High Lane Residents' Association

High Lane Residents' Association

Thursday 7th March Minutes

Minutes of the meeting of High Lane Residents’ Association

Date: 7th March 2024                                                                 Time: 8pm

Venue: High Lane Library

Present: David Burks; Caroline Smith; Darrell Williams; Cllr Shan Alexander; Sue Forrester; members of the Community Police Force and members of the Residents Association

Apologies: Eryl Hughes; John Baker; Barry and Angela Sequiera; Eryl Hughes and Helen Richardson

1. Welcome given by David Burks. David also thanked the volunteers involved for the work on the planters over the winter and he remarked that they were looking tremendous

2. Minutes of the last meeting – approved

3. Police Report. Simon from the Community Police Force explained that Jason Holmwood is currently on paternity leave so there were no available crime statistics at this moment in time. The only instances to report were anti-social behaviour on the park eg smoking; an issue with parking behind Spar (a private road) causing an obstruction and a report of an abandoned vehicle. He stated that the 24-hour open access to the church sometimes causes problems with undesirables.  The church warden (present at the meeting) said that the church is open from 9am to 5pm seven days a week but is not open at night. An observation was made that the lean-to off the back of High Lane Garage which faces the churchyard has been used by youths gathering and leaving litter eg vapes; take-away cartons etc.  Simon said he would look into that situation and provide feedback.  He spoke about the recent issues on Fairacres with alleged drug dealing and said that the situation has improved after police presence in the area. Shan asked if the perpetrators were local but the Police can’t get near enough to the offenders to ascertain whether they are local or otherwise and are unable to give chase to youths on bikes if they aren’t wearing a helmet in case of accidents or injuries. Children have been spotted on the floodlit grounds of High Lane School but that issue seems to have been resolved by police presence.  Simon remarked that they will be more activity on the park during school holidays.  He told the members of the meeting that the Police are visiting schools to give talks on being safe on social media and making children aware of hate crimes; scams; fraud and the possible perils of chatrooms.  Shan mentioned the campervan which has been parked outside the village shops for a while showing a disability badge.  It had been ticketed for being parked just over the yellow line and according to residents it has disappeared for now.  Shan advised Simon to contact Stockport Council who issue disability badges to find the owner of the vehicle but if he/she lives outside the Greater Manchester area eg in Cheshire East, it can’t be dealt with by Stockport Police.  Simon said he will speak to the shop owners and provide some feedback as to how and if this issue has affected their custom.  There will be a Community Speedwatch event on Andrew Lane including Deanway and Meadway on the 11^th March at 9.45am.  There will be a Traffic co-ordinator from the Community Police and Alan (the Speed Watch co-ordinator for High Lane) will be present.

4. Finance Report. David had received a Finance Report from John.  There had been a sum of £25.00 received in subs since the last meeting and expenses of £19.20 for sweets for the Santa Run giving a balance of £3,373.45.  He had no information about the War Memorial Funds at present.

5. Planning applications. In Eryl’s absence David reported that as at the time of the meeting there were no recent planning applications.  An observation was made that there is a stretch of land for sale for a possible development on Threaphurst Lane from the A6 down to Oxhey Farm.  There is no more information to hand at the moment, but it is a situation that needs monitoring.

6. Reporting Back:

• Reply from TfGM – David

David has had a reply from TfGM detailing the franchising of the Greater Manchester public transport network and bringing buses under local control through the Bee Network.  The letter also explained the current position of the services in and around the High Lane area eg the 192; the 394 and the 199. TfGM state that they are interested in consulting with residents and are open to receiving any additional transport ideas that they would share with the Bus Planning Team. David said he will contact local residents through email or the website to arrange a meeting regarding bus services and to ask people for any ideas they have. A discussion took place between the attendees of the resident’s meeting and the following points were made:

The 192  service to High Lane although there was no obvious turnaround space.

All buses in the area should drop off and collect passengers at the Park and Ride.

Shan suggested that the committee should consult Stagecoach who own the 192 route as soon as possible before bids go in and explained that every year the local bus routes go up for bids to various operators which will be in January 2025. She went on to say that the 375 to Mellor bus route has proven to be not a viable franchise and the 358 to Hayfield is hardly used and pointed out that it’s up to local residents to use these services.  Shan made an observation that bus use hasn’t recovered since Covid. David made a point that High Lane residents live in and pay their rates to Greater Manchester but transport links are very poor.  An observation was made that the 360 bus appears on the 199 bus stop display.  Apparently, it departs once a day at 05:20 from Stockport Bus Station to Hayfield.

• Update on Sainsburys – David reported a good response from Sainsburys and he is in communication with the Project Site Manager. He understands that the new store will have a sympathetic façade in line with the Pharmacy and the Medical Centre. David has asked for a programme of works when it becomes available.

• Letter SMBC Air Monitoring – Last year the air quality was monitored in High Lane which the RA had a look at. David thanked Darrell for producing a fantastic report on last year’s air quality monitoring with quite a bit of criticism on how it was carried out. David has written to Stockport Council asking for more consistent measurements in the survey which is taking place at the moment eg the measurements should be taken at the same time every year and at a neutral time as in not during school holidays. He is waiting for an explanation on that. He explained that tubes are used to trap air samples from which the data is collected and developed and it usually takes 6 months for the report to be published by which time the data is historical and he thought that there must be better technology than that. Shan stated that the Council conduct the air monitoring survey according to Defra guidelines over a 6 month period even though Defra recommend a 3 month period. These measurements are averaged and seasonal changes are taken into account. It was recommended by Shan that we wait for a reply from the Air Quality Specialist then invite him to attend a HLRA meeting.

• Meeting at Lyme Park – members of the HLRA committee had recently attended a meeting at Lyme Park to discuss ways of reducing queuing traffic on the A6 entering and exiting Lyme Park by making alterations to the position of the entrance hut for example installing an extra 2 windows and 2 extra lanes. David had asked about a space provided for vehicles to turn round if the occupants decide not to pay the entrance fee to the car park and he was assured by Lyme Park staff that this has been catered for.  They are trialling a scheme over the Easter period where vehicles pay on exiting the car park.  David reassured attendees at the meeting that High Lane residents’ points of view had been passed on.

• Trim Trail - in the absence of Eryl, Caroline had undertaken some research on Adult Trim Trails and could find no evidence of these at other local parks.  She had obtained photographs of what an Adult Trim Trail resembles and passed these out to the attendees of the meeting.  Shan stated that there is an Adult Trim Trail in Marple Memorial Park and one in Heaton Park.  She recommended that the committee speak to Mark Whittaker who is Chair of the Friends of Marple Memorial Park. The view of the members was that more adult presence in High Lane Park would discourage anti-social behaviour.  There was also a mention of Bruntwood Park who have installed electronic games which are monitored by Stockport Town Hall.

• Owens Sunflowers - David explained that the embankment area on High Lane Station which was previously planted up as a Union Jack flag to celebrate the Queen’s Jubilee, is to be a display of sunflower which should be advantageous to birds.  Owen has chosen 2 varieties of sunflowers – tall red flowers (Claret F1) at the back and a bush at the front with multiple flowers (Pacino Gold).  Photographs were shown to the attendees of the meeting.  David hoped it would become a community event with seeds available to local residents.  Owen has found someone in Poynton to start the flowers off from seed and what HLRA needs to do is to prepare the ground ready for planting.  In this regard David would contact Stockport GoodGym and High Lane volunteers.  David put forward the motion on the sunflower display and it was passed. Owen had planned to position some tubs on the few railings that are in the village but Stockport Council have stated that they are not in favour.

• Defibrillator training – According to Eryl there are only 6 places on this course. David asked attendees if anyone was interested in the Defib training leading to a negative response.  Caroline had suggested CPR training would be useful as the Defibrillator only has a range of 200 to 500 metres – to be investigated. David stated that the Defib outside the Pharmacy needs a new battery, new pads and servicing.  A temporary replacement while the Defib is out of action would also have to be costed for resulting in a sum of £600.  A grant for the maintenance of the Defib is to be explored by Caroline and David.

• Cancellation of May meeting – it has been decided to cancel the May meeting as the library is being used for local elections and David has asked if everyone is happy with that – the response was in the positive

7. A. O.B

• There was concern raised previously over a building on Windlehurst Road being used as a business and causing problems with parking. David had investigated and found that the building is being used for young adults with learning difficulties. After talking to the manager and expressing concerns over staff parking, he was reassured that the situation will be monitored.
• Shan stated that £4,300 has become available for new equipment at Brookside Park and a new noticeboard. Shan advised HLRA to consult with Richard Booker about the site of the new noticeboard.
• Shan spoke about the conversion of Wybersley Hall’s barn and stables into 4 houses. A Section 106 payment (commuted sum) for open spaces had been asked for but the Planning Officer replied that because of various heritage and design issues, the builder can’t afford it to pay this sum. Shan stressed that the council had argued strongly against this decision but in the end their hands were tied.
• The land between the Cruising Club and Middlewood Road is to be tidied up with the grass being cut near the pavement and around the listed milestone. Native wildflowers are to be planted but no bushes or trees because of possible damage to any cables underneath that area.
• Shan spoke about the Community Toilet Scheme. 4 establishments/shops in High Lane (2 of one side of the A6 and 2 on the other side) have agreed to take part in this with no obligation to the public to purchase anything. These will be indicated by stickers in the windows.  Shan has contacted Sainsburys to request a toilet in-store although there is no legal requirement for them to install one and as far as David is concerned there are no plans for this. The opinion was that the store will miss out on passing traffic  who call into Sainsbury’s to use the facilities and then make a purchase. There is no access to the Library toilet as it is always locked which David finds difficult to understand – to be investigated.
• The question arose about the lack of litter bins around the village. Shan to request a bin near the Lime Lounge restaurant and another in front of the SPAR on the A6 while there is still money in the budget.  There is a new bin in Brookside Road car park.

The next HLRA meeting will be Thursday 4 April at 8pm