The demolition of the front facade of the Festival Hall is taking place this week, ready for construction to start on the new £2m Alderley Edge Medical Centre.
The project also includes internal works to refurbish the hall and an extension on the side of the building which will provide a new entrance for the hall.
Cllr Frank Keegan said "The Medical Centre will serve 8,000 patients and is an unique financial product - many hospitals are facing difficulties because of expensive PFI contracts, but the Alderley Edge Medical Centre will be a state of the art facility and will not cost the local taxpayer a penny! In fact in about 17 years time, the Parish Council will have paid off the mortgage on the Centre and will start to benefit from annual income of around £260,000 a year."
Cllr Keegan added "The Festival Hall will soon have a new entrance on the side of the building, and work on the internal reshaping of the Hall should be authorised at the April Parish Council meeting.
"Final costs are being finalised, but indications are that the Parish Council has attracted enough money in Grants from the Council and local sources, plus will recycle savings on expensive maintenance which will now not be necessary. This is another example of a new facility which will not cost the Council Taxpayer money, but will be the springboard for wiping out the operating losses which are currently over £50,000 a year."
Work is scheduled to be completed by March 2016.
Photo: Councillors Frank Keegan, Mary Maczkowiak and Mike Williamson.
Comments
Here's what readers have had to say so far. Why not add your thoughts below.
Frank Keegan says that the "internal reshaping of the Hall should be authorised at the April Parish Council meeting". However, having already declared an interest with the Contractor at the February Parish Council meeting, he will, under CEC and AEPC rules be obliged to recuse and will neither be allowed to be present at the meeting, or to vote. I'm faintly surprised that, given the circumstances, the Parish Clerk has not advised him not to visit the site.
http://bit.ly/1zUsFbT
Six weeks to the election, hopefully the people of Alderley, who have long memories, will vote Independent and all the party politics and obsequious allegiance to party donors will be booted out.
The restoration and up-dating has progressed since and is to continue.The parish will end up with a Hall that is up-to-date and of great use to the people of the parish.
The long overdue new Medical Centre is being built onto the front of the Festival Hall; at no cost to the parish. The initiative for all this coming from the Parish Council.
Yet still there is a moan! Do you get the feeling that the moaners would rather moan than accept that things are getting better?
I speak only for myself; as such I have never been obnoxious to parishioners.
I have never seen the arrival of parishioners at a PC meeting as cheek; please do not label me with your insult.
I would remind you that it was I who first put forward the proposal that parishioners have the right to 20 minutes of free speech at each PC meeting (you'd only get 10 minutes in Wilmslow!).
You seem to write that the Parish Council should not have taken on the Festival Hall. So would you rather it had been left to decay until having to be demolished?
I do not call parishoners moaners, but i did point out the incidence of a moan above; the which is accurate?
please give me an example of what you see as my distain. I do not believe that I show any distain.
You don't like the odd touch of humour? For goodness sake, its parish politics we are talking of here; no one dies at the end! Yes, that's another touch of humour.
Fair and honest debate? Go for it? Ask me any questions you like and I'll try to answer them, as I always do. If you follow the stuff in 'Focus' about the park, you'll see that I always tell people what I am up to and ask them for their suggestions: which part of that do you see as not 'fair and honest debate'?
How pray tell me may I be more 'clear and open'? I use this site as much as I can to tell and to listen. I talk/argue. with people in the park and in the village. Alas radio 4 don't invite me to speak! (Oh lor', more humour!).
The photo-op showing three Councillors at the top of this thread clearly depicts site visitors in "everyday shoes" however the subsequent photo showing the sign depicting statutory requirements for construction/demolition sites demonstrates that the contractor is fully aware of with H&S regulations; how then did the Designated Person in Charge allow them on site?
Back to my original point: the Rules for Councillors clearly state that, having Declared a Personal Interest, a Councillor must not take any further part in representing the Council (and the electorate) in any dealings with a Contractor- surely a conflict of interests? AEPC must, by law, now appoint someone, without Personal Interest, to take things forward.
It is exactly this Frank Keegan Show mentality that has resulted in me putting my full support behind the alternative option - Alderley Edge First. Has Frank Keegan been operating in a vacuum? Have his fellow Parish Councillors played no part in the concept and delivery (to date) of the Medical Centre? If they have, would it not be gracious to acknowledge that in his brochure?
There is a wide array of new local political talent putting themselves forward for election as part of Alderley Edge First. This includes residents with expertise in construction and project management, complex financial projects and public consultation. We do not need Frank Keegan for the new Medical Centre to be completed on time and to budget. What we do need is a Parish Council who recognises that decisions need to be made following wide and deep consultation with the local residents whom they represent. Who operate openly and transparently and who put the needs of the village before their own political (and personal) agendas.
can anyone clarify what the current ' interest declaration ' status is here?... Its obviously not the historic wine or whatever .... it must be something current hence the Feb2015 minutes,,,, but its not explained in these minutes or upon CEC website ? No doubt clarity would help.. but seems absent following many requests on these page...purdah is amongst us..!
http://bit.ly/1IaidCD
Just asking.