Cheshire East Council is considering disposing of some Green Belt land in Alderley Edge, which is crucial to the Parish Council's plans to relocate the Heyes Lane allotments and build a new car park at the Festival Hall.
Cllr Peter Raynes, the Cabinet Member in Charge of Finance, will consider a report next week regarding the marketing of land off Wilmslow Road, on the basis of a 50 year lease for community uses.
Alderley Edge Parish Council (AEPC) has requested that Cheshire East Council (CEC) lease the 8.6 acre plot of land to them so they can subsequently lease it to Alderley Edge School for Girls.
The Parish Council is proposing to relocate the allotments to land off Lydiat Lane which is owned by Alderley Edge School for Girls (AESG) - who in return would like this piece of former farm land so they can build a new sports facility for both training and matches - as well as making it available for use by the village and local clubs.
This Green Belt land was originally acquired as a part of a larger parcel for the construction of the Alderley Edge bypass and, in accordance with section 123 of the Local Government Act 1972, the Council is obliged to obtain the best consideration upon the disposal of its property.
Cllr Peter Raynes will decide on Tuesday, 29th October, whether to seek open market tenders for the grant of a lease for a term of 50 years with a clause restricting its use for community uses.
This will enable the Council to safeguard the current planning status of the land as Green Belt, potentially use the land for the benefit of the local community and retain the opportunity to realise a financial benefit from it in the future.
If this land is transferred to AEPC, by way of a 50 year lease, it will also enable AESG to build a new sports facility, in return for allowing AEPC to relocate the Heyes Lane allotments to their land off Lydiat Lane.
This Green Belt land was originally acquired as a part of a larger parcel for the construction of the Alderley Edge bypass and, in accordance with section 123 of the Local Government Act 1972, the Council is obliged to obtain the best consideration reasonably obtainable upon the disposal of its property.
However, the Local authority is able to dispose of land and buildings at less than the best consideration under the General Disposal Consent (England) 2003, if the difference between the best price reasonably obtainable and the consideration for the disposal does not exceed £2 million and where the purpose for which the land is being disposed of is likely to contribute towards the achievement of economic well-being, social well-being and/or environmental well-being. If a proposed disposal does not fall within the terms of the Consent a Local Authority must apply for the Specific Consent to dispose of the Secretary of State.
The plot of land is shown on the map above land has been subject to numerous enquiries regarding its availability from local businesses, social users and development companies seeking to progress residential and commercial opportunities.
Map: © Crown copyright.
Comments
Here's what readers have had to say so far. Why not add your thoughts below.
Assuming it all works out of course!
Its a sad state of affairs when all your scheming is all to try and tarmac over a green space so please don't say your doing it for the allotment holders as it shows how out of touch you really all are.
please can we have a new parish council asap
Change happens and that's unavoidable... if the change is an improvement then all to the good? As to using the 'freed-up' land at Heyes Lane; if the new Medical Centre is to be at the Festival Hall, where do you think the cars of patients visiting the Medical Centre and cars of the people working in the Medical Centre should go? There won't be room on the existing Hall site.
Stop complaining and put forward alternative valid suggestions please; I'll listen.
If you think the P.C. is no good, then stand as a candidate in the next election.
By the way, some of us argued long and hard to give the public a right to speak at P.C. meetings... at the last meeting there were 2 members of the public present... come along and speak please... sort of 'put up or shut up'!
Valid suggestions ok.... leave the allotments as they are, build a medical centre within the space currently within the festival hall boundaries let the girls school sort it own problems of sports facilities as it is after all a private school not in public sector.
Alter resident permit holders parking back to 1 hour and no return within 2 hrs in day time so as to avoid under used street parking in the day, but no one can park up for the full day. I feel its pointless me trying to address a meeting of the parish council as I have no desire to be ripped into by some of your collegues for not sharing their view so i'll pass on that thank you.
I feel the parish council on the whole does a decent job, but i wish you would all just stop and consider our village as a whole and how to look after what we have too much has been lost to development already i feel.
The P.C. do not know how many are on the waiting list as the 'Allotments Soc.' refuse to tell us! Lord knows why.
Also I believe that some people have put their name down for more that one allotment site.
The 'Allotments Soc.' also refuse to release to us the names of the people currently using the allotments; we can get the names from C.E. but we are supposed to work with the 'Allotments Soc.' not go behind their backs.
Last comment on allotments; I've requested a meeting between P.C. and A.Soc, for some time now, but nary a date have they offered.
As to possible parking needs by the Medical Practice; it depends who you speak with... I was told that they'd like approx. 20 spaces...perhaps there's a difference between 'like' and 'need'?
I would so like to demolish the present Hall and re-build a combined Hall and Medical Centre... alas the cost is almost certainly prohibitive; if you are suggesting demolishing the Hall and replace it with a Medical Centre, well that's a whole new ball-game.
Go for 1 hour residents' permits? I don't quite understand that one.
You can certainly address the P.C. without getting 'ripped into'... then again, there is the rough and tumble of politics... don't worry, I've felt the rough edge of tongues in my early days on the P.C. and I'm 'one of them'!
We do try to consider the whole picture re. the village... which is why we'd like to offer allotment holders more space (at Lydiatt Lane) and help out the girls' school (it is a part of the village after all; and any new sports facilities it gains as a possible result of the land swap will have to be offered for community use part of the time) and make available more parking spaces at the Hall to shift cars out of the village... we'd truly like a win-win situation... if only it were easy!
As for over-development... I agree with you... but the people who come to live in the new housing probably don't agree?
im on the committee for the allotments and feel there ought to be a meeting taking place i feel as though ive no idea what is going on in this daft game of cloak and dagger. it is the agm in a fortnight and depending on what happens hopefully progress can be made.
we need communication not heads in sand.
this has gone on way too long
the all-day residents' parking does strike me (my own opinion, not the P.C's) as somewhat ott.
The P.C. is ready to meet with the All. Soc. at short notice... I agree with you about daft games!
So much is 'up in the air', so it is difficult to make decisions, but talking at least keeps options open to discussion?
Fiona... if the school doesn't get the piece of land via the land-swop... consider that C.E. may then sell it off for house building... which is your lesser of two evils?
C.E. 1 v P.C. 0
Hi Mike... can you please copy us all in on the happenings/minutes of the Allot. Soc.'s A.G.M. 'cos otherwise I doubt we'll find out.
Hi Fiona... if by development you mean housing or some such; no! My own choice however would be to do exactly that and with the £millions build the best damn new allotments, at Lydiatt Lane, ever seen (no chance alas).There really isn't any 'whole truth' to come out; its just a piece of local politics/change; if there is some hidden agenda, then its hidden from me too!
will mention it to rest of committee and see if they have a problem with a brief synopsis.
if im still on committee post agm that is .....
AEPC objected to the Royal Oak site because it loses green space and is a nuisance to neighbours and, in our opinion, invaded the neighbours privacy.
Heyes Lane will be a green space (grasscrete like National Trust) and with sympathetic planting will actually look better than the current site.
So lumps of metal are more appealing to you than the current allotments. I am not quite sure your view is shared by residents of Alderley Edge. What is so offensive? But of course the car park will not be on your doorstep.
So the noise and congestion of the Car Park and the immediate impact on Heyes Lane will not be an invasion of privacy for those living in close proximity.
I do hope residents will be able to claim compensation from AEPC.
Not sure where lumps of metal are coming from. I have regular calls from residents who are exercised by traffic which parks all day outside of their properties, and which are actually dangerous. The public highway is available for parking, even though we may not like it. But it has recently become extremely dangerous in certain roads. We need, as a Council, to consider how the dangerous examples can be mitigated, but where am I going to push that traffic to, within the village? Lynton Lane can’t get their bins emptied because on street traffic blocks the road. Ryleys Lane, Macclesfield Road and Congleton Road are arterial roads which are dangerous in spots and very dangerous in other spots. And the part of Trafford Road between Macc Rd and Chapel Rd is a traffic accident waiting to happen, and cannot be ignored.
We need road markings which will be legally enforceable, so that the current traffic is moved on, but we need somewhere to put that traffic. South Street has no spare capacity, and the Precinct is starting to cause mayhem on London Road as cars queue to get in.
Something must be done.
You go around in circles with your so called justification to turn an allotment site into a Car Park
Why don't you go ahead with your land swap with the Private School you seem so eager to help and turn the former playing field into a Car Park.
Because AEPC does not own Wilmslow Road site, so it is not in our gift to swap. Besides we need parking outside the Festival Hall, not down Lydiat Lane.
You know we need the consent of the Minister to close Heyes Lane; AEPC prefers to do that by providing an alternative. AEPC would be able to demonstrate that Alderley Edge would be left with 2 good Allotment sites serving 1 Councillor; Handforth has 1 site serving 3 Councillors; Wilmslow has 1 site serving 4 Councillors. So, even on a reduced number, Alderley Edge would be seen to be providing more than its fair share.
We could argue that all the Wilmslow and Handforth Allotment Holders should go to their own Town/Parish Councils and demand more Allotments. If we can move to Lydiat Lane, we will not use that argument.
You are a little imp. I am sure I am not the only person who misses the first class service we received.
However, d'you know, I think you might have the germ of an idea there! You do realise that if we fail to keep the site under AEPC control, then CEC are looking for a suitable site for low cost housing : near the village, next to the Doctors and the Hall, and somewhere to spend their S106 money. And they will argue, correctly, that Alderley Edge has more Allotments per capita than any surrounding village or Town, so they can close one site.
Look at the article above; Cheshire East wants a limited shelf life on the land at Wilmslow Road so that they can have the opportunity - not the certainty, merely the opportunity - of securing a very high land value in 50 years time.
Cheshire East, as you pointed out, own the Heyes Lane site and you should not doubt that they would try to maximise the value of such a plot. They clearly did not want to bother with Allotments, otherwise they would not have transferred them in the first place. I don’t find anything remotely humorous in the thought of having housing next to a new Medical Centre and no parking opportunities available to relieve the future chaos.
I think the simplest thing is for you to list questions and I will answer them.
Pretentious? Moi!
The draft Core Strategy document, which represents the next stage of the Local Plan does not appear to mention the Heyes Lane allotments as a potential development for affordable housing in Alderley Edge
Maybe you could advise where this has been mentioned in this document
No it does not. However, the land down Brook Lane (the former farmhouse for Hole End Farm) has been through Cabinet and approved for sale, with the purpose of funding affordable housing.
You may have noticed the local publicity recently about the Local Plan delays; it is true that when the Plan is adopted there will be some protection, but when will that be? It could be another 2 years.
Since I am supposed to liase with allotment holders, I am happy to speak with individuals, pressure groups etc... it doesn't have to be any particular individual/s... especially if it involves wine!