Graham, Tom and Ian

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Cheadle Area Committee report back, 15th December 2015

by Lib Dem team on 15 December, 2015

Here are the decisions and discussions from this evening’s Cheadle Area Committee – the last of 2015.

  • Iain asked council officers to see if litter could be cleared up on South Park Road near the junction with the motorway slip road.
  • 2nd Cheadle Scout Group was awarded £1000 towards training two younger leaders to drive the minibus.
  • Planning application 60010 (new homes at 2 Turnfield Road, Cheadle) was deferred to the next meeting after a disagreement over which windows from the neighbour’s house overlooked the site.
  • Members were briefed on Cheshire East’s plans for a Poynton Relief Road, to be built in 2018-19. Our concern is with the total additional traffic coming onto the A34 from all the new roads and developments, and the need for a proper transport plan to deal with it over the next few years.
  • Following the recent Lib Dem campaign to get action on Cheadle Hulme’s derelict Sim Chem building, we were shown the new planning brief. This is a significant step forward in bringing the building back into use, either through a private development or via a Council Compulsory Purchase Order (CPO).
  • The councillors considered objections raised to proposals for new yellow lines around Oak Tree Primary, Queens Road. The proposals were approved with one amendment to make a section of yellow lines only application 8.30-9.30am and 3-4pm Mon-Fri.
  • We approved granting a licence to Pure Radio for the radio mast that’s been on their Sanderling Building base on Bird Hall Lane for some time.
  • Heald Green councillors are spending £22,500 from their ward budget towards a full resurface of Roundhey.

   9 Comments

9 Responses

  1. lynn cawthron says:

    Hi Iain

    I own Leaders, the tobacconist at 11 High Street, Cheadle. I am not sure if you are aware but many traders in Cheadle are really distressed about the parking situation in the village. Many of mine and other traders’ customers are complaining that they cannot park and frequently moan that they have driven around the car parks for 20 minutes before finding a parking space. I know too, because I have experienced the same when visiting my shop on ‘a day off’.

    Rumours are rife that SMBC has sold/leased between 30 and 70 spaces to the Alexandra Hospital which, as you know, is a private, for profit business. Many Cheadle businesses are small independents which have nothing like the resources of the Alexandra Hospital. The situation became much worse when SMBC reduced the parking fees to 20p per hour, which appears to have the affect of many spaces being taken up for the day leaving less short term parking available.

    SMBC has been contacted by several of the Traders about the situation, which seems to have fallen on deaf ears. The most recent comment has been “Cheadle has never been so busy and the Victorian Market (5/12) proved that people are prepared to park at a distance and walk into the village”. As traders, we beg to differ. Buying everyday provisions is a different matter to attending an annual Christmas event.

    Cheadle has had two years’ of road works/conservation improvements (which I agree have improved the look of the village) but the impact of one way traffic with ‘stop/go signs’ has driven customers away. Not to mention the three weeks to repair a collapsed sewer and the all too frequent power cuts which affected different parts of the village for months on end.

    If Cheadle is to survive, we need to look after its residents/customers and its traders too.

    I would be grateful for your comments and any suggestions on how to resolve this situation.

    Not to be too political, our new local MP was around the village on several occasions prior to the election; I have not seen her once since her election. Who will help us, please can you?

    Kind regards
    Lynn Cawthron

  2. David Doyle says:

    It’s pity that the councillors and our local authority don’t ever look wider into these issues, the fact is people in the UK have got too used to driving, and Government and local policy has not improved public transport to the standards as it is served on the continent. That combined with very cheap petrol prices, and a few new cycle roads have been introduced, but these are not used to manner that was intended and some (Manchester Road Cheadle – Parrs Wood) is still not finished two years after it was meant to be. Too many cooks involved in what should be community/resident/traders/commuter decisions. For example, rather than selling off what was once council land to private organisations like the Alexandra Hospital, AA etc., why does know one look to utilise these car parking areas for multi-use, not just to benefit for profit companies – or at least make sure that when private organisations look to buy land for development, or expand services, that the same multi-£ private businesses contribute to improving local transportation – car parking, cycle schemes, cycle lock ups and so on. The next opportunity is the land that is taken by Travis Perkins – not too far down the line this will be up for grabs – train/tram stop perfect = more shoppers, ease of access for out-of-area shoppers, convenient, low cost and accessible to all. But of course it’s not as easy as that, or so we’re told. But hold on … Didsbury, Altrincham, Parrs Wood, Rochdale, Eccles, Knutsford, Ashton, Chorlton, Oldham, Bury and even Wythenshaw have ALL had drastic improvements and unsurpassed funding for public transport, in particular tram/train routes over the past ten years – guess where the only Greater Manchester district is that hasn’t!!!

  3. Iain Roberts says:

    Hi David,

    We spend a lot of our time looking exactly into those wider areas. Stockport has the second highest number of train stations and passengers in Greater Manchester and there’s been a lot of focus on rail (use of which has massively increased in the last few years).

    Everywhere has the same problems and challenges, though the solutions aren’t the same in every case. If you want to go to Salford, Wigan etc. and tell them that they’ve not got these issues then good luck to you!

  4. David Doyle says:

    Yes in fact I head only this morning about growing concerns in Salford due to the new Royal Horticultural Society opening a new garden venture their next year expected to bring in an addition 1,000,000 people every year. I’m sure this is a national problem, not just a Greater Manchester one – we’re all living longer, birth rates are increasing and net migration is growing faster than ever. More and more people want to get around quicker, faster, safer and in a reliable manner – and public transport in Stockport is not fit for purpose. For sure, at the very least I’d hope improvements have been made in Stockport, notable in the main station development and private multi-storey car park, but more is needed to not only keep up with, but attempts to stay ahead of local expectations whether this be business traders, shoppers, commuters and local residents of course. Bolton, Oldham, Ashton, Rochdale and so on … all do have very similar issues … but they’ve all had dramatic investment in trams lines for example, whereas Stockport is ALWAYS left as the perpetual laggard. It’s about finding the right balance and I have to say that balance is highly outweighed to the benefit of our nine Greater Manchester neighbours. Stockport may well have second highest number of train passengers in Greater Manchester, and while focus is good, delivery of timey projects is needed today, not in 20 years’ time – that’s my point, and living and working in Cheadle, I can’t find anyone who would say that anywhere near enough is being done; When we will see a tangible improvement to the A34 Kingway interchange? When will the Cheadle – Parrs Wood cycle path be completed? When will safety improvements be made to the dangerous traffic lights position at the High Street/Manchester Road junction? When will Cheadle Village get a train/tram stop? Have discussions taken place NOW for future use of the old train station/coal yard for Cheadle residents/shoppers/trader use? Have discussions taken place with Travis Perkins over the potential for future use of their site in Cheadle Village? What are the plans to introduce innovative shopping schemes such as a local voucher discount refund/token scheme for Cheadle shoppers? Where are the plans to introduce secure bike lock-ups for people wanting to cycle to and from work in Cheadle? Not all of these cost money, but with some innovative thinking, there are opportunities to look at commercially beneficial offerings. Change and strategic thinking is needed NOW.

    • Stuart Thompson says:

      All boards of directors have an obligation to maximise the return on assets for the benefit of their shareholders. Any estate agent will tell you that some of the most lucrative housing developments are those incorporating a railway station that is attractive to commuters. It is therefore a no-brainer that Travis Perkins should collaborate with a good builder to build slightly fewer houses on the site than it will hold and use the remaining land for a tram and/or train halt in collaboration with TfGM. If short-sighted government financial stringency should prevent use of any public funds in this development, then the residents of Cheadle should call their bluff by setting up a development company and marketing shares to local residents rather as the Manchester Ship Canal raised its finance. There are sufficient people with deep pockets resident within 2 -3 miles of Cheadle for shares or bonds in tranches from, say, £1K to £100K to sell well. It is a matter for the local accountants and stockbrokers to drum up interest as they did recently for the hydroelectric development on the River Goyt near Otterspool Weir.

      I have my cheque book ready for action but fear that the present Government has no interest in encouraging infrastructure projects funded by the electorate as they conflict with the candy floss society mentality of our leaders.

  5. Margaret Cummins says:

    If you want sympathetic responses to any concerns about certain Cheadle issues, it’s my experience that you will not receive any positive reaction. As far as the parking is concerned, if any of he Traders in Cheadle pull out, we all know where the blame will fall. When is the next local election?

    • Iain Roberts says:

      Hi Margaret – we don’t claim to be able to solve every problem (especially not with all the cuts) but we work hard for local people and always try to sort things out. We don’t have a magic wand to sort out parking issues, but we do work with local residents and traders to come up with ways to improve it.

  6. Philip thomas says:

    Having lived in Cheadle all my life and my son has a business in Cheadle it is clear to see the parking problem.All day parking is £2 it used to be £5 so people are parking and going into town and Stockport leaving less spaces for shoppers and visitors we want our village to prosper isn’t the solution clear ? This is all week not just Saturday’s all the bussinesses are getting feedback from customers complaining about parking and as for our MP what a waste of space she is bring back Hunter he worked for the village.

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