TRAVELLER UPDATE - SECTION 77 NOTICE ISSUED

Officers from Cheshire West & Chester Council* have attended the park (playing fields) today and issued a Section 77 Notice, requiring the travellers to leave the site by 3pm on Wednesday. The notice prohibits the same travellers from returning to the site within a three-month period. Should the group fail to leave by 3pm tomorrow, a court order may be necessary in order to evict them.

Earlier today I held meetings with officers from Cheshire East Council and ANSA (Parks Maintenance) to discuss the introduction of additional security measures designed to deter future illegal encampments. Once the travellers have left the site, I will be putting out a general call for help in cleaning up the area.

* enforcement of traveller sites was sub-contracted to CWaC Council earlier this year

ILLEGAL TRAVELLER ENCAMPMENT

I attended the park on Friday evening, soon after the travellers arrived. The police were also there and confirmed to me that it is the same group who had set up an illegal encampment in Wilmslow earlier in the week. I have attended the park again this morning and once more, the police were present and are monitoring the situation.

The procedure with traveller encampments is that the police create an incident code and then put actions in place to ensure an efficient and effective multi-agency response. A referral is then made to the Council’s Gypsy and Traveller Service, who will visit the next working day to carry out the necessary checks and start any actions required by the Council. 

The Police have the relevant powers to manage any encampments out of hours, if damage is being caused to the land, or threatening or abusive behaviour is being used. Cheshire East Council legal processes are initiated on the next available working day, which involves the Council serving a Section 77 notice under the Criminal Justice & Public Order Act (1994).

COMMUNITY SURGERY - SATURDAY 25TH MAY

Following my re-election on May 2nd, I am pleased to confirm that my first Community Surgery of the new electoral term will be on Saturday 25th May, from 10am - 11am at Alderley Edge Library. Please do come along and join me for a cuppa and a chat about any local issues that may be causing you concern and I will do my best to help.

COMMUNITY SPEEDWATCH - CONGLETON ROAD

Last Thursday, local residents and volunteers from our Community Speedwatch team met on Congleton Road. This was one of their quietest sessions for a while, with only ten vehicles recorded on this occasion. The results in full were:

- 9 vehicles travelling above the speed threshold but under 40mph
- 1 vehicle travelling at 40mph
- the average speed of all recorded vehicles was 36.9mph

Our next session will be on Thursday 30th May. As always, we are looking for more volunteers to help out, so if you are able to give an hour a month to support the work of our Community Speedwatch team, please do get in touch by sending me an email.

POETRY GROUP STARTS AT ALDERLEY EDGE LIBRARY

Starting on Tuesday 14th May, residents are encouraged to come along to the library and join a poetry group, which is being run by local volunteer Lesley Marsh. This is a new group, which will meet from 3pm to 4pm on Tuesday 14th May, with further meetings planned on 9th July and 10th September. I hope to shortly give details of a Craft Club, as well as a Conversational Spanish class which will also be starting at the library on Tuesday afternoons. Whilst the library is being run by volunteers on a Tuesday afternoon, under the auspices of the Parish Council, we have the freedom and flexibility to arrange a variety of different activities. If anyone has any further ideas for activities they would like to run, please do get in touch.

COMMUNITY SPEEDWATCH - WILMSLOW ROAD

On Thursday 11th April I joined local residents and volunteers from our Community Speedwatch team on Wilmslow Road (near to Harden Park). On this occasion, we were also joined by our PCSO, Anna Jenkinson. During the course of one hour (11am- 12noon) we recorded no fewer than 59 vehicles exceeding the speed threshold, with an average speed of 38mph. The results in full were:

- 46 vehicles exceeding the speed threshold, but under 40mph
- 13 vehicles exceeding the speed threshold, above 40mph
- highest recorded speed was 48mph
- the speed limit at this location is 30mph

The figures show that there is still a clear need for increased awareness at this location. To that end, we will shortly be getting some red-coloured textured road surfacing on Wilmslow Road, as well as some "30" roundels marked on the road surface. Also, once the development of the County Hotel is complete, a pedestrian island will be installed close to the junction with Harden Park.