You may have become aware of the recent announcement on the Cheshire East Website that they are "to Lead the Blitz on Street Clutter".
This is great news and has led me to let you know about some of the activity that has already been happening in Alderley Edge and we are hopeful this initiative will lead to even more action.
I have been spending time working with the staff of Cheshire East to improve the appearance of our village, in particular the street scene. For example you may have noticed that the road sign advising motorists of a non-existent zebra crossing at the top of George Street has now gone.
The sign was old, rusty and permanently lit and needed some impetus from the Parish Council and then activity from a number of departments within Cheshire East to have it removed safely.
In recent weeks I have been liaising with Cheshire Traveline to have redundant " bus stop signs" removed from our streets, which I hope will happen in the next few weeks. The photos above are examples in Heyes Lane, where there are at least four signs, some on their own posts some sharing the posts with other signs. Other than school buses I don't believe a Public Service bus has been along Heyes Lane for fifteen years, so it's not before time.
Even if Heyes Lane or any other road becomes part of a bus route again the signs may have to be replaced to reflect the current information.
I am always on the look out for redundant signs but, if you know of any other signs or roadside furniture that you feel needs removing please let the Parish Council know by emailing us with the information or by calling us on 01625582400.
There are also many "Neighbourhood Watch" signs about, many of them dirty and in need of repair. Are they still relevant? Do we still need them? Have they run their course and need to be removed?
The Parish Council has also been working with Cheshire East on a programme to keep our streets clean and tidy called "Streetscape". We initially agreed a plan with the Streetscape team for the cleaning frequency for various parts of the village, some areas needing a greater frequency of routine cleaning than others. The programme will be reviewed in a few months time.
The programme is essentially about street cleaning and gathering up litter, but London Road in particular is plagued with both official notices that are out of date and unofficial notices that should not be there. It seems that in many instances there is greater effort in getting them displayed by the people who put them there than there is in removing them once they have run their course. When notices have been removed, the strapping, in particular the plastic self-fastening ties have just been left behind creating an unsightly mess and clutter.
It was agreed that removing the unsightly material should be included in the activities of the Streetscape team and as a consequence London Road is now being kept much tidier.
You may have noticed that a great deal of this clutter has already been removed, but there is still more to go and it is planned to extend this activity to surrounding areas in the next few weeks to improve the appearance and character of our village everywhere.
Some examples of the problems that are blighting the appearance of London Road can be seen above.
Councillor Alan Jones.
Comments
Here's what readers have had to say so far. Why not add your thoughts below.
The council are pretty good at putting up Planning Notices however who should remove them? and the cable ties?
Homewatch notices were paid for by the homewatch members and the police put them up. Are they still needed? mine are.
I do feel that more needs to be done though. Companies or individuals putting up un-approved advertising of any nature should be prosecuted (regardless of the nature of the banner or organisation behind it) to deter others.
Further, it would be worth clarifying who, if anyone, at East Cheshire is responsible for removing old planning application notices (and associated fixings) once they are no longer valid. It appears at present that no system is in place for this or if there is, it's not working.