PARISH COUNCIL FREEZES PRECEPT FOR FOURTH YEAR IN A ROW

Parish Councillors in Alderley Edge have voted to freeze the Parish Precept (that part of our Council Tax which is collected by Cheshire East Council, but paid to Alderley Edge Parish Council) for the fourth successive year. As a result, the Parish Precept for Alderley Edge for the coming financial year 2022/23 will remain at £185,400 which is equivalent to £68.50 per Band D property.

Speaking about the decision to freeze the Parish Precept once more, Chair of Finance, Cllr Myles Garbett explained "the Parish Council are very conscious of the difficulties caused by the pandemic and the financial pressure this has put upon many residents and families. Many people have seen a reduction in their income over the last two years and the decision to freeze the Parish Precept for what will now be the fourth year in a row, seeks to recognise the difficulties many are facing."

Cllr Garbett added, "We initially raised the precept in the 2016/17 financial year in order to help fund the construction of Alderley Edge Medical Centre and to support the restoration of the Festival Hall. At the start of that project, the Festival Hall had been losing up to £100,000 a year, but by the start of the pandemic we had reduced that loss to just £40,000. Had it not been for the pandemic, the Festival Hall was on target to be cost neutral to the Parish Council and residents of Alderley Edge."

Chair of Alderley Edge Parish Council, Cllr Mike Dudley-Jones explained: "Initially, we had hoped to reduce the precept this year; however, we were mindful of a number of community projects that the Parish Council has planned, including some enhancements to the park, improved signage in the centre of the village, creation of some further on-street parking spaces, additional Christmas lights, better facilities for cyclists and access improvements at St Philip & St James' Church."

"We also wanted to arrange a fitting tribute to mark the 70th anniversary of the accession of HM the Queen and to bring the village together to celebrate the occasion. We will be announcing the details of our plans to mark the Platinum Jubilee over the course of the next few weeks".

COMMUNITY SURGERY - SATURDAY 29TH JANUARY

Following the recent re-opening of Alderley Edge Library (due to an issue with the heating system and water ingress from the apartments above), I am pleased to confirm that I will be holding my monthly community surgery at the library between 10am and 11am on Saturday 29th January. Please do call in and join me for a chat about any local issues that may be causing you concern or which you feel I might be able to help with. I look forward to seeing you then.

I would also like to give advance notice of my next Community Surgery on Saturday 26th February, when I will be pleased to welcome our new PCSO for the village, Emily Mackintosh, who will be joining me.

COMMUNITY SURGERY - SATURDAY 27TH NOVEMBER

I am pleased to remind residents that I will be holding my regular community surgery this Saturday, at Alderley Edge Library between 10am and 11am. Please come along and join me if there are any community issues that you would like to discuss or feel I might be able to help with.

As a further reminder, I would like to announce that my final community surgery of 2021 will be held on Saturday 18th December, also at Alderley Edge Library between 10am and 11am. On that occasion, I hope to be able to share tea, coffee and mince pies with anyone who would care to join me.

I look forward to seeing you soon.

RESIDENTS GIVE BIG THUMBS UP TO 20MPH ZONE

Following a recent consultation by Cheshire East Highways, I am pleased to report that residents have spoken strongly and in large numbers in favour of the introduction of a 20mph zone and associated traffic calming measures in the centre of our village. In total, almost 700 people responded, with more than 500 in support of the proposals.

A report commissioned by Cheshire East Council concludes that "694 responses is a high level of response, particularly given the population of Alderley Edge village in 2011 (the last census) was 4,780. That such a large proportion of residents (73%) indicated their support for the proposals gives a fairly clear mandate to proceed with them, indeed many residents felt that the proposals could go further.

Whilst there is very strong support for the proposals, there is some concern that the proposals may not solve what might be the main issue in the village - that of apparent 'supercar parades' which the village seems to have become a focal point for. The large volume of responses to the survey however, indicates a high level of feeling about the proposals and the issues they are designed to solve."

The main reasons given in support of the proposals included: 

- "people drive too fast around the village and so a 20mph limit and speed bumps are needed"

- "the proposals will benefit the whole community and make it a more pleasant place to live"

- "the proposals will make it safer for everyone, but especially children, pedestrians and cyclists"

The main reasons given in opposition to the proposals included:

- "they are a waste of money to appease a vocal minority"

- "the proposed area is too large and should focus on London Road only"

- "the proposals will have a negative visual impact on the village"

The purpose of the survey was to gather and analyse initial feedback on the proposals and dependent upon the outcome, commence a formal period of consultation on the final proposals. Following the high number of responses in favour of the principle of the scheme, Cheshire East Highways will now proceed to statutory consultation with an indicative timescale as follows:

- drafting of the Traffic Regulation Order (TRO) and Officer Decision Record (December/January)

- formal consultation on the final proposals (February/March)

- detailed design, including road closure/permit consultation (January/April)

- construction and implementation of the scheme (June/July)

I would like to record my thanks to everyone who responded to the consultation, as well as to officers from Cheshire East Highways and our partners in the emergency services and members of the Multi Agency Action Group for their work in developing the proposals. I'm also grateful to our three schools, Alderley Edge Community Primary, Alderley Edge School for Girls & the Ryleys for their support.

Whilst I am pleased with the consultation response, I am under no illusion that there is a single effective solution to the problem of antisocial driving and some of the alternative options that were suggested by opponents of the proposals will need to remain under consideration (such as additional enforcement by the police, as well as average speed or acoustic cameras); however, these options are resource intensive and lie outside the current remit of Cheshire East Council.

WELCOME REMEDY FOR PARK VISITORS

I am delighted to welcome "Juice Remedy" to our village park, starting from Thursday 11th November. Earlier this year, Cheshire East Council called for expressions of interest from potential providers of a refreshment facility in four parks across the borough (one of which being in Alderley Edge). I can now confirm "Juice Remedy" or "Remedy on the Park" as it will be known, as the winning tender.

This is an initiative that I have been pressing Cheshire East Council to embrace for many months and I am really pleased that it is finally going to become a reality next week. I know from the conversations I have had with residents that this is something that many will want to welcome and look forward to purchasing light refreshments from when they are visiting the park.

"Juicy Remedy" will operate intially on Thursdays, Fridays, Saturdays and Sundays from a beautifully converted Citroen HY van that will be positioned between the bandstand and children's play area. A range of products will be available including pressed fruit and vegetable juices, along with quality coffee and wellness lattes, as well as delicious and nutritious treats.

Remedy will also be making an appearance at the Christmas Lights Switch On on Saturday 13th November, at South Street Car Park, with a focus on quality, health, wellbeing and sustainability. Remedy will be operated by a local business owner and I would like to wish them every success. I believe this facility will be a very welcome addition to our village park.

CCTV CONTROL ROOM REPORT - QUARTER 2 2021/22

I am pleased to attach our Q2 report from the CCTV Control Room, which shows that a total of 55 incidents were recorded during the period. Some of which led to no further action following an initial review of the system (these incidents might include instances of the team observing apparently suspicious behaviour or monitoring an individual in a state of drunkenness making their way out of the village).

Over the last 18 months, the CCTV team has carried out an upgrade of our surveillance equipment, which now includes full HD and nighttime vision. The team were recently inspected by the Security & Alarms Inspection Board (SSAIB) for the Management and Operation of Public Space CCTV (known in the industry as the "platinum standard" with only a handful of the 400+ councils nationwide holding the mark.

Of the incidents recorded in Alderley Edge over the last quarter, a small number did result in further action being taken and CCTV footage being successfully used to identify the perpetrators, including: a large fight taking place outside one of our licensed premises, after which the CCTV team were requested by police to get face shots of those involved; CCTV picking up an individual about to leave by car, apparently under the influence of alcohol. The team contacted the police who stopped the vehicle and arrested the driver.

The Parish Council continues to fund the provision of CCTV surveillance in conjunction with Cheshire East Council, to protect the safety of our residents, business owners/workers and their property.