COMMUNITY SPEEDWATCH TEAM RETURNS FOLLOWING LOCKDOWN

On Thursday 27th August I joined our local Community Speedwatch volunteers on Ryleys Lane - this was the first session the group have been able to carry out since the pandemic began; however, we decided that it would be appropriate for the group to re-start, provided social distancing guidelines could be strictly followed.

As it turned out, we had to cut the session short due to heavy rain; however, between 3.00 - 3.45pm we recorded a total of 36 vehicles exceeding the speed threshold at this location. Of those vehicles recorded, 24 were speeding at or below 39mph and a further 12 were travelling faster than 40mph, with a top speed of 47mph.

The figures are particularly concerning as Ryleys Lane is of course a school safety zone. I am continuing to work with Cheshire East Highways with a view to introducing a permanent 20mph zone with supporting traffic calming infrastructure in this area of the village. Further details will follow over the course of the next few weeks.

ALDERLEY EDGE LIBRARY TO RE-OPEN

I am pleased to announce that Alderley Edge library is to re-open on a phased basis from Tuesday 1st September. The library has been closed since the early stages of the pandemic and was unable to re-open along with other libraries in Cheshire East due to its size and ability to respect social distancing.

The library will initially open on Tuesdays only, as there are currently additional demands on staff (due to Covid-19) to help monitor social distancing at other libraries, but also to ensure that all returned books are appropriately cleaned down and not made available for re-loan within a 72-hour period.

Over a period of time the library opening hours will be scaled back up to where they were before the pandemic; however, it is currently impossible to say how long this will take. I welcome the news that the library is to re-open and I am sure many residents will be keen to start using it again.

 

TRAFFORD ROAD TO CLOSE FOR SURFACE TREATMENT

I am pleased to announce that Trafford Road is to temporarily close to through traffic to enable surface treatment works to be carried out. The closure will be in place from Tuesday 1st September to Wednesday 9th September and will apply to both the upper and lower sections of Trafford Road. 

In the autumn of 2019, elected members of Cheshire East Council were invited to put forward five priority roads for their wards. Whilst clearly not all requests could be funded, I am delighted that Moss Road, recently benefited from carriageway patching and now Trafford Road is to receive surface treatment.

This year, Cheshire East Council has made an unprecedented level of investment in road maintenance (£8.55m), as well as in footpath repairs and lining works; however, independent estimates suggest an annual investment of £17m is needed simply to maintain the existing condition of many of our roads.

Clearly there is much work still to do, but I would like to thank officers from Cheshire East Highways for responding positively to my request for these works to be carried out in Alderley Edge.

PUBLIC SPACE PROTECTION ORDER - ONLINE SURVEY

Earlier today I joined members of Cheshire East Council's Communities & Anti-social Behaviour team and the local beat team at Cheshire Police, surveying businesses and residents on the subject of high-performance vehicles. The multi-agency action group is giving consideration to introducing a Public Space Protection Order in the centre of the village; this would involve establishing a zone (possibly from the junction with Brook Lane to the junction with Whitebarn Road) where certain types of irresponsible driver behaviour would become illegal and enforceable with a fine. A Public Space Protection Order would be separate from recently announced speed reduction and traffic calming measures along London Road, but would give Civil Enforcement Officers additional powers.

Before the Council can begin with the implementation of a PSPO, there is a requirement to consult as many businesses and residents as possible and therefore I would like to ask everyone to complete a short online survey by clicking on the link below (the survey only takes a couple of minutes to complete). The survey will remain open until 1st September and I will share the results in due course. I would like to thank members of the Anti-social Behaviour Team and officers from Cheshire Police for joining me this afternoon and helping to provide a visible presence in the village. Police officers also took the opportunity to warn a number of motorists and spoke to several of the photographers who congregate to capture these vehicles on their phones. One motorist was also issued with a ticket for contravening the West Street one-way order.

https://surveys.cheshireeast.gov.uk/s/AEvehicles/

PARK MOBILE REFRESHMENT FACILITY - CALL FOR TENDERS

I am delighted to announce that Cheshire East Council has today launched a call for tenders to provide a mobile refreshment service at Alderley Edge Park. The inclusion of a refreshment outlet was included in a masterplan for the park that was published and consulted on back in January of this year and which was widely supported by residents and businesses.

I would like to thank ANSA (Parks Maintenance) for working with me to help make this facility a reality. I am sure that many residents and visitors to the park will appreciate and enjoy the opportunity to be able to purchase a drink or snack as they, for example, watch their children play or perhaps at the end of a game of football, tennis or bowls. 

The proposal is for a mobile refreshment facility, which would be positioned between the bandstand and the children's play area as this is considered to be the most central point for people to access. Cheshire East is seeking to award a five-year franchise to provide this facility, which will provide both certainty as well as enabling the council to generate a small annual revenue which could be reinvested in the park.

The procurement exercise will remain open until 12 midnight on Tuesday 11th August. Any interested parties should submit their tender via The Chest (North West Procurement Portal) using the following link: https://procontract.due-north.com/Advert?advertId=ba3c5b7e-b9d0-ea11-8104-005056b64545&p=e0cc5631-4690-e511-80fb-000c29c9ba21

LONDON ROAD TRAFFIC CALMING (STAGE 1) REPORT

Following an all-agency meeting at the beginning of July, I am now pleased to be able to share the results of the Stage 1 Feasibility Report with residents. The report follows a traffic assessment I asked to be undertaken in 2019, following concerns from residents about high-performance cars and the manner in which some of these vehicles are being driven.

Automatic Traffic Counters (ATCs) were positioned at three locations on London Road, each for a seven-day period, with the results showing 85th percentile speeds of 25mph outside the former RBS and 23mph at the pelican crossing near the junction with Stevens Street, but 34mph at the third data collection point (by the de Trafford Arms). 37.2% of vehicles were exceeding 30mph at this location.

The report recommends that a 20mph zone should be implemented using signage to both sides of London Road, in addition to painted carriageway treatments to further highlight the start and exit points of the 20mph zone. The diversity of road users through the village (cyclists, emergency vehicles, buses etc) complicates the installation of physical speed control measures.

Speed humps or carriageway narrowing measures were not considered to be practical options; however, the report does recommend that consideration should be given to the introduction of other physical infrastructure such as speed cushions. The report proposes that the limits of the 20mph zone should be from the junction with Ryleys Lane to the junction with Macclesfield Road.

At the all-agency meeting (attended by Cheshire East Highways, Cheshire East Council Anti-Social Behaviour Team, Cheshire Police & Alderley Edge Parish Council) there was broad support for the proposals, but with a modification that the zone should be extended at each end of the village to include Alderley Edge School for Girls and the junction with Beechfield Road (Congleton Road).

A Stage 2 report will now be produced showing detailed design options, which will then be subject to a round of public consultation. This next stage in the process is estimated to take between three to six months. I would like to thank all the agencies for supporting me to make progress with this issue; in the meantime Cheshire Police will continue to monitor driver behaviour in the area.