SPEEDWATCH RESULTS - CONGLETON ROAD

On Thursday last week, I joined Parish Cllr Geoff Hall as well as local residents and volunteers to carry out our monthly Community Speedwatch session. On this occasion we were stationed on Congleton Road, near to the junction with Whitebarn Road. Residents sometimes query this location, as it is only twenty feet or so from the boundary with Nether Alderley, where the speed limit changes to 40mph; however, the speed gun picks up vehicles over 100 yards away as they approach the concealed junctions of Hazelcroft Gardens and Congleton Close (well within the 30mph limit).

On this occasion, we recorded 16 vehicles exceeding the speed threshold, which is a marked improvement on the number we have recorded on previous occasions at this location. Eight of the speeding vehicles were travelling under 40mph and eight were travelling over 40mph, with a top speed of 49mph and an average overall speed of 38mph. All recorded drivers will receive an advisory letter from Cheshire Police (for a first offence) or a visit from a Police Officer (for a subsequent offence).

Our next session will be on Thursday 14th February. As always, we are reliant on the help of local residents and volunteers to run these sessions, so if you are able to spare an hour please let me know.

TREE PLANTING WITH ALDERLEY EDGE SCHOOL FOR GIRLS

This morning I joined pupils, staff and governors from Alderley Edge School for Girls, as well as Parish Cllrs Rachael Grantham and Geoff Hall in planting a new oak sapling in the park. The sapling has been donated by Manchester Airport as part of its 80th anniversary celebrations, during which 80 saplings have been presented to a number of local community organisations.

The sapling has been planted in an open space between the band stand and bowling green, following advice from ANSA (Cheshire East Parks Maintenance). This was a lovely opportunity for the young people to join in the 80th anniversary celebrations, but also to take an active interest in our beautiful village park. They also buried a time capsule containing a variety of school memorabilia.

VILLAGE SIGNS CLEANED BY CLLR MIKE TAYLORSON

Over the course of last weekend, Parish Cllr Mike Taylorson has carried out a targeted cleanse of signs around our village. The previous clean, which was also carried out by Cllr Taylorson, took place over 2 days on the 26th & 27th February 2017 and targeted areas where signage had been obscured by tree sap; this included all signage on the approaches to our village schools, as well as bus stops and speed roundels.

The most recent clean has included signs on Ryleys lane, Brook Lane, the Railway Bridge on Wilmslow Road, Trafford Road, Macclesfield Road and Congleton Road, again targeting signage which had been obscured by tree sap. The main thoroughfares coming into and out of the village have also been cleaned. Cllr Taylorson explained "where signage had been reported by residents of Alderley Edge, we have responded accordingly".

Cllr Taylorson was helped by his nephew who runs a mobile car cleaning business and who donated both time and equipment to support this task at no cost to the village.

 

OAKFIELD ROAD TO CLOSE FOR CARRIAGEWAY REPAIRS

I am delighted to confirm that Oakfield Road (between the junction with Heywood Road and Heyes Lane) is to benefit from carriageway patching repair work. The repairs are scheduled to be completed on Monday 28th January, following a request I made to CE Highways a few weeks ago. I also accompanied one of the lead engineers on a site visit around Alderley Edge on Wednesday afternoon to discuss several other projects. I am pleased that this follows on from similar work carried out on Blackshaw Lane last week and would like to thank CE Highways for responding positively to my request. Oakfield Road will be closed to traffic on Monday, whilst the repairs are being carried out.

COMMUNITY SURGERY - SATURDAY 26TH JANUARY

I will be holding my monthly drop-in surgery this Saturday morning, between 10am and 11am at Alderley Edge Library. On this occasion I will also be joined by our PCSO, Anna Jenkinson. If there are any local issues that are giving you cause for concern, do call in and have a chat with us over a tea or coffee. We look forward to seeing you then.

SIGN CLEANING - PLEASE HELP WITH OUR SURVEY

Parish Cllr Mike Taylorson is calling on residents to contact him and let him know about any signs around the village that are particularly dirty and in need of a clean. This is really something that Cheshire East Highways should keep on top of, but it is clearly something that is a low priority for them. Cllr Taylorson has a jet-wash machine which he last used to clean the signs back in 2017 and is looking to repeat the task once more, as we head towards the spring weather. I have been helping him to identify signs at various locations around the village; but if there are any near you, please let him know by leaving a comment in the box below.

WOOD GARDENS PLANTING & REVAMP

Earlier today I joined our new Parish Councillor Bev Chapman, as well as Cllr Geoff Hall, volunteers from the Alderley Edge in Bloom Group and local residents to plant 1,000 bulbs on the green at Wood Gardens. The bulbs have been purchased with the help of a small grant from Cheshire Peaks & Plains, as well as a donation from Geoff Hall.

Over the coming weeks, we will be speaking to more residents about what their aspirations are for Wood Gardens, including possibly weeding and replanting the flower beds that were created in 2017 with different coloured heathers. I will also be purchasing boxus ball plants for the remaining planters in front of the shops and stocking them with winter primula over the next few weeks.

If you are a resident local to Wood Gardens and would like to get involved or share your ideas for the area, please do get in touch by leaving a comment below or sending me an email.

TUESDAY AFTERNOON LIBRARY SESSION LAUNCHES

I am delighted to report that our new volunteer-led Library Service launched successfully on Tuesday afternoon. With the help of a dedicated group of local residents, the Parish Council has reached an agreement with Cheshire East Council to open the library on Tuesday afternoons from 1.30pm to 5.30pm, taking the number of hours the library is open each week, back up to 24 (it has previously been cut from 25 hours to 20 hours per week as a cost-saving measure by Cheshire East Council).

Each four-hour session is being divided into two time slots of two hours, the first from 1.30-3.30pm and the second from 3.30-5.30pm. Our first session was a great success, with several residents and visitors coming in to use the library, for borrowing or returning books, taking time out to read the newspapers or do some photocopying. On behalf of the whole community, I would like to say a huge thank you to the volunteers for making this possible.

We will shortly be putting together our rota for February and anyone interested in volunteering for a couple of hours once a month or so is encouraged to email us at aelibvolunteers@gmail.com

HEYES LANE SPEED DATA (CHRISTMAS PERIOD)

I am pleased to share the latest statistics recorded by our recently installed Speed Indicator Device on Heyes Lane. The data covers the period from 18th December to 2nd January and whilst the overall number of vehicles was lower during this period than the previous two-weeks, it is pleasing to see that on average 95% of vehicles were travelling within the speed threshold.

The data shows an average speed of 28.08 mph for vehicles travelling away from the village centre and an average speed of 28.87 mph for vehicles travelling towards the village centre. Whilst the overall figures are encouraging, a handful of drivers are not getting the message, with top speeds of 55 mph (away from the village) and 74 mph (towards the village) recorded over the period.

At Monday evening's Parish Council meeting, we will be presenting our budget for 2019/20 and expect to approve the funds for a further Speed Indicator Device to be purchased.