On Monday evening I attended the Alderley Edge Parish Council Annual Meeting where Councillor Paul Tomlinson stood down as chairman and handed the responsibility to his fellow councillor Mike Williamson.
In his Chairman’s report Councillor Tomlinson said “the biggest disappointment in my tenure is that we have not been able to move forward with the Primary Care Trust” (PCT), in regard to building a new medical centre at the front of the Festival Hall. The Parish Council have still not received any information from the PCT and Councillor Tomlinson believes that the “current GP facility in Alderley Edge is probably not adequate.”
Speaking about the Festival Hall, he added that they have to move on though, in his opinion discussions with the PCT are “dead in the water” so they should concentrate on plans to improve the main hall to “attract more community activities and make it a focal point for the village.”
However Councillor Frank Keegan has a meeting this week with the PCT's Chief Executive and believes it is still possible for the scheme to still go ahead. The meeting came about after George Osborne intervened and Councillor Keegan said "There is no option B (for the PCT), they need to understand that if we do something else with the hall then there is no other prospective location in Alderley Edge."
The operational costs for the Festival Hall account for £70,000 out of the £120,000 precept, which residents pay as part of their council tax, and the hall will probably be operating at a deficit of £74,845 this financial year. Therefore if plans for the medical centre are "dead in the water" then this raises questions over the financial viability of the hall, particularly if the Parish Council don't have a plan B.
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The reworking of the hall including GP facility would be with us for 25+ years, the Parish Council feel this is so important to the village we are going that extra mile and chasing the PCT. However rest assured one thing is certain the Parish Council precept, villagers money, cannot and will not subsidise the PCT/GP facility, they have to stump up the money for the facilities THEY have specified they want.