Movie mogul and celebrity food critic Michael Winner may have taken a swipe at "ugly" Wilmslow but Cheshire East Council have responded by reeling off a host of recent improvements that they claim are boosting civic pride in the town.
The authority has schemes totalling more than £200,000 under way which are improving the facilities and appearance of the town.
Dining Stars ITV1 show host Winner blasted Wilmslow town centre as "ugly" following a recent visit. But he may have to eat his words.
Among the works aimed at revitalising and sprucing up Wilmslow are a £150,000 road and pavement improvement scheme, a £45,000 revamp of a children’s play area, work to tackle potholes and a spring clean-up of the popular Grove Street town centre shopping area – complete with hanging baskets, bulb planting and improved seating.
Councillor Rod Menlove, Cabinet member with responsibility for environmental services said: “I think Mr Winner should stick to making insurance commercials. It’s a case of "calm down, Michael…. It’s only your ignorance that’s being shown on a plate".
“Cheshire East Council is working hard across the board to improve the environment of Wilmslow and help give people more reasons to take pride in their town.”
As we reported last week, work is now in full swing to repair damaged pavements and resurface Lacey Green, between Styal Road and Stanneylands Road. The £150,000 project is due to be complete by April.
Meanwhile families are getting ready to celebrate the £45,000 refurbishment of the playground at nearby Lacey Green Park. An action-packed fun day will mark its official opening on April 1st.
The ageing and old-fashioned swings, slides and roundabout have been refurbished and six new pieces of play equipment added – including a purpose-build climbing area, balancing trail and zip wire. Local schoolchildren have helped create mosaics which will decorate the landscaped play area and an animal sculpture will be unveiled at the grand opening.
Councillor Andrew Knowles, Cabinet member with responsibility for health and wellbeing, who also hit out at Mr Winner, said: “I think Michael Winner should stick to making films.
“Cheshire East is committed to providing imaginative, creative, healthy, sociable and inclusive active spaces that communities use and take ownership of. The official opening should be a great family day and something for the community to really celebrate and make their own.”
Marianne Hodgkinson, technical officer for green spaces in health and wellbeing services, said: “This project is not just about new play equipment, it’s about creating a more attractive environment with play features for youngsters and their families.”
Work has also begun to banish dangerous parking on a busy road near Wilmslow High School. Yellow lines and parking bays have been marked on Holly Road South in a bid to boost road safety. It is part of a £10,000 town centre-wide scheme to control on-street parking.
The road marking was completed last week and has been given the seal of approval by Councillor Gary Barton. Signs to enforce the parking restrictions are going up this week.
Cheshire East Council, has also been using the latest technology to tackle the problem of potholes created by the ravages of the bitter winter weather.
Two Asphalt Re-lay ‘pothole-busting’ machines have been out on the streets of Wilmslow, fixing cracks and holes with joint-free repairs that combat the effects of ‘freeze-thaw’ damage more effectively. For further details and photographs see last week's report.
Cheshire East Council is also sprucing up the free public toilet at Sainsbury’s car park, in South Drive – by increasing its cleaning to twice a day. This follows a decision to close an underused pay-to-use ‘Tardis-style’ automated public convenience (APC) at nearby Bank Square. It will close at the end of March – saving council tax payers £17,100 a year.
Between August 2008 and July 2009, only 2,070 people used the APC toilet – at an average cost to taxpayers of £8.26 per visit.
Picture caption : Councillor Gary Barton, in Holly Road South, where new yellow lines and parking bays have been installed.
