The Medical Centre Project has been hit by further delays as the Parish Council has been struggling to get telecoms companies to remove the two masts from the site.
As a result for the first time in 37 years organisers of the Alderley Edge Music, Speech and Drama Festival will not be able to host events there.
The Parish Council has spent considerable effort and money* trying to get Vodafone and Arqiva to remove the masts and despite exchanging contracts with Vodafone and agreeing that they would leave the site by January 15th they failed to do so.
Speaking at the Parish Council meeting on Monday, 9th March, Cllr Mike Williamson said "You could turn around and say why don't we sue them and the reason why I don't want to sue them at the moment is because if we do they will just put up the shutters and won't go off the site.
"So we are not doing anything about it until they are finally gone, when they've finally gone then we decide if we want to sue them or not. I think what we do in that situation is we get some advice to be sent to you from our lawyers because they have a lot of protections under the Telecoms Act, a loot of protections and they are not easy people to pin down. Which is why it has been so difficult for us to get them off the site."
The Parish Council has decided that the two underground cables which run to the Arqiva mast will be moved so they can press ahead with some of the work.
Cllr Williamson added "If we relocate the cables we can get on with the side extension and medical centre. Then at some point we will have to try and recover some costs but we have already expended a considerable amount of money getting rid of them and I am not entirely sure when we present information to you to make a decision I am not sure you would want to spend more money on legal costs going after them for compensation which me might never get."
Cllr Melanie Connor agreed, saying "Absolutely, just get them off."
Cllr Williamson continued "We will get them off the site as soon as possible and the diversion will allow to get on with the medical centre construction as quickly as possible.
"In the meantime the side extension project will continue as best as we can in the meantime and then go full steam ahead as soon as they have got rid of them masts but the internal works will be delayed by the music festival. So we won't start on the substantial internal works until after the music festival. They are not having it here but still want to use the hall for their admin and they have nowhere else to take that."
Keith Lowe, Chairman of the Alderley Edge Music, Speech and Drama Festival, which will take place from Tuesday May 5th to Saturday May 9th, said "It was understandably disappointing not to be able to use The Festival Hall for The Alderley Edge Music, Speech and Drama Festival for the first time, since 1928.
"When the intention not to move the telephone mast until April was known, Mike Williamson invited myself and my Vice-Chairman Marie Grant to a meeting with himself and Ashley Cominsky-Dawson to discuss options. Suffice to say that they were both very accommodating in attempting to provide gazebos for an entrance and port-a-loos for toilets. However, because of the amount of children involved we determined that the children's health and safety could be at risk with potentially unsafe walkways and lots of equipment on the site, so we took the disappointing decision to not use The Festival Hall as a performance venue, but use it only as an operational centre for the committee and a base for all our volunteers."
He added "We are grateful to both The Parish Council and to Emersons who have agreed that no work will take place at the Festival Hall during the week of The Festival mainly because the noise of the build would impact on the two venues in close proximity - St Pius X Church and The Scout Hall."
Fortunately the other halls that are used by the festival have been able to accommodate them and many community groups have cancelled their normal use during that week.
Speaking about the planning permission for works to the Festival Hall, Cllr Mike Williamson told his fellow councillors "Planning permission for the full side extension, which incorporates the work to the rear of the hall in terms of the offices, bar area and all that sort of stuff, will be approved shortly."
Alderley Edge Parish Council have received a response from builders regarding the contract put to them and hope it will swiftly lead to the contract being signed. The lease document with the doctors is also virtually ready.
The front of the festival hall is scheduled to be demolished next week.
*There was no mention at the Parish Council meeting of how much money has been spent on legal fees dealing with the issues of the two masts. I have asked Cllr Williamson to confirm and am waiitng for a response.
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I wonder whether the village as a whole will regret it?
Stuart Redgard had generously offered professional help at no cost and was rewarded with a ticking-off from Cllr Keegan for even suggesting that the management of this type of build project can be fraught with problems.
Cllr Keegan went on to assure us that he and his advisors had everything thought-out and under control.......... what could possibly go wrong?