COMMUNITY SURGERY - SATURDAY 30TH OCTOBER

I would like to remind residents that I will be holding my regular community surgery this Saturday morning, between 10am and 11am at Alderley Edge Library. Please do come along and join me for a chat if there are any community related issues you would like to discuss.

In line with government restrictions, regrettably I was forced to cancel my face-to-face indoor surgeries during the pandemic; however, in line with the removal of formal restrictions, I have now re-started my surgery on the last Saturday of each month.

I look forward to seeing you this Saturday.

COMMUNITY SPEEDWATCH - A SPEEDING VEHICLE EVERY MINUTE ON WILMSLOW ROAD

On Thursday 14th October, I joined Parish Councillors Bev Chapman and Karen Robinson along with other local volunteers from our Community Speedwatch Team. On this occasion we were stationed on Wilmslow Road between 2pm and 3pm, during which time we recorded no less than 60 vehicles exceeding the speed threshold (in other words, one speeding vehicle per minute).

The detailed results of our session were as follows:

- 45 vehicles were recorded above the speed threshold, but under 40mph

- 14 vehicles were recorded travelling between 40mph and 50mph

- 1 vehicle was recorded travelling over 50mph (52mph)

Of the number of vehicles recorded speeding, 51 were travelling south along Wilmslow Road towards Alderley Edge village, whereas only 9 vehicles were travelling away from the village towards Wilmslow. The results provide further evidence which will help support my proposals for the introduction of traffic calming measures along Wilmslow Road and in the village centre.

Community Speedwatch is a national campaign and our local volunteers provide a valuable service which is backed by Cheshire Police. As always, the more volunteers we have, the more sessions we will be able to run and inevitably these help to make our roads safer for all users. If you would be interested in giving up an hour a month to support our efforts, do please get in touch.

KNUTSFORD ROAD TO CLOSE FOR CARRIAGEWAY REPAIRS

Residents will recall that the funding Cheshire East Council receives from central government for road maintenance was cut by 23% (£4m) this year; unfortunately but understandably, this has had an impact on Cheshire East Highways' repair programme. Nevertheless, I am delighted to announce that Knutsford Road has been added to the programme and that repairs will take place shortly.

Earlier this summer, carriageway patching works were carried out on Macclesfield Road and the results have been a welcome improvement for all road users (motorists, cyclists and pedestrians). The works to Knutsford Road will begin at the junction with Brook Lane (Alderley Edge), continue through Chorley and on until the Bird in Hand at Mobberley.

While most of the planned works fall outside the Alderley Edge Ward Boundary, I am sure that many residents of the village who travel this route regularly will be pleased to hear the news. I hope they will also share my joy that the mini-roundabout at the junction of Brook Lane and Knutsford Road is to be completely resurfaced and re-marked at the same time.

Due to the extent of the planned works, which are proposed for early November, there will be a nine-day rolling road closure of various sections along Knutsford Road. At the time of writing, I am still waiting for confirmation of the exact dates, but will post these to my blog and share them on social media as soon as I am made aware of them.

Whilst the route will be closed to through traffic, engineers from Cheshire East Highways will do their best to enable access to residential properties and businesses at all times.

  

ALDERLEY EDGE LIBRARY - CALL FOR VOLUNTEERS

Following the relaxation of restrictions, we are once again looking forward to re-starting our Tuesday afternoon sessions at Alderley Edge Library. As a reminder, a group of about 20 volunteers, working under the auspices of the Parish Council, came together in 2018 to help ensure Alderley Edge Library remained open (it had been threatened with closure by the administration then in place at Cheshire East Council).

Clearly, we have not been able to work in the library over the last 18 months due to the pandemic, but we are now looking to start again and hopefully include arts & crafts as well as a reading & poetry club among our activities once more. From Tuesday 5th October, we are hoping to re-open Alderley Edge Library between 1.30pm and 5.30pm with the help of volunteer library assistants.

During these times, residents will be able to borrow or return books, browse the library, use the photocopier, help organise or take part in one of our varied range of activities; however, a handful of our original volunteers have let us know that they will not be able to help out any more and so we are making an appeal for other residents who may have a few hours spare, to come forward.

If you are reasonably active and able to spare a couple of hours once a month on a Tuesday afternoon (there are two slots: 1.30pm to 3.30pm or 3.30pm to 5.30pm) please do get in touch by sending an email to aelibvolunteers@gmail.com. The role is not particularly onerous, but full training will be given and we always work in groups of at least three people, so no one is left on their own at any point.

This is a great opportunity to help support a much needed and much loved service in Alderley Edge.

PLANNING PERMISSION FOR GYPSY & TRAVELLER TRANSIT SITE

At a meeting of Cheshire East Council’s Strategic Planning Board on Wednesday 18th August, permission was granted for a Gypsy & Traveller Transit Site at the former Cledford Farm (Middlewich). In addition to the removal of green belt sites formerly allocated for development, the provision of a Transit Site was a key element of the SADPD (Local Plan Part II) which was approved by Council earlier this year. Local authorities are required to assess the need to accommodate members of the gypsy and traveller community when undertaking a review of housing needs.

Transit sites are permanent sites intended for temporary use by members of the gypsy & traveller community. Each pitch is capable of accommodating two caravans and two cars. The pitches also include electrical hook-ups and a standpipe for drinking water and drainage. If travellers refuse the pitch, as directed, they will have to leave the borough and cannot return for three months. They are also required to pay a daily rental fee for each pitch that they occupy, as well as to use the communal laundry and showering facilities that will be provided on site.

Having a transit site will play an important role in helping to reduce the number of unauthorised encampments in Cheshire East, as it equips the police with powers to direct Travellers to a suitable pitch on a site owned by the local authority. Under current powers available to Cheshire East Council, the process of securing a court order to move traveller encampments on can take between five and seven working days; however the provision of a transit site means that the police will have the powers to direct unauthorised encampments to that site in as little as three hours.

The existence of a transit site allows the police to use the "power to direct" under Section 62 of the Criminal Justice & Public Order Act (1994). Evidence from other authorities that have introduced transit sites suggests that they are very effective in reducing the number of unauthorised encampments; for example, Telford & Wrekin Council had 150 encampments in 2015, but this fell to just 18 following the provision of a transit site in 2017. Similarly, in Halton, unauthorised encampments fell from an annual figure of 83 to just 17 following the introduction of a transit site.

This will be the first time in its history that Cheshire East Council will have had a transit site. It will be good news for residents of the borough who have been beset with localised encampments over recent years, but it will also be good news for traveller communities who will have an officially recognised site at which to pitch up and with access to essential facilities.

BROOK LANE TEMPORARY TRAFFIC LIGHTS SET FOR REMOVAL

Residents will soon see an end to the temporary traffic lights that have been in place on Brook Lane since December 2020. I am pleased to report that Cheshire East Highways will be installing scaffolding next week to secure the remaining boundary wall and fencing; this will address the risk of the wall collapsing onto the footpath, enabling it to be re-opened to pedestrians once more. 

The works, which are expected to take place between Tuesday 31st August and Friday 3rd September, will finally see the removal of the temporary traffic signals. The boundary wall has been the subject of an ownership dispute for several months; however, following the serving of a legal notice by Cheshire East Council (which the owner of the wall did not appeal), Cheshire East Highways are now able to intervene.

The reinstatement of the damaged section of the boundary wall remains the responsibility of the owner.