David Rutley

THE disproportionate negative impact on the north-east of the Cheshire East borough from decisions made by the council is a cause of real concern for local communities.

Over recent months, the steady stream of announcements, reviews and consultations from Cheshire East Council have threatened the future of Poynton

Leisure Centre and are leading to new car park charges in Bollington, Disley, Prestbury and Poynton and increased charges in most of the car parks in Macclesfield.

This will be followed by the so-called ‘mothballing’ of both Bollington and Poynton waste recycling centres, which is taking place before any consultation on their future!

We all know that public finances are under pressure.

But it’s hard to decide if these decisions have been planned to cause maximum disruption to affected communities or if they are the result of individual decisions that have been made without thought to their cumulative impact.

Either way, they are causing real concern in local communities and

leading some local residents to ask whether their neighbourhoods would be better off outside Cheshire East’s boundaries.

Some are calling for Macclesfield Borough Council to be re-established.

It’s clearly time for Cheshire East Council to pause and review these recent decisions and to start actively engaging with local communities

to develop better community-based solutions.

Decisions around the allocation of £180m allocated to Cheshire East Council from the Government’s Local Transport Fund will provide another opportunity for the council to demonstrate its commitment to the north-east of the Borough from April next year.

This funding is part of the Government’s reallocation of funds saved from the second phase of HS2 into local transport improvements across the North and Midlands.

I am committed to working with Government ministers and Cheshire East Council to get the best outcomes from this important new funding for our area.