Lay-by closed to deter people from driving to The Edge

I would like to say a big thank you to the office of Esther Mcvey for this closer as Cheshire Police we’re far to busy to do anything anywhere.
Let’s see what the weekend brings!

It's probably a good job they are too busy, Chris, as if they were out and about they'd probably just be threatening people for playing in their front garden, like South Yorkshire Police. They might have a bit more time now that the Home Secretary has quashed the Police's plans to spend their days checking your shopping bags.

David, Let me put you straight. It is a certain element as always who think they can flout the law. With the lay-bys it was predominantly certain people doing this. Let’s say they think they are beyond being challenged.
Having lay-bys closed isn’t being bitchy. Quite simply put, the reason for unnecessary travel is to stop people using cars. If they don’t use cars they don’t have accidents, if they don’t have accidents they don’t take up a hospital bed and become a strain on the NHS for being dumb.
If it takes checking shopping bags or a total lockdown to beat this thing then bring it on. What we don’t need is idiots being a hinderence.

My comment was tongue in cheek because of the way the police are handling their new powers. They get legislation by parliament which they can't understand. So they then they get guidance from government on how to apply it. It seems they need a pop up book now as Northampton's Chief is still asking for more guidance.

The police have the powers to stop people flauting the law but it appears they have chosen not to use them appropriately. Because they are incapable of using their powers properly they resort to closing lay bys and checking people's shopping. The danger with 'bringing on' this type of solution is that eventually you will curtail people's rights to the extent someone with a genuine need ends up being unable to access something they require and they will suffer as a consequence. At that point you'll have made the cure worse than the disease.

But thanks for putting me straight.

I would however like to raise the question as to why, having quite correctly closed the lay by and N.T. closed the main car park, has the unofficial "dirt lay-by" in between these remained "open" ?

I can only presume it may be a "no mans land", falling between the N.T. boundary fence and Cheshire East highways. If that is the case, I would thought that the police might have "special powers" to act, given the present situation.

There is nothing in the recent legislation (enacted on 26 March) or in the subsequent Government advisory guidelines (published on 29 March) that advises against, let alone prohibits, driving a car to a local park or open space for the purpose of exercise. So what is the justification for closing car parks?

It would appear Cheshire Police must read AlderleyEdge.com, as less than 24 hrs since I raised my question (see above) driving past today (14th) a police vehicle and I assume CEC workmen are, it would appear indeed closing it.

The dirt lay by is owned by the council and believe it or not, the police don't have the power to close it unless there has been an incident or they get permission off Cheshire East, even though its the highways that cone it off.

It has now been coned off but people are still using it and abusing the exercise guidelines by driving somewhere to exercise!

James, as I have said above, there is nothing in the legislation or the guidelines that says you cannot drive locally to exercise. Doing so is not abusing anything. The only abuse is that closing car parks prevents people from acting in ways that are both lawful and within the spirit of the law. How can this possibly be justified?

@ Peter,

I think it's now generally accepted that driving to take exercise is not "Essential Travel" and that there is the possibility that you might be involved in a road traffic accident that requires NHS intervention at a time when their resources are stretched.

Well I dont know about anyone else on the east side of Alderley Edge but I feel like driving far far away today and the next week to escape the noxious toxic smell of ammonia from the slurry spreading on the local farmland. Windows are closed and our throats are rasping. It is a practice the current government are rightly seeking to ban as it is a significant air pollutant and injurious to health. The wonderful EU has aided farmers in this pollution contribution by changing farming rules 5 years ago and gave them permission to store more sewage for longer in their silos which intensifies the smell. It would be somewhat less galling to us if we paid lower Council tax because were considered a rural area . Before anyone says this is normal country practice I would chalkenge them by saying my wife has lived here 81 years and has never known it like this. This is horrid industrial farming

My son is a Dairy Farmer:

What can be spread on Farmland?
Traditional fertilisers include:

manure from farmyards and cattle sheds used during the winter. This often includes straw on which animals have been bedded and is stored up until conditions are right for it to be spread on land. Because it is fairly solid, it is usually spread from a 'muck spreader behind a tractor which 'throws' it across the land; and
slurry, a more watery form of manure, which is often stored in tanks until it can be spread on the land. Because it is liquid, it is transported in a tanker trailer and is either injected into the soil or is allowed to flow out in a controlled manner through nozzles close to the ground.
From intensive chicken farming comes 'hen pen', which is the deep bedding material used on the floors of chicken sheds. It is cleared out from time to time and has a noticeable smell of ammonia from bird droppings. The ammonia provides a rich source of nitrogen, which is a good fertiliser. It will sometimes contain some dead birds. It may be stockpiled within fields for later distribution and is spread in a similar way to manure.

Recent developments include:

sludge cake - This is the dried, treated solid material from the sewerage system and is rich in nutrients. Whilst the liquid from the sewerage system is treated and returned to rivers or the sea, the solid material is removed, dried and treated to give a material which looks a little like peat or flakes of chocolate. This can have a strong odour. It is often spread with lime; and
PAS110 Bio fertiliser - This arises from the anaerobic digestion of waste, including food waste which is now commonly collected separately from homes and businesses. The name relates to the British Standard which controls the processing of this material to ensure quality, safety and consistency in the end product. Liquid PAS110 material does have a strong odour.

Well, Tony - apparently loss of your sense of smell is a possible early sign of Corona Virus, so sniff and be grateful!

My point is this is a NEW practice ...i e the storing of manure in silos for longer and in larger quantities thus intensifies the noxious odour This unsanitary practice is banned for health reasons in most US states as their dept.of Agriculture is much better unformed than the bloated EU. Our government wish to outlaw the practice of spreading long stored liquid slurry . I attach a recent Guardian article which lists the health implications of such a practice
https://www.google.com/amp/s/amp.theguardian.com/environment/2019/jan/14/muck-spreading-could-be-banned-to-reduce-air-pollution

Tony - at least the smell is keeping everyone indoors!

Being outdoors in one's own secluded garden does not spread CoVid 19. Apparently the Department of the Environment were alerted to the nuisance and were issuing advice to farmers. It was only one farm involved and they have been warned before. Mostvof our local farmers pride themselves on good and healthy farming practice there are always a few who let the side down

Peter is quite right that there is nothing in the legislation regarding banning driving to take excercise. As Chris and Alan point out the arguament is that by not making 'unnecessary' trips by car you will avoid tying up NHS resources should you have an accident. I understand the logic, but I am not sure where this arguament came from and how it has gained so much traction.

Statistically you are far more likely to have an accicent requiring hospital treatment in the home. 2.7 million people go to hospital every year because of accidents in the home. Road accidents by comparison - 25,000. Total injuries on the road are 160,000; far below those in the home.

If you look at the facts, the irony of this arguament is that you are actually more likely to take up the resources of the NHS by staying at home than if you drive somewhere for exercise.

So now it would seem that CEC and Cheshire Police have decided to arbitrarily close the entire Macc' Road to prevent drivers accessing the escarpment and woods. The diversion for those who don't know the area is back up the village on to the bypass and access to Macc' at Monks Heath turning left onto the Chelford Road. Woe betide anyone needing a Paramedic for heart attack and stroke let alone CoVid as our idiot cops have in one stroke doubled journeys into our village for the emergency services. A full road closure merely to stop folk parking up. At best it is inept, petty minded inefficiency and at worst it smacks of Soviet or even Stasi behaviour (or worse) Gestapo road blocks even I can recall those (as a small kid in the Reich in what is now Kaliningrad). The knock on effect to this nonsense is that traffic has doubled on Heyes Lane in the last 10 days (even busier than before lockdown) as locals access Prestbury and Macclesfield via this less circuitous route. So we have extra vehicle pollution (heavier than nofmal times) during lockdown . Cheshire Police, you Police BY CONSENT...CEC are supposed to act for us as they are CIVIL SERVANTS and elected representatives. Craig Browne where are you? I am sick of the extra heavy traffic for the last week because of this ridiculous and sinister decision. According to CEC 's traffic and roadworks website and inteactive map this closure is to REINFORCE the no parking on the laybys. A response here please Craig. I may feel obliged to withold a portion of that heavy Police precept in our Council tax. I see the closure is till the end of June and our Government have implied that lockdown restrictions may be eased by May. Craig who made this decision it stinks and is sinister?