Reader's Letter: London Road racetrack

I live on Congleton Rd / Sand Lane, and I'm sad to say it's every weekend now. This weekend was the most shocking though, I have to admit. Good job Nether Alderley Primary weren't holding a fete.

A while back I commented (not entirely seriously before anybody leaps to deride me!!!) that there should be staggered barriers which drop at 7pm and rise at 7am Mon-Thu and then all weekend from 7pm Fri till 7am Mon...whilst the barriers are down London Road could be a shared space from The Bar and Grill to the Heyes Lane junction... only smaller vehicles could negotiate the barriers and then only at a walking pace. Speed limit maximum 5mph, big signs warning this is a shared space so give way to pedestrians, park either side of the road and maybe say anything still parked at 7am is subject to a serious fine - the usual fine doesn't bother an affluent driver... then revert to the current arrangements when the barriers are up.

OK this isn't realistic for many reasons, but I was hoping to provoke some kind of sensible compromise to deal with exactly what Fraser refers to.

Outside of peak daytime traffic, the double yellow lines from the library to the north end of the village clear the way for dangerous driving.

There must be a better way to control both parking and speeding - there's my first crazy thought!!!

Give them community service picking up litter in the village in hi-viz jackets, preferably on a busy sunny weekend?

Just been past The Ryleys School this morning and evidence of doughnuts in fast cars last night judging by the rubber on the road

(A doughnut or donut is a maneuver performed while driving a vehicle. Performing this maneuver entails rotating the rear or front of the vehicle around the opposite set of wheels in a continuous motion, creating (ideally) a circular skid-mark pattern of rubber on a roadway and possibly even causing the tyres to emit smoke from friction.)

Well done for writing in Fraser - An issue which has long needed raising before someone is seriously injured.

I am currently taking photos of the offending cars and will submit to the police. I am sick to the back teeth of these idiots. As per usual no police officers but plenty of traffic wardens. I am not anti car and appreciate cars such as Aston Martins, Porsche etc but we are talking about social morons here who are utterly selfish and don't give a damn about ruining our peace. Anyone got a stinger!

Keep your eyes out for a black Lamborghini with no front number plate. Might be an Aventador, not sure, but it went down Ryleys lane at maybe 80 - 90 mph and then could be heard for about 5 minutes as it raced towards Chelford.

The police have stopped me twice in the last 15 years. Each time for going round a roundabout in an admittedly sloppy manner late at night when the road was icy. I cannot complain about this but where are they when cars speed up and down London Road at great speed and making a terrible noise? Do we have to wait until someone is killed?

The black Lamborghini is not the only fast car racing around without a front number plate; it seems to be the latest fad for these types.

Could we please have a comment from the police?

Similar to the spotters snapping photos of these people driving their cars recklessly through the village over the weekends, maybe residents should also start taking photograph of the cars with their registration plates and post them on this site to name and shame, and to make it easy for the police to identify them especially now that they will all be issued with iPads at a significant cost to the local tax payer and to the detriment of local schools in the area who's funding is being cut to help pay for these ipads.

In fact I can't recall seeing any police officer on foot in th village for years - perhaps an appearance on a Saturday would be a good starting point as at least they could start to help make the village safer by stopping these cars and issuing tickets for reckless driving.

How about a Facebook page Fraser? It could be called "driving like a **** through Alderley Edge". All the people sat outside the various bars could spend their time videoing the offenders and posting onto social media.....make it really easy for our boys in blue :)

All excellent ideas especially a stinger. They are idiots and seem to think the road is their private track. It has been a huge problem for the residents of Kensington and Chelsea for the last few years as visitors from the Gulf flock to Europe for the summer and these "luxury" cars are flown over with their owners. The police in London seem impotent in their enforcement as many of the drivers have friends in high places (Diplomatic immunity is often cited ),or they let the fines mount up and leave without paying. Apparently Knightsbridge businesses do not wish to offend the "racing" tourists as they spend
a lot of money in the Royal Borough. Let us hope Cheshire Police will be more robust in their enforcement.

Well done Fraser for raising this worrying issue. We had absolutely no idea this was becoming a regular event in the village.
I experienced a taste of it that same April weekend, but assumed it must be a "one off" event set up for that appalling TV programme which is filmed locally. (Groan - there goes the neighbourhood!!)
I completely agree with other comments - how long before someone is seriously injured or killed by these egotistical lunatics? Please take your "race track" mentality to Oulton Park where it belongs and have all your fun there.
This dangerous practice needs stopping right now.

Dial 101 each time you see it and report to the police, it's dangerous. If enough people ring perhaps the police will do something about it ? You only need to wait 5 minutes on a sunny day and you will hear the engines followed by the cars who are racing each other. Cars were today racing side by side with speeds in excess of 80 mph. There's no regard for pedestrians or the people walking with children and pushing buggies. If the traffic police got involved then the speed these guys are going at would warrant instant bans. Perhaps someone from the police should answer? Also what about a speed camera? Either way something needs to be done before an innocent person is seriously hurt or killed.

There's already CCTV in the village.
Point the cameras at the road ?
The pictures can be viewed live in Macc. (or at least that's how it used to be).
I expect that simple CCTV can't be accepted in Court as 'evidence', but at least it would be something to post ?

If you take pictures of the offending idiots and e-mail them to

quoting incident number 394 which I had created on 8.4.17

Video evidence would be even better

Short of "direct action" with blocking the road with a protest on a Saturday morning ( that would get the police down!) I am at a loss how to stop this. Any ideas welcome

I agree they are becoming a pain, more because they are causing traffic to slow or standstill while they stop to "pose" for a picture. We spent most of Good Friday afternoon and evening in the Bubble room and had a decent view, there were at least 6 different police vehicles going up and down London Rd during the afternoon, but all they can do is show a presence as almost all these vehicles are breaking no laws. They sound "fast" but most are under 30, it would impossible to go above as there is never enough of a clear rd to get up the speed, as for the number plate, its an "unendorsed" offence and carries nothing more than a £40 fine regardless of how many times you get caught, which a £250,000 car owner will pay no problems. You don't need to take pictures, just pop onto Youtube / Instagram / Twitter and there are hundreds, but all fairly useless in terms of the police using them. If I had a letter from the police saying "we had a picture sent to us of you speeding / driving dangerously" my response would be "prove I was even moving" Same with CCTV or Video, unless its clear dangerous driving ie mounting a pavement or overtaking dangerously it cant prove much else. The police have been trying in Knightsbridge for years to get rid of the same sort of thing, but nothing they can do, driving round in a loud overpriced car having your picture taken is not illegal. I would suggest the Police have some mobile cameras on the bypass as that's how they get here and that certainly will be when they are speeding, I am sure that would eventually curb it. As for now, we are gong to sit in the bubble room with a bottle and enjoy watching them, some of the classics are certainly worth a look.

How about a street market every week-end?

Not certain how taking the picture of a vehicle can offer evidence of excessive speed or method of driving ( unless on the wrong side of the road) . Or are people simply going to take pictures of high powered cars that have the temerity to drive through the village, regardless of whether or not they are a danger, and then forward them to the police.