SATURDAY OPENING RETURNS AT ALDERLEY EDGE LIBRARY

I am pleased to share with residents the welcome news that from Saturday 1st October, Alderley Edge Library will once again be open between the hours of 09.30 and 13.00.

The Library Service has been beset by staffing issues since Alderley Edge Library was initially forced to close due to the pandemic, losing three members of staff in quick succession (one to retirement, one to ill health and another to alternative employment). It has taken some time to recruit and train new members of staff, but I am delighted to confirm that we are now up to a full complement once more.

In addition to opening between the hours of 09.30 and 17.00 on Tuesdays, Wednesdays & Thursdays, the return of Saturday mornings means that Alderley Edge Library is now back up to the pre-pandemic opening of 25 hours per week. The Library continues to be staffed with the help of local volunteers on Tuesday afternoons, when a range of alternative activities are also available.

To celebrate the return of Saturday mornings, I have changed my regular Community Surgery from the last Saturday in September to the first Saturday in October. I would therefore like to welcome residents who would like to discuss any community issue, to join me for a cuppa on Saturday 1st October anytime between 11am and 12noon.

CONGLETON ROAD REPAIR WORKS UNDERWAY

Earlier today, acting in my capacity as Chair of Cheshire East Council's Highways & Transport Committee, I took the opportunity to inspect repairs that are currently being carried out on Congleton Road, Nether Alderley. The Level 2 patching works, which began yesterday and are due to be completed tomorrow, were due to be carried out during the fourth quarter of 2022/23, but have been brought forward.

The additional £7m investment we are making as a Council this year has enabled these much overdue works to be carried out earlier than was originally programmed. A section of Congleton Road, from the junction with Whitebarn Road in Alderley Edge, to the junction with Church Lane in Nether Alderley, is benefitting from carriageway patching works at a cost of approximately £100,000.

The Site Manager explained to me that the contractor, Eurovia, are planing off, removing and relaying approximately 100 tonnes of tarmac during each of the three days over which the works are being completed. The intention is to carry out Level 2 carriageway patching during the current financial year and then to follow this up with Level 3 surface dressing, next year.

Level 3 surface dressing was recently applied to Macclesfield Road in Alderley Edge and the intention is for the same treatment to be applied to Congleton Road (from the de Trafford Arms in Alderley Edge, to the junction with Melrose Way in Nether Alderley) during the 2023/24 financial year. Unfortunately, due to cost pressures, it is not possible to carry out both jobs in the same financial year.