Having donated more than £1 million in S106 monies a local developer is chasing Cheshire East Council to find out why no progress has been made on the planned improvements for a local play area.
In connection with planning consent being granted in October 2014 for 204 dwellings off Adlington Road, Jones Homes made a payment of £499,719 to Cheshire East Council in April 2015. This payment was for secondary school education, improvements to the public open space at Browns Lane play area and a sum for improvements in Wilmslow, Handforth and Alderley Edge to off-set the loss of biodiversity.
Then in July 2017, Jones Homes paid a further £515,071 to the Council for education and public open space improvements at Browns Lane play area - bringing the total contribution to £1,014,790.
Mr G Hardy, Managing Director of Jones Homes Northern Region, said "The development is three quarters complete but there is no sign of any progress in respect of the improvements to the nearby Browns Lane play area despite the funds being deposited with the Council promptly under the term of the Section 106 Agreement.
"Our residents are keen to see the play area improved and I am aware the local councillors have been in contact with your Open Space Officers to push forward the scheme."
Under the terms of the Section 106, the Council has 15 years to spend the money before it needs to be returned.
Mr G Hardy added "We have regularly asked ANSA for progress updates and have seen little progress. Payments were also made in connection with the Turin Drive developments to improve the same play area before our payments and those residents have seen no benefit either.
"Any update on the use of the education sum would also be appreciated to inform residents."
At the time of publication we are awaiting a response from Cheshire East Council regarding the situation with planned improvements at Browns Lane play area and the S106 monies which were allocated for the project and education provision.
Updated: Thursday, 1st February, 12.15pm.
A spokesperson for Cheshire East Council said: "The development by Jones Homes, off Adlington Road in Dean Row, known as 'Bollin Park', provides for the improvement of the nearby open space at Brown's Lane. This improvement is secured via the planning obligation (section 106 agreement) attached to the original planning permission.
"The council is currently preparing a programme of work to improve the area – and this includes assessing existing drainage problems in the location. This process is under way and will ensure the funding is used in the most effective way for public benefit."
Comments
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It does seem long overdue that elected Councillors take proper control of Cheshire East Council full-time employees ? Can the Councillors be held personally responsible for the many issues at Cheshire East that all residents are well aware of ?
Currently the place is a quagmire.
Can we add into this section 106 farce the widening of the slip road from Dean Row to the A34 bypass. I understand this has been funded for some time. Fortunately I don't have to drive round the area much in rush hour. I sympathise with anyone who does. We all know that the road infrastructure has been ignored in terms of all the new developments. The least CEC can do is to implement already funded mitigations.
However we are where we are - it's supposed to be sorted ... but it isn't. According to the salesman at the Adlington Road development, Jones had planned to undertake these works themselves but CEC took the job away from them and asked for the 106 money instead.
Maybe its being used to pay the suspended councillors !!!!!
The dip between the main field, where the gate is, up to the level of the kerbings and footpath on the road by the care home needs backfilling with hardcore to make it level, this hardcore base would probably extend up to near the play area to firm up the ground.
I think even a tractor would struggle to access that field in winter.
Cant see the situation changing.
We turned up with the grandsons, suitably togged up & came back for the same reasons. It is a no go area.
With so much of Summerfields leisure and recreation under threat from inappropriate development, residents need everything that's available.
In its current condition, the play area certainly isn't !
I can't see the council doing anything such as infilling these paths - after all they are so busy filling in the HUGE pot-holes in Dean Row Rd (!!!) - a problem reported several times by numerous people apparently (go on the complaints site & see).
Sorry folks, you'll just have to wear waders - and snorkels if it gets any worse
Why not? What is going on at this council?
Officers running their own private fiefdoms? Council leadership (cabinet) unable or unwilling to exert authoritative control over such "loose cannons"?
Not fit for purpose?
Perhaps it has wasted these monies, via successive accounting manipulations, to put to other uses? Maybe such as diverting such monies into its general budgeting - to fill the vast holes (pot holes is another issue!) due to paying officials to tend their gardens whilst employing/paying substitutes on the same salaries?
What has happened to RoWs request to Sec of State to put this council into "Special Measures" even though the DCLG replied to me that he was "providing professional advice & support"?
Once again, answers to such questions need answers, now.
Since May 2015 as the newly elected Cheshire East Councillor for the Dean Row ward, S106 contributions has been one of the matters that I have actively been monitoring and trying to progress.
To summarise;
Commencement of the Browns Lane Recreation Area project has been waiting its turn on a list of other similar projects, a very long list, in a very large Borough.
This project has now reached the top of that list, however, for successful improvements to be implemented (which are envisaged to include a footpath/cycle path around the site) I hope you would all agree that the drainage issues of it necessarily need to be addressed to reach the best possible outcome.
As has been pointed out in many of the comments this is a very wet, often waterlogged site, that is presenting many issues.
Initially it was hoped that it would be possible to link a new drainage system to an existing nearby drainage ditch however this was not a viable option due to existing utility services obstructing the proposed connection route. Other alternatives considered including connecting into the system of an adjacent development or making a connection into the highway drainage system were also not possible.
Having exhausted these options the Council brought in a drainage consultant who I met, together with officers from the Council, including the Head of Flood Risk Management, on site last week.
As a result of the consultants investigations it appears there may be an old agricultural drainage system on site that could potentially be utilised to remove some of the water. It was agreed at the meeting that this should be investigated further however as this will necessitate taking a small digger on site this cannot be done until the site dries out enough to do so. I am monitoring the site and as soon as conditions are suitable this will be put into action.
Unfortunately, also according to advise from the consultant, if it is not possible to re-instate this old drainage system to divert some water off the site options for improvements to it are necessarily going to be constrained. This is likely to result in having to raise, by a suitable level, all public areas, play areas, and the circular pathway, whilst the remaining, lower, areas will remain as waterlogged as currently and potentially more so.
Whatever the outcome, it is intended to improve and raise the pedestrian entrance to the site adjacent to nursing home and I can also re-assure residents that the interest accrued on the S106 contributions received has been added to these sums of money.
In respect of the widening of the slip road onto the A34 opposite Summerfields, again, this is something I have been chasing for some time. In February 2017 I attended a meeting with officers from the Council and representatives from Jones Homes. At that time it was agreed that the works would be undertaken as a matter of urgency.
Because these works were not undertaken, or scheduled, I reported the matter to Planning Enforcement at the Council last September - a somewhat unusual measure given that it is potentially the Council who appears to be failing to meet the Condition the Council set that these works be completed prior to occupation when granting approval for the Bollin Park development.
The latest information available from different Highways officers is contradictory;
15th January Highways stated that the "initial street works application to deliver the widening works on the A34 link was missed due to the developers contractors work load. The contractor has yet to reapply for the Road Space Permit. This is being dealt with by the Street Works Team with a view to move this one along".
17th January Highways stated that "we cannot instruct the contractor to do the works until the SEMMMS work is complete".
An up to date response from Planning Enforcement has been requested.
Unfortunately I cannot provide any update on the expenditure of S106 contributions towards secondary education although I believe a public consultation in relation to the expansion of Wilmslow High School is imminent.
If residents would like to contact me directly to discuss these matters further my details are available on the Cheshire East Council website.
Councillor Toni Fox - Independent
Dean Row Ward - Wilmslow
Investigate the financial inappropriate dealings that,
Cheshire East Council have got going on that nobody knows about.,NOW.
IT'S time we found out the Truth about what is going on,with CEC. £££. ##.
Its been a long week Peter, but you're a tad too cryptic for the average reader at 8:30 at night.
Don't quite know what you mean by :-
"...the Independent CEC Councillors are swimming in treacle; created by the ruling party and their sponsors."
Can you may elucidate further ?
Thank you.
Thank you for the update and your efforts. It is appreciated.
This field which s supposed to serve as the play area for the Summerfield still estate has always suffered from drainage issues. Other parks in the area have had many thousands of pounds spent upon them, why should we have to settle for a few raise paths and a piece of grass that will effectively be a quagmire. Surely a solution to the drainage can be found? How can the developers of the adlington road site refuse to allow the water from the field to drain through the development they are building? How can a utility company block a drainage ditch and be allowed too? We cannot just accept this statement.
I guarantee if a councillor from CEC lived on the estate and had children or a dog or both and it prevented them from using the area they would do something about it. Maybe if we could put all off CEC councillors addresses on a map and then look at what works are being done around them or not in some cases then we would get a true picture of where their elegancies lie.