Allotments and medical centre on Parish Council agenda

by Lisa Reeves

Tuesday 4^th September 2012

Tue 4^th Sep 2012

Alderley Edge Parish Council will be discussing the future of the allotments and the new medical centre at their monthly meeting next week.

An update on plans to build a new medical practice at the front of the Festival Hall, which were approved by the Northern Planning Committee last month, will be discussed on Monday, 10th September.

There will also be a progress report regarding the transfer of the three allotment sites in the village to Alderley Edge Parish Council (AEPC). Cheshire East Council agreed in June 2011 to transfer the allotments at Beech Close, Chorley Hall Lane and Heyes Lane by way of a long lease with restrictive covenants preserving their use for allotments.

AEPC plans to relocate the Heyes Lane allotments to land off Netherfields, which belongs to Alderley Edge School for Girls, where they could create 60 plots and virtually wipe out the waiting list for allotments. This will also enable them to use the Heyes Lane site to provide additional parking for the new medical centre and revamped Festival Hall, which they hope to create a new main entrance for off Heyes Lane.

The Parish Council has also said that the Heyes Lane allotment site could house the Alderley Edge Motor Co, the site owner Russell Homes has recently submitted revised plans to replace the car repair garage and car showroom on Trafford Road with four town houses.

The Heyes Lane site was gifted to the council's predecessor in 1917 subject to a covenant restricting its use to open space, recreational ground, playing fields, allotments and public gardens. Therefore AEPC will have to obtain permission from De Trafford Estates for the covenant to be lifted and permission from the Secretary of State to relocate the allotments - if granted they will then need to go back to CEC, as landowners, to obtain their permission.

Speaking after the decision in June, Cllr Frank Keegan said "The Parish Council will now consult with the residents of Alderley Edge on the way forward for facilities, recognising that the future of certain facilities will be easier with public support.

"Hopefully the Parish Council can issue a consultation document after the summer break, when the electorate are returned from their holidays."

The public are welcome to attend the meeting of Alderley Edge Parish Council which will be held at the Festival Hall on Monday, 10th September, starting at 7.30pm.

Other local issues to be discussed include a potential country park being built on Green Belt land between Alderley Edge and Wilmslow, which we reported on in April, and rubbish in Alderley Edge Park.

There will be a ten minute slot during the meeting for members of the public to ask questions or submit comments on any local issues.

The full agenda for the Parish Council meeting is available in our events calendar.

Comments

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

Terry Bowes

Tuesday 4^th September 2012 at 3:42 pm

Hmmmm,A 1917 covenant,A 2011 covenant by way of Cheshire East,all restricting use to allotments or open space.Still Keegans Crew are going at it like it's some kind of vendetta and will try and wipe out all things put in place to protect our enviroment.
I'm all for the Medical Centre,it will be a vast improvment compared to the eyesore that stands there now.
It just beggars belief that a P.C.thinks it can ride rough shod over local and national goverment.!

Claire MacLeod

Tuesday 4^th September 2012 at 4:41 pm

I agree, Terry. Although I'm not aware that the whole PC has discussed and voted to support this mandate (I may be mistaken as I have not read every detail of Parish Council Minutes since this issue was raised at the Annual Parish Meeting in the Spring). It seems, rather, to be the pet project of one particular Councillor who is absolutely set on ignoring what are clearly widely felt concerns amongst many residents (NOT just allotment holders as he originally claimed), and bulldozing through (pun intended) his own personal vision for the future of Heyes Lane allotments.

Fear not! We have not gone away and we will not be silenced or ignored! I am extremely confident that we can raise enough support for our cause to protect the precious green space in our village to put the kibosh on this, once and for all. Thanks, in no small measure, to regular and accurate reporting on this site, we can keep up with developments and respond in a timely fashion to prevent any scurrilous, under-the-radar action taking place.

Thanks to our collective efforts, we have already ensured that the Parish Council cannot simply do as they wish with the allotments, and will need to jump through several hoops if they are to succeed with their feckless mission. Let's hope this sends the message that the Parish Council would be far better advised to spend their precious time and considerable energies on more popular, less contentious and permanently damaging projects.

Duncan Herald

Monday 24^th September 2012 at 2:45 pm

A simple question...if an alternative and larger site is offered for allotment holders, will that remove the objections...I've spoken with some few of the allotment folk and to my surprise, some were actually fairly o.k. with a move!
I believe that there is to be a public meeting, on this subject, sometime soon...perhaps this very point might be raised?

Tuesday 25^th September 2012 at 1:38 pm

I can only respond with my personal view, Duncan. My concern is that relocating the allotments from Heyes Lane and turning the land into a carpark will mean removing precious green space which makes our village just that. When, over a short space of time, it is determined that the carpark is underutilised (which is, again in my opinion, an inevitable outcome), and an offer to purchase it is made by a developer to build houses, we will have lost that green space for good. I'm very glad to hear there will be a public meeting on the subject. I am also still keen to ascertain whether the Parish Council have discussed and agreed an official position on the matter. Perhaps, as a councillor, you could clarify for the benefit of those reading this thread, please?

Mike Norbury

Tuesday 25^th September 2012 at 4:33 pm

One thing I have asked on this site before and never received an answer to which now seems more pertinent if the parish council are going to try an attempt to get hayes lane allotments, is.... is Cllr Keegan still receiving monies from P.E.Jones or Emerson Holding as he had to declare whilst at Cheshire East?

I feel this ought to be explained publicly as PE Jones have already won the medical centre construction contract just for freedom of information as we stand to lose a green space for whose gain?