George Osborne visits Waitrose and launches Incredible Edible

Chancellor of the Exchequer George Osborne paid a visit to Alderley Edge this afternoon to see the new Waitrose store.

Following a tour of the recently extended supermarket, George Osborne handed out service awards to Waitrose Partners who have worked at the company for 5, 10 and 15 years.

George Osborne MP said "The new Waitrose store in Alderley Edge is a really fantastic addition to the village and it was great to meet the Waitrose Partners who are so enthusiastic about their work. It was also particularly good to meet Peter and Dewi who had been unemployed before they got work at the store. It is heartening to see our long term economic plan working."

He then officially launched the Incredible Edible scheme in Alderley Edge, to improve the look of our village, boost community spirit and share the knowledge of growing, cooking and sourcing local food.

Branch Manager Gareth Hind contacted Incredible Edible Wilmslow a couple of weeks ago to arrange for the planters outside Waitrose to be filled with fruits and vegetables by Turners Nursery.

Incredible Edible Wilmslow is a group of likeminded volunteers who do a fantastic job replanting unloved plots in the town centre with herbs, fruit and vegetables for everyone to enjoy and to reconnect passers by with what is in season. In addition to tending to community plots they spearhead Wimslow's entry into the RHS In Bloom competition.

Gareth Hind said "Hopefully today marks the start of Incredible Edible in Alderley Edge and we can get a working group together. We have got some great opportunities in Alderley Edge, for example the bed by the entrance would make a fantastic vegetable patch for the community."

He added "I have seen the success of Incredible Edible in other towns and villages and what it can do for the community to really celebrate food and that's what we're all about. Incredible Edible is a great platform to bring the community even more together in Alderley Edge."

Helen Yates, who launched Incredible Edible Wilmslow in November 2010, said "It is fantastic that the idea is spreading. I am so pleased that Alderley Edge are so keen and hopefully some volunteers will come forward and support it."

George Osborne MP added ""Incredible Edible have done another great job planting fruit and vegetables into large planters outside the Waitrose store. Helen Yates and the team of volunteers have made sure the entrance to the store is hugely attractive and welcoming. This is a great way for the local community to get involved and they have done a brilliant job."

Please contact Gareth Hind at Waitrose if you are interested in becoming involved in Incredible Edible.

Tags:
George Osborne, Incredible Edible, Waitrose
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Comments

Here's what readers have had to say so far. Why not add your thoughts below.

Fenton Simpson
Friday 20th June 2014 at 4:49 pm
I've always thought we should do something like this in the village. I'm sure the Alderley Edge Allotment and Gardens Society will be happy to help out on the project.

I will contact the store manager.

Fenton simpson
Chairman AEAGS
Richard Fitzwilliam
Saturday 21st June 2014 at 6:22 am
Frank, the allotments are getting in on Edible, quick covert them to car parking spaces while you have time!
Graham Jackson
Saturday 21st June 2014 at 10:35 am
@ Fenton,
I'm afraid you appear to be caught in a pincer movement - smoke and mirrors.

If we look at the case of the hall. On the one hand we have a building that we might lose and on the other a GP practice.

Most GPs are independent contractors to the NHS. This independence means that in most cases, they (the doctors) are responsible for providing adequate premises from which to practise and for employing their own staff. In other words they are a private company looking for new premises. But their requirement is the main lever being used against you.

We have the hall which although reasonably popular, again with private agreements i.e paid private functions (weddings), is not totally viable without a consistent and guaranteed revenue stream - the private income from leasing part of the building to the gp practise.

To maximise this revenue stream additional parking will be required as the doctors have already stated they do not need any more space.

So following the money - what are these additional requirements and needs for? Well we have the weddings etc (all private and commecial arrangements) but the biggy will be for the parish council to issue more long stay parking permitts whilst not disturbing the workings of the gp practise, any paid private function and the odd local use.

So to summarise, you are losing your allotments to private, commercial and parish council needs. This bluff about losing the gp practice is nonsense.

The parish council have seen an opportunity to generate a long term income stream in the enlarging of the, and to be fair taking, some of the long term car parking pressure of the village. The bottom line - they are just to afraid to come clean and tell you.