As reported last month, plans to build a new medical practice at the front of the Festival Hall were approved by the Northern Planning Committee on 15th August.
At last night's Alderley Edge Parish Council meeting, Chairman Cllr Mike Williamson provided the following update.
"Alderley Edge Parish Council is very pleased to confirm that planning approval has been granted for the construction of a new Medical Centre in the village. The current facilities on George Street no longer meet the needs of the community and were under threat of closure, which would have been a disaster for Alderley Edge. The new facility will ensure that our doctors will be able to deliver state-of-the art medical services to the community and allow for the provision of new treatments and procedures as the proposed commissioning system develops.
"Work will start by the end of this year to create a new entrance to the Festival Hall, so that the Hall can continue to operate during construction of the Centre.
"The Medical Centre will not be a financial burden to the taxpayer of Alderley Edge, and will always be available for the benefit of Alderley Edge. The Practice has recently been awarded £500,000 to defray the capital cost, provided the project starts before 31 March 2013. When the capital cost has been repaid, the Parish Council will inherit the annual income, which would then be available for the local electorate, including the continuing improvement of health facilities in Alderley Edge.
"Needless to say, the Parish Council is delighted with the proposed eventual outcome and would like to thank both the local Practice and the Emerson Group for making such a facility available for Alderley Edge, and the opening of the new centre should be in early 2014."
Responding to a question about when the building work is expected to start on the medical centre, Cllr Williamson said that the Emerson Group has produced a basic timeline, which he has seen, but a S106 legal agreement has not yet been signed and the dates are still to be confirmed. Once the agreement is in place he said the timeline will be made public so people know what is happening.
Cllr Williamson assured Keith Lowe, Chairman of the Alderley Edge Festival, who was at the meeting, that the timeline guarantees "a period of time that the festival hall will be open before the Festival starts", adding "it is not their intention to start the physical construction of the medical centre until after the Festival".
The project is intended to be complete prior to the start of the 2014 Alderley Edge Festival.
Cllr Williamson added "They are well aware that we don't want the festival disrupted" and said that the contract for the new side entrance to the hall will be put out to tender in the next 6 to 12 weeks and work will start this year to create the new access the hall.
Cllr Melanie Connor commented "I have had lots of positive feedback from villagers, they are thrilled."
We will keep our readers informed as more information becomes available about the timescale for the project.
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