‘We’ll have only one go at this so it has to be done properly’
CHEADLE town mayor Ian Plant has questioned why residents were not involved more in plans for the development of the town.
He said: “The Cheadle Town Centre Projects Scheme at the present time has been portrayed as mainly demolishing used existing facilities with nothing in its place, there is no mention of possible refurbishment.
“It has now been pointed out if that’s what Cheadle wants that is another option that could be looked at, any options presented at the present time may not be what the town council or residents want without negotiation and full consultation from all parties.
“This is a gigantic commitment for Cheadle and we would require it workable for its users, investors, businesses, shoppers and residents.
“When you look at the Cushman and Wakefield report the town council had a meeting with them to put any thoughts or ideas forward and to which relatively very few have been included.
“It also states that it would be the ideas of council and residents, I believe that no residents were ever consulted to date, out of all the possible 30 suggestions they only prioritised these as sites for improvement.
“The central car park suggestion was as is being done on other Moorlands car parks, resurfacing and a general tidy up, not to have houses on it to lose vital car parking for when we get all the planned houses for Cheadle.
“The Royal Oak for a possible hotel and extra care facilities as we looked at in Stafford and Madeley but no mention of the leisure centre, hospital or building on car parks.
“At the end of this 26 page report there are conclusions, recommendations and diagnosis. It mentions ‘contextual development’, the meaning of contextual is ‘depending on or relating to circumstances that form the setting for an event, statement or idea’, so how this has got to building a hub or houses on the car park I will never know.
“It also states a ‘Cheadle Walkabout Town’ visit to which no-one from Cheadle was invited to go on, surely we as residents know where and what would be good for the town.
“Nowhere in the report, which was handed to Cheadle Town Council, does it mention anything, and I repeat anything about demolishing the leisure centre, or hospital, whether any additional information at that time was to hand it certainly was not passed on, was this done for a reason? Transparency comes to mind. In an article it states that SMDC working in partnership with Staffs County Council commissioned the consultants to develop the options appraisal for Cheadle, where did Cheadle fit into this? And the question is where have these options come from to cause such a stir of which I came in for most of the flak.
“There are endless questions and thoughts to be put into this looking forward and it wants doing right, we will have only one go at this so it has to be done properly with the right people and embrace it.”