- 34 vehicles speeding, but under 40 mph

- 12 vehicles travelling over 40 mph but under 50 mph

- 1 vehicle travelling in excess of 50 mph

The highest recorded speed on this occasion was 53 mph, whilst the average speed of all recorded vehicles was 38.7 mph (the speed limit on this section is 30 mph). The results are clearly disappointing, especially as most of the vehicles were travelling towards a School Safety Zone at the time they were recorded.

CRAFT ON THE EDGE GROUP AT THE LIBRARY

Craft on the Edge is coming to Alderley Edge Library! The group, run by local residents Viv Johnson and Jan Broddle will take place on the first Tuesday of each month, between 1.30pm and 3.00pm. Anyone is welcome to come along and join the group on a drop-in basis, but they are asked to bring their own materials and to discuss/share ideas with others in the group.

I am delighted that Viv & Jan have launched this initiative, which is a lovely way of engaging with different people in our community as well as encouraging more residents to use the library. Since the Parish Council (supported by local volunteers) took over the Tuesday afternoon sessions at the library back in January, the number of visitors has been growing steadily, which is good news for its future.

VOLUNTEERS HELP WITH PARK CLEAN UP

On Saturday morning I was joined by 16 volunteers and local residents who came to the park to help litter pick following the recent illegal traveller encampment. ANSA had already started the clean-up operation on Friday, but on Saturday we collected a further NINE refuse sacks full of rubbish. The rubbish sacks have now been left at the railway station, ready for collection by ANSA this week.


I would like to say a huge thank you to everyone who gave up their time to come and help out and especially to Judy Turner from Alderley Edge in Bloom for helping me to co-ordinate. In addition to collecting ordinary litter, we also found both human and animal waste, a dead cat and twelve unopened bottles of beer!