Cheadle Hulme News

Election Hustings 2010

The four constituency parliamentary candidates will speak and answer questions at a meeting at The Methodist Church (Ramillies Avenue) on Thursday 29th April, at 7:30pm

All are welcome. Please send written questions to the church office or via chmc@talktalkbusiness.net

The candidates are:
Mark Hunter (Lib/Dem)
Ben Jeffreys (Con)
Martin Miller (Lab)
Tony Moore UKIP)

Station Revamp

At last, Network Rail are getting around to the station revamp with lift access to the platforms. Work is estimated to start in Autum 2010 with completion in early 2011.
You can view their press release and the detailed plans on the site. The pdf has been sent to us in portrait mode - right click to get the option to rotate it.

Unfortunately the plan is for lift access from the station car park which means anyone in a wheelchair or with a pram probably can't make it to the car park in the first place if on foot.
A street level lift should be possible by Pimlotts butchers up to platform 1 from street level. This is probaly more expensive too so hasn't been the proposal.

Wellness Centre

A planning application has been made by the Stockport Sports Trust to use the ground floor of Andrew House on Mellor road as a wellness centre.

Arrests

A number of arrests have been made in Cheadle Hulme in a special operation to combat burglary.

33 Swan Lane fire

There was a fire on 27th July at the house by Buttercup Bridge, on the path between the Mellor Road, Station Road and Swan Lane.

It was purchased around 3 years ago and an application made to demolish it to develop a new house/houses. As it is in the conservation area, this and subsequent applications have been rejected and the owner tried to let the house fall into disrepair.

The owner ( a developer) recently failed in a public enquiry bit to overturn the Council's view that the house should be restored rather than demolished.
A Section 215 notice was served requirnig proper maintenance of the property. The owner had until 25th March 2009 to comply.

Railway Station Development

There's still no news about the proposed station upgrade, though the station has had a lick of paint again in August 2009

Cheadle Hulme station is to undergo some major work to allow access for the disabled and for anyone wheeling a pram. The latest update from Network Rail is that work "should start" in 2009 and will last up to 18 months!

The work will involve a bridge spanning all 4 platforms which will link the car park/platform 4 to platforms 2 and 3 and platform 1. Each platform will have its own lift.

The description from Northen Rail, who own the station indicated that access would be from the Car Park which leaves the problem of getting up there for those without cars. The draft plan however seems to show that the lift on platform 1 is behind the stairs so it may go to street level by Pimlotts. There ticket office will stay where it is for now, though this will be reviewed and it may be moved to a more accessible location in future.

You can see a copy of the plan by clicking here. Please note that these are an initial draft and are subject to change.

From engineering works in the recent past, work is likely to be carried out to cause least disruption to the line. This has previously meant late night working and no rail service at weekends. The contractors will also take over a large part of the Car Park meaning that yet more traffic will be displaced and may well head for the Estate. While this is a short term inconvenience for a long term benefit, 18 months of parking problems would not be insignificant and could be avoided if adequate planning is carried out in advance.