As a crucial part of the Neighbourhood Plan process, questionnaireS will shortly be delivered to every household in Alderley Edge.
From this weekend, local residents will be asked their views on what aspects of living in Alderley Edge are important, where new houses should be built in the village and what type of new housing is needed. The questionnaire also asks for views on car parking, transportation, local facilities and improvements to the village centre.
Councillor Mike Dudley-Jones said "The temptation is often 'not to bother' and leave the questionnaire to be consigned to the rubbish bin – and if we all do that we place ourselves in a very vulnerable position in the future when planning issues and applications are made by developers.
"We are all fortunate to live in one of those very rare places in the United Kingdom where everyone else wants to live! Developers know that and their planning application successes in the future could lead to Alderley Edge being overrun by new developments that our infrastructure simply cannot support. Gradually our unique and enviable position could be eroded as we face incessant assaults on any available building space we have. Surely nobody who lives here wants that?
"To prepare ourselves to fight these development proposals needs careful planning – and the Parish Council supports the need for a Neighbourhood Plan. The questionnaire that we ask you all to complete is the 'start point' for the making of such a Plan. It gives us an insight into what YOU believe is right for our Village and the responses we receive will help the Neighbourhood Plan Steering Group formulate a Plan that everyone in the Village has a right to vote on through the Neighbourhood Plan Referendum once the work is complete.
"If you choose not to respond -and sadly many will – it is no good getting angry in the future when life in Alderley Edge as you know it - or wanted it - has changed beyond recognition. It will be too late to be heard!
"So please spend a few minutes completing this vital document. It will help us to make a difference in the future and it will help us keep Alderley Edge as a magic place to live. That has to be worth a few minutes of your time, surely?"
Neighbourhood Plans allow communities to say what they want their priorities to be over the next 15 years and once completed they have the power of the law. Planning Officers will refer to Neighbourhood Plans when considering planning applications for new developments in and around the village, which means they can have a real and positive impact on the village's future.
If you complete your questionnaire by Monday 20th March you will be entered into a prize draw to win luxury hamper. If you complete your questionnaire by Monday 27th March you will be entered into a prize draw to win a bottle of champagne.
Click here to download the Alderley Edge Neighbourhood Plan Questionnaire or you can complete it online.
Comments
Here's what readers have had to say so far. Why not add your thoughts below.
two comments, if I may: re. question 3.2
1. the term 'part of' is not a recognisable unit of measurement. Room for 12 cars or 112
cars?
2. The choices offered for larger car parks seem to be only those which are already
approved of by the 'powers that be'. For example there is no chance to vote for (if you so
wish) a car park on the whole of the Heyes Lane site.
That means 'sample bias' and so invalidates any results from question 3.2.
to help us with the costs of developing the Neighbourhood Plan.
We were successful in our application and received a grant of £4,646.
We have used money from this 'pot' to pay for the questionnaire.
We are able to apply for a total grant of £9,000 towards costs of the Neighbourhood Plan.
The Opening Ceremony will no doubt be attended by the businesses and office owners of Alderley Edge and the ribbon will be cut by a footballer or soap star.
Afterwards, the party will progress to the Cemetery (sponsored by Orbitas) where invited guests can dance on the graves of Alderley Edge people!
thanks for the info. As I said above, money well spent.
Hi Alan,
yes I get that you are against a full car park on the Heyes Lane site and seem to think that I'm part of a dastardly plot.
Are you also against the idea of a partial car park there? of course, that's a proposal from the group you support and who I assume you do not see as part of a satanic plot?
Loss of hard earned recreational space eh? Are you one who agrees with stuffing the park with non-organic facilities? Do you see me as a green-loving reactionary as I object to the park slowly ceasing to be a park?
All a bit difficult isn't it ?
By the way, where were you a few years back, when some of us fought to improve both the cemetery and the approach to it? Or was that just another aspect of 'our' plotting against you?
Have you considered some thatched bothy to be the new affordable housing in the village?
Personally I don't want to see the people of Alderley Edge forced to give up any land so that businesses can profit from it.
Land (at commercial rates) is expensive and they (the businesses) cant bear the cost, so they want to take it from the people of Alderley Edge - not an equitable solution as far as I'm concerned.
I'm not talking about shops and retail traders here, Alderley is fast becoming a largish commercial centre for office based businesses - businesses that often don't contribute much to the village.
However, if it is deemed that we need additional parking in the village I accept that there has to be give and take and the idea to use part of Heyes Lane, part of CHL playing field and extend Ryleys Lane car park seems like a fair solution (least worst option) as it provides the additional parking, spread around the village, without taking away the core activity of any of the sites involved.
In answer to your other points - I'm not sure what "non-organic" facilities are but I favour anything that gets more people into the park, enjoying the facility - I like the table tennis tables, I like the idea suggested on another thread about more benches and games tables and I think a skate park would be widely appreciated by younger users.....I'd like to be able to challenge you to a game of petanque on a sunny Sunday morning whilst sipping a strong coffee purchased from a park based kiosk.
In what way is the park "slowly ceasing to be a park"? There are new flower beds, better play facilities for the children, the neglected pavilion now has two table tennis tables for teenagers to smooch against and as I walked through yesterday evening the bowling green is starting to look great again.
Thatched bothys? I think we have to accept that despite what the Government said about the proportion of affordable housing within new build development, it is unlikely that Alderley Edge will ever agree on the word "affordable" and more unlikely still that we will see the building of homes affordable to average first time buyers.
Where was I when you and others were improving the cemetery? I was on here saying what a great job I thought you did - in the same way that I have commented in the past about the good work you and others did in the park. Not much wrong with your practical - it's your theory that needs working on!
If you would prefer to complete the online version this is the link to it
http://bit.ly/2mfc58y
It is so important that we have our say in what we would like for our village up to 2030.
Thank you for helping us to produce our Plan.