CHESHIRE EAST HIGHWAYS TRIBUTE TO NHS STAFF

The Cheshire East Council Highways team, alongside their partners, have painted symbols of thanks outside two local NHS hospitals at Macclesfield and at Leighton, Crewe. These are a mark of appreciation for the NHS frontline staff for all their hard work during this difficult and demanding time. The teams installed the artwork during time out from their essential day-to-day duties.

The opportunity to do this, to applaud the efforts of each and every healthcare professional was one that the team didn’t want to miss and was made possible during the quieter period on the roads due to the current lockdown. The work was carried out on Thursday 16th April and timed-in with our weekly clap for the carers. 

This work has been shared on Cheshire East Council’s social media pages, where residents and other local organisations have joined the council to spread their messages of thanks to all the NHS staff. It is hoped that the artwork will brighten the days of all those staff, symbolise everyone’s gratitude and remind them that we are #AllInThisTogether

COVID-19: SHIELDING HUBS & COUNCIL MEETINGS

Cheshire East Council has now received further guidance from central government with respect to Shielding Hubs and we are working through the potential volume of deliveries we would have responsibility for. Our understanding is that our role will be to provide support to any individual in need of urgent support, where the national arrangements have failed to provide the necessary help.  Tomorrow, we expect to be able to provide further details on how these Shielding Hubs will work in practice, but the likelihood is that there will be two hubs (one in the north of the borough and the other one in the south of the borough).

During the current climate and to ensure compliance with government guidance, Cheshire East Council has taken the decision to cancel all committees and meetings of Council (including the Annual Council Meeting scheduled for Wednesday 13th May). At the current time, the Corona Virus Bill is passing through parliament as a result of which we expect legislation to be enacted that will enable council meetings to take place online, with members able to vote on items remotely (without being in the room). Pending this, we are investigating various ICT solutions that would enable us to hold future meetings online.  

SINKHOLE ON TRAFFORD ROAD

A number of residents have been contacting me to ask what is happening with the sinkhole which appeared a few weeks ago. I have followed this up with engineers from Cheshire East Highways, who have confirmed that as the cause of the problem is a leaking drain the responsibility for resolving it has now been passed on to United Utilities.

The traffic signals which had originally been put in place by Cheshire East Highways are to be removed once United Utilities arrive on site. Officers from Cheshire East Highways are pressing the utilities company to begin work as soon as possible; in the meantime, motorists and pedestrians are advised to take extra care in this area of the village

 

COMMUNITY SPEEDWATCH - BROOK LANE

On Thursday 27th February I joined local residents and volunteers from our Community Speedwatch team. On this occasion we carried out a monitoring session on Brook Lane and the results were as follows:

- number of vehicles exceeding the speed threshold (30)
- number of vehicles exceeding 40mph (10)
- highest recorded speed (48mph)
- average speed of all vehicles (39mph)

We are always keen to welcome new volunteers to our group. If any resident would like to join us, please send me an email (craig.browne@cheshireeast.gov.uk).

COMMUNITY SURGERY - SATURDAY 29TH FEB

I am pleased to announce the date of my next Community Surgery, which will be on Saturday 29th February between 10am and 11am. As usual, the venue will be Alderley Edge Library. Please do come along and join me for a tea/coffee and a chat about any local issues which may be causing you concern. There is no need to make an appointment, just call in.

BYPASS SAFETY IMPROVEMENTS

As many residents will have seen, the A34 Alderley Edge Bypass is due to close (evenings only) between Monday 9th March and Sunday 22nd March to enable safety improvements to be introduced. Following a triple fatality on this section of the A34 back in November 2018, I had called for the introduction of double white lines in the centre of this single carriageway road plus the introduction of a 50mph speed restriction.

The safety improvements to be implemented at this time include hatch markings in the centre of the carriageway, which will visually narrow the appearance of the road surface both to discourage overtaking and reduce the speed of vehicles travelling along this stretch of the A34. I am including below, drawings of the measures to be introduced, to help provide residents and motorists with a better impression of how the bypass will look once the works have been completed.