Alderley Edge Parish Council has decided that it will now canvas public opinion on its plans to build a car park on the Heyes Lane allotment site and relocate the allotments to a new larger site off Lydiat Lane.
Councillors agreed at their meeting on Monday, 13th October, to write to the electorate of Alderley Edge explaining their plans and inviting people to contact them and tell them their opinion - so they can prove that the majority of residents support their plans.
Cllr Mike Williamson, Chairman of Alderley Edge Parish Council, said "The Parish Council is keenly aware of the controversy that exists over our intentions to develop this site (the Festival Hall) and Heyes Lane allotments for the benefit of the whole village.
"I take on board everything members of the Allotment Society have said and what people have said. I think it's time we nail this in the sense that "I am quite confident that the overwhelming majority in this village supports the construction of the medical centre and the provision of parking space on the Heyes Lane allotment site and we are going to prove that.
"So what I am going to do is propose to you that we conduct a survey. We will write to every member of the electorate of the village and invite them to tell us what they think."
He added "This will provide us with the confidence that we are acting in the best interests of the whole village, rather than just a specific minority."
The Parish Council voted in October 2011 to take over the management of the three allotment sites in the village from Cheshire East Council. Then in March 2013 they voted unanimously to convert the Heyes Lane allotment site into a car park and enter into discussions with Alderley Edge School for Girls to establish a new statutory allotment site at Lydiat Lane, on land owned by the school.
Until now members of the public have not been formally consulted on the controversial plans, which have been met with resistance from some allotment holders and local residents who have been gathering support by organising a petition.
John Tomlinson, Vice-Chairman of Alderley Edge Allotments & Garden Society, handed over the latest version of the petition at this week's meeting which now contains the signatures of just over 1800 adults who are objecting to the Heyes Lane allotment site being turned into a car park.
John Tomlinson said "We have made sure there were no duplicates and we have made sure all these people live in Alderley Edge. When we asked Cheshire East back in July there were 3711 electors registered for Alderley Edge and the number of signatures we now have at 1807 is just short of 49% of the number of registered electors. I imagine that's far more than any parish council ever secured in an election."
He added "The sound of villagers saying no is reaching a crescendo. Any reasonable group of nine people would listen to the views of over 1800 people.
Alderley Edge residents do not want the Heyes Lane site converted into a car park, we urge you to drop this unpopular move and work with Cheshire East and the Highways Authority to develop other solutions to the parking problems in Alderley Edge and leave Heyes Lane allotment site for allotments."
Speaking about the petition, Cllr Frank Keegan said "A lot of people are complaining that they've actually been door-stepped in a way that they have been unprepared and been asked to sign something and they've signed it.
"According to the Market Research Society what's been collected isn't worth the paper it's written on. It's worth pointing out that it's a totally biased account, what they've done is a waste of time in terms of changing opinion."
Cllr Sue Joseph commented "I think it's the information we give as to what our plans are. What the positives are, we know what the negative is - yes we lose a piece of green space. Initially I wasn't too happy about that but I'm considering the balance and what it will give the village, the whole of the village and I've come to the opinion it has to be as I can't see any viable alternatives."
Cllr Mike Williamson said he will have paperwork with his fellow councillors by the end of the week so a letter can be posted out to the electorate shortly after.
Updating councillors and members of the public on the medical centre project, Cllr Williamson said it is a 12 month project so if it starts as currently planned at the end of November then it will be completed in December 2015, or early 2016.
He added "During that process we will complete the work that we are doing on the refurbishment of this part of the hall. That work will then be done during the construction of the medical centre so that when the medical centre opens the hall will be refurbished and the car park and the entrance off Heyes Lane will open at the same time - so we can open the whole thing in one go."
Comments
Here's what readers have had to say so far. Why not add your thoughts below.
And on the subject of nimbies, what is wrong with the proposed development along the A34? We are extremely fortunate to live in such pleasant surroundings, but we have to accept that there are other people in the world who also deserve consideration.
The building of the medical centre is a separate issue which is supported by the vast majority of the community. The paving over of the allotments should not be linked in the wording of the survey. The Parish Council has a serious responsibility not to lead or mislead the electorate in how they phrase the question. We are watching closely. If the survey is worded impartially, I fully support this initiative and am confident the electorate will oppose turning the allotments into a a carpark.
The PC seems determined to link the two.
For the survey to be fair it should not be worded linking the two in any way.
In that case I fully support the survey.
As has been mentioned in previous posts 40+ space are already waiting to be allocated to local firms, very good income for the PC, nothing to do with the Medical Centre or of any use to the local villagers.
Before any survey is undertaken, and so there is no further confusion on this point, perhaps (by way of this forum) we could ask the Medical Practice Managers to say again that ample provision has been made for parking within the re-development plans, and that there is no requirement (on their part) for additional car parking.
Just how many people really and truly do want the frankly unattractive, albeit "green space" allotments to be preserved and how does their genuine number stack up against the number of motorists both incoming and locally resident, who desperately need parking spaces to support the profitable village businesses which bring employment and local prosperity?
Go with the change people, or look forward to more and more empty decaying buildings - on which topic, I must say it's good to see a developer planning to do something with the long empty property on the corner of Stevens Street - I just hope that they don't find themselves in a further ludicrous battle when the retail units attract disapproval from the usual suspects.
The wording on any survey always has a significant impact on the way those being surveyed respond. So who is going to write the survey questions?
I remember Wilmslow Town Council spending circa £3000 on a survey about 18 months ago, and look what's happening now. Artisan Market back to a Saturday as of this month.
Before any of us can decide whether the allotment project makes sense we need to see the financial detail showing the cost of converting the allotments to a car park, the cost of establishing new allotments on the Lydiatt Lane and the removal costs. We also need to know how these costs will be covered.
We also need drawings showing the new site (both in plan and artists drawings showing the promised landscaping).
We also need to know how many spaces will be created and how they will be charged for - eg will it all be on contract, will some be available for the public (if so how many)? What are the projected revenues? Will the whole site be used for parking? In the past Cllr Keegan has suggested that part of the site could be built on (to provide a unit for the now defunct Alderley Motors). The PC needs to be clear with voters on this.
Other alternative sites have also been discussed (eg extending using the London Road end of the park). An objective evaluation of Heyes Lane vs the alternatives is also required.
This all needs to be pulled together and presented to the people of Alderley Edge so that they can make a proper judgement of the project. Otherwise the PC's survey will have no more validity than the one conducted by the allotment holders - derided as unrepresentative by the PC.
I personally believe that the PC deserves great credit for its work to restore the Festival Hall and to provide a new Medical Centre. However, the new Medical Centre has no connection to the PC's proposals for the Heyes Lane car park. It simply moves parking requirements from one side of the village to the other. There is no evidence that net parking requirements in the village will increase.
There is a parking problem in the village, but the PC - and Cllr Keegan in particular - have too often conveyed the impression that they have a vendetta against the allotments. Now is the time for them to present a proper, objective, coherent and fully justified appraisal.
I would like to see the wording of the question agreed upon between the Allotment society and the PC. No vast meetings, the two chairmen coming to an agreement either in the Parish chamber or over a coffee somewhere.
I am concerned that the public coffers are being used in this way when a view of the parish has already been provided to the PC in the form of the petition. Would it not be cheaper and wiser for the PC just to validate this petition? Write to everyone who has provided details and see if they still hold the same view. If we are to believe that this represents ~50% of the electorate then a validation means more are against than are for and this can be closed.
Absolutely beautifully summed up. I think you have encapsulated all the relevant issues that the AEPC have not addressed.
I would be more than happy to be involved in the writing of the survey.
I doubt however that I will be asked, so I will write the Mike Williamson and volunteer my services.
Fenton
Chairman AEAGS
You are quite right about the accessible countryside; in a short trip it is easy to go up through Bollington to the Goyt Valley.
Closer to home, in the 1950’s there were 4 allotment sites in Alderley Edge. The Macclesfield Road site was sold by the UDC, as was the second Heyes Lane site. In their place the UDC created the Beech Road site.
The second Heyes Lane site was between the then Library and Granthams, and was sold for housing. Unbelievably, some of the people whose homes are on that former allotment are the among the most vociferous campaigners to keep the current site.
Councils have in the past created new facilities in order to benefit the local taxpayer. Nothing much changes except the protests from the millionaire property owners on Chapel Road who have huge back gardens.
I signed the petition supporting the allotment holders but am now concerned that I may have too big a garden to do so?
I may also have been insufficiently poor to go around taking an interest in such matters.
For the record can you provide the parameters you are utilising to decide whether opposition is valid or not?
I'd ask my ward councillor if I could but he is resident in South Africa.
Many Thanks