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!