Councillors tackling Gatley Road flooding
Cheadle Area Liberal Democrats
working for Gatley, Cheadle, Cheadle Hulme & Heald Green Learn more
A34 works update
Gatley golf course inquiry set to commence
Councillors tackling Gatley Road flooding
A34 works update
Gatley golf course inquiry set to commence
Cheadle Primary school street consultation
by Lib Dem team on 7 March, 2022
The Council is launching a consultation on making Ashfield Crescent a school street – meaning that only people who really need access would be able to drive in at the start and end of the school day. Children and walk or cycle to school, and for parents who need to drive their kids there’s free parking in Massie Street car park to pick-up or drop-off.
The Lib Dem team has been campaigning for school streets for a couple of years.
“School streets make our children safer and encourage more kids to walk or cycle to work. That reduces pollution and traffic congestion for everyone,” said Ian Hunter, Lib Dem candidate for Cheadle & Gatley.
There’s a drop-in event at Stockport Library, Thursday 24th March 2-6.30pm. You can also give your views at www.stockport.gov.uk/haveyoursay.
Here’s what the council says:
School Streets Trial – Have Your Say
Stockport Council is seeking residents’ views on its School Streets proposals for Cheadle Primary School which has volunteered to take part in a short-term trial in summer 2022 if the consultation shows that this is supported.
School Streets aim to make the streets around schools safer and healthier for pupils and parents to encourage more people to walk, cycle or scoot to school rather than travel by car. This would be done by restricting access to some roads around a school to through traffic and parents / guardians parking to drop off / collect pupils.
One of the aims of School Streets is to reduce traffic around schools for most vehicles for short and limited times at school start and finish times and there are some important exceptions:
•Residents living within a School Street zone can enter and exit during the times of operation but are encouraged to avoid driving through the zone around school start and finish times, if at all possible.
•Access is permitted to a School Street zone during the times of operation for parents and guardians with children that are blue badge holders.
•All care givers needing access to a property within a School Street during the times of operation to provide essential care
•Emergency vehicles
•Residents or businesses that have private parking inside of a zone requiring access during the times of operation
The restriction does not prevent residents and their visitors leaving the street during the times of operation – it only affects those wanting to access the street who will need to ask for the barrier to be moved.
Our Proposal
If a School Street trial is progressed for Cheadle Primary School, it will involve closing Ashfield Crescent between 08.30 and 9.00am and 2.55 and 3.20pm, i.e. at the start and end of the school day only.
The scheme will be operated by volunteers/ school staff who will close the entrance(s) to the designated school street using signing and barriers, and then marshal access to and from the street, via the use of permits where appropriate. However, we would ask for you to kindly try to avoid the need to drive within the School Street during its periods of operation, if possible, to improve the safety of the pupils and parents using this street to get to school.
A permit system will be in use, eligible residents and businesses will be able to apply for these, and, if the scheme is to go ahead, we will be in touch with those affected very soon about this.
Have Your Say
We would like your views on the proposals for this School Street Trial as part of the public consultation which is taking place between March 7th to March 28th, 2022.
Given your locality to the School Street Pilot scheme, we are encouraging you to review the proposals and complete the survey at www.stockport.gov.uk/haveyoursay.
We are also inviting you to join us at one of our drop-in events where you will have the opportunity to discuss the proposals with officers from Stockport Council and provide your comments.
The drop-in event will be taking place: Thursday 24th March from 2.00pm until 6:30 pm at Cheadle Library, Ashfield Road, Cheadle, SK8 1BB.
If you would like hard copy plans and/or response forms, or to discuss any of the above please contact the team by phone on 0161 217 6043 or email at schoolstreets@stockport.gov.uk.
The consultation closes on March 28th, 2022.
If you require this letter and/or the consultation materials in an alternative format please call 0161 217 6043 or email schoolstreets@stockport.gov.uk.
How about the same for Hawthorn Road?
Absolutely agree, Phil. We’ve made clear to officers that we’d like to see school streets for Gatley Primary and for the end of Foxland Road by Kingsway. Hopefully this trial will be successful and further school streets can be rolled out.
School streets are a good idea in principlel. However there is the doctors surgery in Ashfield Crescent . Suggest disabled parking outside the surgery. After all the surgery is open all year and the school has the long holidays.
Has anyone counted the number of business premises on the High Street without disabled access. I’d say 20 at a guess.
Simon Bryant
Hi Simon,
The school street only operates at school drop off and collection times, not in school holidays. Access to the surgery is important and we’ve spent a good deal of time looking at that. The disabled access is at the junction of Ashfield Road and Ashfield Crescent. We think it will work with the school street, but keen to get everyone’s views.
All fine in theory. But who’s going to police it? How will it be enforced? Who will decide whether someone “really” needs to drive down Ashfield Rd, and who doesn’t? The police? The courts? Mark Hunter?
The biggest disincentive to going to pick up/drop off kids outside Cheadle Primary is the difficulty of getting back out onto Cheadle High Street. I really don’t think this proposal will make the slightest difference, particularly since most people dropping off will do no more than shove their kids out of the door, turn round and go back.
Looks to me like the usual flagging up of a non-issue, followed by the proposing of an ineffective idea simply because it makes the Lib Dems look good.
See many other daft ideas around Cheadle for curious parallels – the Parklet, Kingsway lights and so on and so forth.
Will car access to Cheadle Library still be available?
Good idea but u will just push the drop off point and then in road turning on to Ashfield road, mentioning this road, when is the multi thousand pound 50 meter cycle track installation be completed so it does not become a suburban wasteland
Hi John – experience across the country is that more kids walk and cycle to school when we make walking and cycling safer and easier. I guess it’s possible Cheadle Primary might prove to be the one exception, but I hope not.
Dont see the point, the shool has a huge playground and you cannot expect teachers to be traffic wardens, yes GATLEY PRIMARY is a problem, and needs sorting out, but thats just just down to lazy, lazy, lazy brindead parents.