Friends of the Park took part in the public consultation of the draft Parish Plan last week and despite a small amount of adverse criticism we were delighted with the outcome and the additional support offered.
Our group has worked hard throughout the year, canvassing opinion and taking every opportunity to consult and inform local people of our progress. The hard work has now come to fruition in that a third generation, local small business, Granthams, has come forward and expressed an interest in opening a cafe in the park.
Whilst the consultation went very well during the day and in the evening, it was a pity that one of our group, Mike Dudley Jones, was not allowed to address the evening meeting. Had Mike been able to explain our intentions in more detail, I am sure we could have reassured those few people against, that the cafe will be a very positive thing for the community.
The park could become the heart of the village and Granthams is an excellent small business who more than fulfils the criteria we have laid out for the cafe and the running of it; we only want the best for Alderley Edge. People commented in the Parish Plan Questionnaire that they wanted smaller, independent, businesses in the village, Granthams is one such business.
Some people at the meeting were particularly concerned about the ramifications of the public lavatories in the park being opened and this is valid comment. However, in the recent George Osborne questionnaire, a large percentage (74%) of local people indicated that they were in favour of the lavatories in the park being opened on a regular basis. It would seem undemocratic to ask people what they want and then ignore their response.
The cafe apart, the people of the village cannot understand why such a fundamental facility is not provided; Alderley Edge is one of the most affluent areas in the country and people clearly expect that monies should be found to provide this very necessary facility. If the loos are properly managed and supervised, peoples’ concerns would be addressed; opening for a trial period might be the answer and Cheshire East have already agreed to do this.
Additionally, potential vandalism was cited as a reason not to open the cafe. Again, this is a valid point and we have measures in hand to combat this, we intend to include young people as much as possible from the start; the cafe will also be their cafe.
The Friends were complemented on our display and many mentioned that it was clear a lot of hard work had gone into the cafe project but something which the consultation attendees may not have been aware of was the fact that the architects drawings displayed, illustrating the 3 initial designs for the cafe, were kindly provided by Hall Needham of Manchester, without any cost to the Parish Plan consultation funding.
Mike Dudley Jones was able to call upon a working relationship for this; the group were told to submit expenses for work done thus far but our commitment is such that we have not felt the need to do this. Additionally, we already have support from two major local companies and we are hopeful that this will encourage other interested people to come forward with various offers of help for the project.
With the additional support offered at the consultation, the 66% in favour in the George Osborne questionnaire and over 500 people supporting the cafe idea through our group's own canvassing, we now feel confident enough to press forward and apply for planning permission, using the design created by Hall Needham of Manchester.
The figures clearly indicate enthusiasm for the project and as only around 850 local people responded to the Parish Plan questionnaire as a whole, we truly believe the community has embraced the Cafe in the Park idea.
Comments
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It should not be difficult to resolve the issue of the loos, to the satisfaction of the objectors. Involving the young people in the project is a great idea, and give them a positive focus.