HIGH LANE RESIDENTS ASSOCIATION
MINUTES OF MEETING 12TH MAY 2022 8pm
Apologies: Stephen Price, Anne Walker
Item
1 The minutes of the last meeting were approved.
2 Police Report
Due to shift issues community police officers were unable to attend but sent a report from which David read salient points.
1) There has been very little to report from High Lane. Policing recently has been focused on issues in central Marple.
2) There has been a more visible police presence in HL due to the ongoing traffic problems. Student officers have been assisting the local police especially on dealing with roads which have become rat runs. The issue of speeding on these roads remains the dominant problem.
3) There is no change regarding the Community Speed Cameras. Matt has undergone the course but at the moment there is no camera as they are too expensive.
4) A reference was made to a possible cycling route along the A6 through High Lane. More information is to be sought on this.
5) The police have visited the local park and talked to some of the young people there. They advised local residents to help by using the park more. The more it is used the less undesirable activity will take place there.
6) A warning was given that there are numbers of bogus tradesmen about. In Woodley there has been a scam with people asking to borrow money.
7) Residents are reminded to be aware there is an area in Woodley also called High Lane. If we are reporting an incident we should be careful to state it is High Lane SK6.
8) With the approach of summer residents are reminded not to leave doors and windows open when sitting in the garden.
9) A resident pointed out that the spot check in March by police on one rat run led to a huge reduction of speeding cars that day.
3 Finances
Barry reported the balance of the account is £2212.21plus a cheque for £450 paid in after the last bank statement was received. David explained the £450 is a grant from the Council towards expenses for Platinum Jubilee celebrations locally. £300 will go towards paying for the Brass Band evening on September 10th and £150 to the High Lane Mutual Aid group who are organising an event on Saturday 4th June. The Residents Association made the application on behalf of the Mutual Aid group.
There is £1327.54 in the High Lane War Memorial Account. Funded primarily from the book table at the medical centre which brings in an average of £60 a month based on the average since November.
4 Planning
The planning applications listed on Eryl’s report were considered to be domestic.
A lot of concern was expressed about a planning proposal at 7 Orford Close DC/084976 which aims to convert the 4 bedroomed house to a 7 bedroomed house by among other things demolishing the garage and changing the roof alignment.
Objections included the following:
- A house of that size is out of character with the surrounding properties
- The houses are on church land and there is a covenant attached to the land. It was advised to get sight of this and any restrictions included there
- The house is in a small cul de sac where parking is already an issue. For example an ambulance recently was unable to easily gain access to treat a very sick person. This development is likely to generate a lot more cars and exacerbate the parking /access problems.
- The scale of the work would be enormous and cause great disruption in the immediate area of the cul de sac while it was taking place.
- Drainage problems are likely to be caused by a development of this nature.
- Only 2 neighbours received notification about the extension despite the fact its impact will be felt by far more properties.
Action: Hilary advised the neighbours who received the notification to copy the letter and post it through to other residents who will be affected.
- The neighbours were unable to access the plan on SMBC’s website because of a problem on SMBC’s site.They were only able to see it 2 days ago yet the closing date to make representations is Saturday 14th May. This seems extremely unfair.
Action: David will contact the planning department and ask for an extension.
- The Neighbourhood Forum did not receive any notification of this particular proposal although it should have done since it is now fully adopted and has been receiving planning applications for over a year.
Action: Janet, co chair of the Forum, has contacted Stockport Planning dept regarding the matter and details are being sent to the Forum who will be sending a letter of objection and copying in Cllr Thornley.
Action: Eryl will be sending a representation from the RA.
Further Actions:
Eryl advised the neighbours to get together and put together a protest since their objections will carry the most weight. He advised them to get their local councillor involved and to act quickly
Neighbours were advised to invite the Planning Officer to come and look at the house and its position in the cul de sac.
5 Defibrillator problem
(i)A problem arose recently when there was a need to use the defibrillator located outside the medical centre but the person involved was unable to get the pin as they were told the defibrillator was not registered. Stephen Price has checked and it is registered properly. There were also problems raised about the distance of a casualty from the defibrillator - more than 200 metres and they were informed it could not be used. It was agreed all of this needs clarifying and that some training on using the defibrillator is needed.
Action: David is to check out the above issues and keep Audrey informed about what is happening.
(ii)It was pointed out there are other defibs in High Lane at the cricket club and at the schools. Hilary suggested checking the type each one is and
- putting the information on the RA’s website and
- putting a list of the High Lane defibs and their locations at the doctors’ surgery both inside and outside.
6 Meeting with Andy Burnham
David met with Andy Burnham and the Highways Officer from SMBC to show the extent of the traffic in HL. It was pointed out to him that although HL is in Greater Manchester it does not have the services of a Greater Manchester bus and there is no safe cycling or walking routes along or as alternatives to the A6.
David has received a letter back from Andy B in which he acknowledges the problems and states there will be a Connection Plan. Various ideas were discussed re extra public transport to HL and it was pointed out there are ways in which buses can turn using side roads in the village. The school buses already do this and in the past there have been buses going round the Lakes Estate and along Meadway.
Action: David will reply to Andy B’s letter
7 Platinum Jubilee Celebrations
The Mutual Aid group which Aron Thornley set up is meeting on Monday 15th May at 6.30pm in the library to discuss the details of the Jubilee event taking place on 4th June between 1.30-4.30 at the village hall. There will be tea, cakes photographs and music. The RA and Neighbourhood Forum are supporting this and help from as many people as possible will be appreciated. Please attend the meeting if you can or let Aron or the RA know if you would like to help but can’t attend the meeting.
8 Volunteers needed please
(i) SMBC have given permission for the creation of a garden out of the grass verge running opposite the Horseshoe to Middlewood Road. It has been suggested that a wild flower garden would be suitable for many reasons and David is to meet an interested and knowledgeable person to discuss this further. Volunteers are needed for setting this up and some light ongoing maintenance. Please contact the RA through its website or Facebook page if you can offer help.
(ii) The schedule for the next phase of work on the towpath is to be put on the website. It will be Fridays 10-1. Any help between these times is appreciated; it does not have to be 3 hours, half an hour would make a difference.
9 AOB
(i) The problem of speeding on rat runs was raised. Russell Avenue was highlighted as a problem area with pedestrians trying to cross the road to the school/the park and the canal and the 20mph limit being ignored.
(ii) It was pointed out that the bench at the bus stop opposite the Royal Oak was condemned last year but has not yet been replaced. The council have agreed to pay for a black metal replacement.
Action
David to send an e mail to the council
(iii) Review of the Effects of the A555
Although the residents were promised a copy of the reviews of the A555 none has been received neither after one year, 3 years or 5 years. Traffic predictions have been exceeded despite the enhancement measures promised.
Action: Angie to contact Shan Alexander
(iv) A question was raised about why work on the housing development beside the Park and Ride in Hazel Grove has stopped. Nothing has happened since Christmas. It is believed the owners have gone bust.
Action: Angie to ask Shan about this
(v) The rubbish beside the A555has now been removed. With thanks to the council for this.
(vi) David reminded people there is a link on the website to SMBC’s complaints portal so that problems which people notice such as blocked drains or overhanging trees can be speedily reported
(vii)It was agreed to hold a meeting in August to finalise details about the September Jubilee celebrations
10 Date of Next meeting
The next meeting will be Thursday 9th June at 8pm at the library.
The meeting closed at 9.35pm.
DB21/05/22