Volunteers who organise the annual Alderley Edge May Fair say they may have no alternative but to cancel next year's event, because they have been told they can no longer use the path which runs alongside the Chorley Hall Lane allotment site for vehicles to access the park.
Alderley Edge Parish Council has decided that the path is unsuitable for such a purpose and requested that the May Fair committee finds alternative access to and from the event for vehicles.
In a letter to Mrs Munro, the Town Clerk wrote "I realise this will cause inconvenience, however last year we received complaints from Railtrack, Cheshire East and DEFRA over the use of the path. This is a single, public right of way footpath for pedestrians, is unable to accommodate the heavy usage required from the event and is already showing signs of deterioration that is causing drainage problems on the allotments. I hope therefore you can understand the reasons behind this decision."
Writing on behalf of the volunteers, Geoff Hall said "This is the first indication that we have received from the Parish Council that there have been any issues. We would have hoped that you would have consulted us before making any such decision."
This issue was raised at the Parish Council meeting on Monday, 8th December, when Cllr Mike Williamson confirmed "Our decision is based on Cheshire East's decision. Cheshire East's decision is quite clear."
The use of the footpath for the May Fair was raised in 2012, following a complaint from an allotment holder. Geoff Hall confirmed that in August of that year Cheshire East wrote to Christine Munro saying "we do have an agreement from Bronwyn [Network Rail], to access the 'whole' of the track - through CE and their land – to the park. On this basis I am happy to confirm that we would approve the use of this track for future events."
He added "We are unaware of anything that has happened since August 2012 that has changed the fabric of the footpath."
In a letter to the Parish Council the volunteers wrote "When this matter first arose in 2012 we investigated alternative methods of organising traffic movements on the day.
"Use of the access to Windermere Drive was deemed unsatisfactory by CE (and ourselves) because it is not designed for vehicle access. Taking vehicles back out through the same way they entered (through the Ryleys Lane car park) was considered unsafe by the police (letter 27th April 2012) as it results in traffic congestion on Ryleys Lane and presents a potential risk to public safety."
The letter continues "There is no evidence that the use of the track on May Fair Day has resulted in damage which could have caused flooding on the allotments. Richard Thompson and Fenton Simpson from the Allotments Society have confirmed that no drains run from the allotments under the track and the flooding on the allotments can in no way be linked to 20-30 cars going down the track on one day in May."
"Note that we do not allow larger vehicles to use the track and we only use the track for approximately 2 hours between 8.00am and 10.00am. During that time its use is tightly managed. We have marshals equipped with walkie-talkies at each end of the track to ensure that there is no risk to pedestrians. For the rest of the day the track will be for the exclusive use of pedestrians.
"We have had no safety issues during the four years that the May Fair has been in operation."
The May Fair committee needs to make a decision within the next month as to whether to cancel the 2015 May Fair or not because plans for the event are already well underway.
Their letter concludes "It is our opinion that, if the Parish Council is not persuaded by the points made in this letter to reverse its decision, then we shall have no alternative other than to cancel the 2015 May Fair.
"We shall have to make that decision at the very latest by the time of our next meeting scheduled for Tuesday 13th January 2015. We hope that this timeframe gives the Parish Council time to reconsider its decision."
Comments
Here's what readers have had to say so far. Why not add your thoughts below.
There does seem to be confusion on whos land it is and who can give permission.
Fenton
Chairman AEAGS
It seems to me that a Parish Council should go out of its way to encourage, support and be heartily grateful that volunteers are prepared to spend hours and hours organising such an event for the community. How sad then that AEPC aren't desperately trying to find a solution to the access problem. Surely, AEPC, with a bit of will power and a "can do" attitude I'm sure you will be able to come up with a solution! Don't be a party-pooper!
The May Fair is a wonderful event enjoyed by all. My thanks to the volunteers who, so far, have managed to keep the event going.
You make very important points which have sadly been missed from previous comments but the PC seem to be determined on this project of turning an allotment site into a car park.
Plus there is no costing for this exercise ! I've asked a few times...