A group of residents have come together to encourage Independent candidates to stand in the upcoming local elections and challenge the current Alderley Edge Parish Council members.
The newly formed AlderleyEdgeFIRST believes effective local democracy depends on having a varied choice of candidates and aims to create a "more resident-friendly" Parish Council in the village.
AlderleyEdgeFIRST currently consists of local residents Kriss Coombes, Michael Dudley-Jones, Geoffrey Hall, Elisabeth Jackson, Paul Marshall, Christine Munro, Fenton Simpson, Margaret Smith and Michael Taylorson. They want to encourage local residents who share their concerns about the village to stand as Independent candidates in the May local elections.
Elections are due to be held on Thursday 7th May for every seat in Cheshire East Council as well as all nine seats on Alderley Edge Parish Council, on the same day as the next parliamentary General Election.
Four years ago there was no election for Alderley Edge Parish Council because it was not contested, only nine candidates registered and there are nine seats on Alderley Edge Parish Council. Three Conservative councillors stood down and were replaced by three Conservatives, with no candidates standing against them.
Mike Dudley-Jones, resident of the village for 27 years and President of Alderley Edge Allotments and Gardens Society, explained "Like many other residents in Alderley, we feel there needs to be more debate and more careful analysis of issues before decisions are made.
"Repeatedly, we have seen decisions taken without proper evaluation of all the options, without costings, and without proper consultation. Residents need to know that their Parish Council is on their side, easy to approach and respectful of all views."
The founders of the group are keen to stress that AlderleyEdgeFIRST is not a political party, nor does it plan to become one. It is an informal group of concerned local residents who believe the community would be better served by having Independent councillors on its Parish Council.
Geoff Hall, organiser of Alderley Edge May Fair, said "The current group of Conservative Councillors have no effective opposition. As residents we want to have a real choice of candidates at the election in May. AlderleyEdgeFIRST is about encouraging and supporting Parish Councillors who believe, as we do, that they are there to serve local residents, drawing freely on all the talents in the community and communicating openly with residents."
Christine Munro, the main organiser of Alderley Edge May Fair who was born in Alderley Edge, added: "We already have some candidates who plan to stand, but we need more. Most important of all we also need people with relevant skills to support them."
Fenton Simpson, Chairman of the Alderley Edge Allotments Society, said: "Some may think that this is just about the Heyes Lane Allotments, but we believe that the 1875 signatures on the petition we organised tells us that concern about how local issues are handled goes much deeper than that."
Christine Munro urges residents who have sympathy with the group's aims or who would like to know more, to get in touch, even if they do not want to stand as a Council candidate themselves.
She added "It is important to the group to know how many other residents share our concerns and to hear what those concerns are. We also want to hear from anyone who is willing to give their support in any way, no matter how small that contribution may be."
If you would like to contact the group you can reach them at [email protected]
I have been informed that the Tatton Conservative Association will be releasing the names of their nine Conservative candidates for Alderley Edge Parish Council after April 10th.
Comments
Here's what readers have had to say so far. Why not add your thoughts below.
My whole family will not be voting Conservative this time around because of the actions of the PC - 5 votes to AlderleyEdgeFIRST.
I think we need to know some names before we start thinking about giving them a vote !
New blood required. Good luck
At last, now that there is an “official” group opposed to the Parish Council, we can at last begin to engage on a “political” level.
Now we can expect transparency and accountability from all the groups who expect to be funded from the public purse.
The Parish Council, when it secured the Festival Hall for £1 in 2009 in order to build a Medical Centre for 8,000 patients, demonstrated that they put the residents of Alderley Edge first. Actions speak louder than words!
In return for paying £1 for the Festival Hall we were awarded a capital grant of £300,000 and a revenue grant of £150,000 from Macclesfield Borough Council - which still seems like a good deal.
Compare that to a member of this new group boasting in the De Trafford that he got an Allotment on Chorley Hall Lane, despite not being on the waiting list, and despite there being a waiting list. The Allotments are public assets - and, on this showing, public assets are being abused.
There are waiting lists for Allotments and yet some people have four allotments; some have three allotments; quite a few have two allotments; and quite a few jumped the queue to get one allotment. This new group of "alderley edge allotment holders first” will be subject to detailed scrutiny in the forthcoming electoral process.
The record of the Parish Council is an open book and is subject to Freedom of Information requests on a regular basis. Detailed Accounts are published quarterly. The Conservative Parish Council proves on a regular basis that it can be trusted to control the finances of the village, and trusted to introduce innovative ways of funding public assets for the long term benefit of the council taxpayer.
I look forward to comparing the track record of my opponents!
unanswered questions below......
http://bit.ly/1nkxtE0
Email and ask her - she is the Chief Legal Officer for Cheshire East
You are the one who has a conflict of interest and you are the one who voted and are involved in these plans.
You want trust from the village, start with answering some simple questions.
Abuse or silence, I now await either.
What is my conflict of interest, exactly? Which plans am I involved in?
I expect details by return, plus a contact address which I can pass to my Solicitor.
You've now made your position clear.
You'd prefer your interest not to be made clear on this website and by implication you'd prefer your electorate not to know the details.
I'll email Anita Bradley as you suggest, let's hope she is more helpful.
Elected representatives are obligated to; Act with selflessness, with integrity, with objectivity, with accountability, WITH OPENNESS......( You must be open and transparent...),With Honesty... ( ..You must declare any private interests, both pecuniary and non-pecuniary, that relate to your public duties and must take steps to resolve any conflicts arising in a way that protects the public interest, including registering and declaring interests........ ) With Respect for others..( You must treat others with courtesy... in a manner that underpins mutual respect and courtesy , essential to good local government.... ) Leadership...( promote and support high standards of conduct and, on all occasions, act in accordance with the trust that the public is entitled to place in you )
I’m sure the electorate will decide.... ......“If the right people don’t have power, do you know what happens? The wrong people get it: politicians, councillors, ordinary voters!” (Sir Humphrey Appleby.....in Power to The People)
Fitzwilliam : Lang : Jones : Hannah : Garrett : Jackson
None of these people have a vote in Alderley Edge, because they don’t live here. They might work here - that might just mean they clog up our residential streets, which would mean they use our resources but don’t pay Council Tax.
Please get your facts right and keep your tone civil
ps I don't vote Conservative !
What a peculiar why for a councillor to behave on a public forum.
Why don't you simply answer the seemingly reasonable questions asked of you in a polite and intelligent manner? I know old people often use age as an excuse for being grumpy but your reaction seems a little OTT.
By acting so aggressively you must realise it looks like you have something to hide. Have you got something to hide?
Roll on May 7th, a date when we finally vote people in as councillors who have some decency and some manners about them, then we can make real progress, instead of the the usual crass comments and disrespect shown by some present councillors. No need to name names the comments above say it all.
Nick thanks very much for your excellent definition of the code of conduct, perhaps someone needs to print off a copy and pin it to the door to the council office before May 7th
Once again Keegan has mentioned about people living outside AE and their comments - I didn't realise we were living in a dictatorship.
For an example of the recent rise of Independent Councillors in a one-party Council, one only has to look to Wilmslow Town Council, which has elected two Independents in recent by-elections; this situation arose because residents were fed-up with the way their "representatives" were ignoring obvious disquiet with the way things were going. Only two of the four wards in Wilmslow actually held elections when the council was set up, so some of their Councillors were appointed unopposed. The Wilmslow electorate is much more savvy now and many of the seats will be contested by hopefuls with no party axe to grind.
I am confident that the people of Alderley will do the right thing on voting day.
I hope you can cast your mind back that far?
Losses
Butchers,Grocers,Fishmongers,Furniture shops, Wool and haberdashery, Ironmongers,Bread shops, Art and Book shops.Established Chinese restaurants
Coal Merchants
St James church, Belmont, methodist church
Council Offices
Police station/Library
The Queen’s Hotel, The Cherry’s, Mary’s Tap, Yesterday’s Night club
3 x car showrooms with 2 x garages
The sale Rooms
The cottage hospital
The Post office /sorting
The post office Moss Road
St Hilarys
The Sand Hills
“Sugar Daddys”
The Park Keeper and gardener
Regular railway station persons
The village institute
The Net Youth Club
Councillors who you can rely on
Parking
Nicely kept park gardens and spaces.
Gained and not for the good of the above
Flats. Houses squeezed in to any available garden.Offices, Restaurants ,Coffee shops, charity shops,Estate agents and Supermarkets, nasty comments from councillors.Higher rents for shops and houses and higher council tax for the same and no benefits for the trouble.
THANKFUL FOR
Wienholts, The Alderley Edge Village Butcher,Cedrics, The union club, The de Trafford Arms, The Drum and Monkey, The Wizard, The Alderley Edge Hotel, Alderley Edge Station, St Philips church, The Methodist church, The park and bowling club ,The festival hall, The scout hut, The Tower garage,Both Tennis clubs, The golf club, alderley edge primary school, the alderley edge school for girls and the ryleys, the parks, football field and the Allotments any open space and the edge. These we had with all the losses at one time. But thankful for ALDERLEY EDGE FIRST who show true Community spirit and RESPECT x. Sorry if I have forgot anybody please list on ?
Yes councillor Keegan you know when you are speaking to someone who lives or has indeed lived in Alderley Edge. So perhaps you will now go to your solicitor who will furnish you with the correct say so comment !!! I won’t waste my breath……………….Please also note on my dying breath if I bequeathed a plot of land to my fellow parishoners to be allotments I would expect this to be my offering from me to them and be up held for eternity or I would have bequeathed it to my family who could have turned it into a carpark flats woodland etc for vast sums of profit !!
I remember (with great fondness) all of the things you have listed and it serves only to frustrate me at the way in which the village has been transformed by incomers who don't really understand the true nature of the area and (worse) don't really care.
Oh, and The Sidings. But that's going back a bit now!
I live in Alderley Edge - only since 1988 though! I do pay Council Tax.
My home is a few yards over the border into Chorley Parish Council's area - does that mean I can't have an opinion about the village in which I live?
According the the criteria mentioned by the Councillor above I guess not!!!
I understand the desire for what always appear as halcyon days , but we need to look forward and determine the type of village we want. Hopefully one that balances the needs of young and old , resident and visitor , pedestrians and cars , businesses and villagers , healthy and ill , etc etc , that will mean change in many ways , but , as said before needs to be open and transparent and achievable , the last point should not be forgotten give the limited power of councils. Perhaps alongside devo-Manchester we should encourage devo-Alderley from our illustrious MP , then perhaps not :-) . Please let's debate ideas here or elsewhere .
You make a good point about learning from the mistakes of the past in forging plans for the future.
I don't believe Cheryl (or anyone else) is under any illusion that some of those wonderful component parts of OUR village can be got back; but seeing them listed brings into sharp focus the ways in which the village has evolved over years.
If people look carefully at the history of Alderley Edge and considered what it is that has drawn people to the village, they will realise that we are in grave danger of destroying the things that actually create the attraction, and very soon we become just another over-developed, homogenous, middle-England "townage" overrun with businesses that bring no balance in terms of what they offer the people of Alderley Edge.
If you add to that the bit-by-bit loss of green space - the very thing that makes Alderley Edge special - you can surely be forgiven for having some concerns.
I believe that this new group (if I understand their objectives correctly) will bring back balance to the PC and thereby a better consideration of what is good for the village.
I don't want to decry the work done by some of the current Councillors because whilst there are certainly some wrong-uns, there are others (Duncan Herald for one) that appear to be an active and caring force for good and I hope that we can bring in (elect) more people that put the interests of the village (as a whole) first and foremost
We should for sure be informed by history. More important though is the inclusive nature of any debate about how a Village like Alderley should develop/progress over the next years. There are no doubt many views , some heard on here , some silent and I doubt there is even an easy consensus. I for one as a resident and with a business based here want to see a diverse village at ease with itself flourishing with a mix of ages , talent and opinion. The opposite would be a retreat to a gated community that would eventually wither on the vine.
I welcome the new group in that it has potential to open up debate, but I have yet to hear any clear vision or direction.
I did so on Tuesday
"Councillor Frank Keegan has suggested I email you to enquire as to the nature of his interest in the Emerson / PE Jones/ Jones homes group of companies.
I'd be grateful for an early response.
Many Thanks
John Hannah
Alderley Edge"
but have not had a response, Mr Keegan can I ask that you give her a nudge or maybe just answer the question yourself?
Many thanks
"You dont have to be living in Memphis to support Elvis."
As a former County and Parish Councillor who resigned from all political affiliations a few years ago, and who resigned from the PC on the basis that they were the last objector to the bypass - I would be happy to stand as an independant and see the back of this lot.
You don't need too many or too few candidates, just 9 candidates will oust all the existing Parish Councillors.
http://bit.ly/1GEekCm
"I have been asked by Anita Bradley to respond to your enquiry. Cllr Keegan’s register of interests can be found at the following link. It does not include any reference to the companies you have asked about.
http://bit.ly/1zVGV4Q
On the 07-12-11 Cllr Keegan registered acceptance of a “Christmas lunch plus box of wine” from the Emerson Group. This is the only record Cheshire East Council has of any hospitality "
So no declared interest , so why the declaration prior to discussions involving Emerson?
So either the official record is incomplete or Councillor Keegan is incorrect in declaring an interest.
Or is he still reeling from the munificence shown to him by Emerson at Christmas 2011?! Or maybe the wine was Chateau Lafitte rather than Blue Nun?!
Careful now gents - a certain Councillor will want your solicitors contact details.