Peter Emerson Jones honoured for services to business

OBE ..... come on...... really?!!!

I would say the lack of comments on this speaks volumes. Not even a comment from the regulars from AEPC.

I think it speaks volumes as well! that only two of Alderley Edge's residents should make these remarks. Being such a successful business man for forty years or so, employing so many people and supporting such things as East Chesire hospice, I think it's long overdue and well deserved.

Bring on the new medical centre! and the nice big shiny new car park!

I think it is astonishing too! To have survived in business for over 50 years when for 60% of that time Labour Governments (Wilson, Callaghan, Blair/Brown) were wreaking economic havoc and creating difficult trading conditions, is an achievement.

To have built successful offshoot companies in Portugal and USA during that time of difficult trading conditions at home is quite astonishing.

But, I was seated at a dinner at Macc College in 2009 when Cheshire East set up and one of my fellow guests told me that Peter Jones had served as Buildings Board Chairman for the South Manc Hospitals and had ripped up proposed contracts for the sale of land and buildings. Instead he drew up new contracts to greatly benefit the hospitals, and for long after the sales, money flowed in because of the revised and improved conditions which had been inserted by Peter Jones.

I am quite sure other public organisations have benefitted from that expertise too.

The public, as a group, abhor national austerity and widespread economic suffering; but some of the public seem to abhor individual achievement.

That is the most astonishing thing of all.

Frank / Peter

I think what was being said here is that no one seems to be jumping up and down to congratulate Peter Jones.
The Telegraph article said "Peter Emerson Jones, who has donated tens of thousands of pounds to George Osborne's local party through his companies, is also given an OBE for services to business in the North West."
He has apparently, officially given £35k, a tiny proportion of the profits of his companies, to the conservatives. I am assuming that he has done that in a very tax efficient way, escaping corporation tax. So actually, he has given £28K, the tax payer gave the other £7K.
Would I be right in saying that CE council has always been Conservative controlled. Would I also be right in saying that therefore they control the planning applications? Please draw your own conclusions.
Frank Keegan relies on hearsay evidence from one of his 'fellow guests' at dinner. Is that because you have never met the man Frank? Has he ever paid for dinner?
Peter Wright, you say "Bring on the new medical centre! and the nice big shiny new car park!" I just find that a really interesting comment. Surely AEPC are responsible for that, what on earth has it got to do with Peter Jones? I was assuming that if the scheme went ahead, it would be specified and put out to tender. You must know something we don't.

I always think how did he manage to obtain permission to knock down the wonderful Cottage Hospital for development? I realise Cottage Hospitals are probably not cost effective in this crazy world where finance rules and an asset like the Cottage was no longer cost effective. As a kid who grew up in the village and who's Mum died there I found it hard to accept when it was bulldozed for profit!

Mr Clayton,

The Cottage Hospital was the subject of a major village meeting, held in Festival Hall. The Planning permission was obtained by the NHS Trust - their idea was to sell the Cottage Hospital site and to use the money to build the Health Centre at Handforth. Why? Because a large part of Handforth is Manchester overspill, and those tenants who were becoming ill preferred to go back to the hospitals they knew, like Wythenshawe and Stepping Hill.

Macclesfield Health Trust thought if they could get a clinic in Handforth, tenants would go to that local clinic to see Consultants and then be referred to Macc Hospital for operations etc.

It was a reasonable hypothesis, though it meant the Cottage Hospital was sold, and the Health Trust applied for planning permission for the Cottage Hospital site and sold the land, with permissions, to the highest bidders.

Interestingly enough, at that time, I did take up the matter of the Covenants which De Trafford Estates had on both the Cottage Hospital site and the Allotment site. De Trafford Estates were reluctant to frustrate the Health Trust - however, they did offer to lift the Covenant on the Allotment site, if the Parish Council were planning to use the Allotment land to benefit the local community, and there is a file note on the Allotment Society’s files to that effect.

Frank,

I couldnt help noticing on your CE Councillor profile page a couple of years ago that, where Councillors are required to disclose gifts of value above £25, you had listed a gift from Emerson Holdings - no description or detail - just a notation that the gift had been received.

It seems topical, since you speak so admiringly of Peter Jones and the prolific work that he does in the area, to ask for clarification of what that gift might have been.

Or indeed, Cllr Keegan, whether you still have an interest to declare in PE Jones, Emerson Holdings, Orbit or any other of the Jones group - or maybe the Woodard Schools organisation?

I think this should be answered before you start ripping up allotments and green spaces that might later get recycled into development plots for hmm - let me think - or is this me just being suspicious?

I do not trust people's motives in this village and that's from living here all my life and seeing how things have been got around in the past.

.

I asked councillor Keegan this before on this very site in an active topic but he chose not to respond!

It is highly concerning that the head of the parking initiative and the main voice for paving the allotments has such a clear and stated conflict of interest.

It makes it worse that the medical centre and linked allotments car park is being built by the same company that is named in this conflict of interest.

I am not in general a conspiracy theorist, but I have found my thoughts wandering to "what will happen to the car park on Heyes Lane when it isn't used?" and my conclusions were that it would likely be built on by none other than the Jones Group..

No need to read "between the lines" with this thread.

Peter Jones has created and led a very successful business, here and abroad, which supports many jobs. We can commend that, at least, and congratulate him on his OBE.

My beef would be about the quality of design - or lack of it - in the buildings his firms have created. There's too much dreary pastiche, a mish-mash of styles and hackneyed detail. The frontage of the proposed new medical centre is the latest example. Surely we can do much better than this bland and unconvincing pseudo-Georgian effort? It's nonsensical and anachronistic in a Victorian village and just dreadfully, dreadfully dull!

When did the Jones companies last (or ever?) employ proper designers or architects to produce something of which they and our area could be proud?

Doesn't look as though any explanation is going to be forthcoming - we shall just have to draw our own conclusions.

Graham

I'm glad that you, also, have noticed a certain lack of design on Jones projects, I thought it was just me!