The process to revise the draft Wilmslow Vision document started yesterday.
A group of town councillors met with representatives of a group called 'Residents of Wilmslow' - which is a coming together of all the individual residents groups formed around Wilmslow to galvanise local opinion during the consultation.
Town Clerk Matthew Jackson said "The group we consulted with yesterday do not claim to have a mandate, nor to represent all residents, and discussions about how we communicate with other groups of residents as the specific need arises was discussed. 'Residents of Wilmslow' will be having a meeting of its members before they meet again with Town Councillors to canvas further opinion.
"The Sub-group intend to meet with other groups of residents that feel they have not been represented and would be pleased to hear from any groups that feel this to be the case.
"Of course we already have the feedback from the original consultation process and this will also be a very important source of evidence of residents opinions and that will also be part of our thinking."
The sub-group of Wilmslow Town Council are working towards making a recommendation to the full Town Council by mid-November at the latest and agreed yesterday that they would initially focus on housing and development needs, as this is the area of greatest public debate.
Matthew Jackson added "The sub-group fully intend to ensure that the realigned document that is put forward to the Town Council both reflects public opinion and will be a credible document which will be able to steer the Cheshire East Plan with regards to Wilmslow."
We will keep our readers informed as the process develops and anyone who wishes to get involved is welcome to express their opinion using the comment box below and we can always connect people as requested.
Yesterday I met with Cllr Michael Jones, Leader of Cheshire East Council, to discuss the outcome of the Wilmslow Vision consultation, see 'Green Belt is sacrosanct' to read what Cllr Jones had to say.
Comments
Here's what readers have had to say so far. Why not add your thoughts below.
When the Wilmslow Vision Consultation was first published, there was a mixed response. Some, as is usual, were apothetic, some took the view "It will not affect me therefore I'm not bothered", not seeing the wider effect on the whole of Wilmslow and the surrounding areas and some were alarmed at the prospect of Wilmslow losing Green Belt to development.
As a result a number of people in and around the areas with earmarked Green Belt sites were very alarmed. As is usual, no one was doing anything about protecting these sites. However, it appeared that some residents of the affected lands decided, totally independently & without coordination, to set up meetings of local residents.
Thereby numerous public meetings were held in various localised venues & attended by hundreds of concerned residents, all at very short notice. These meetings showed the level of deep concern at the prospect of Wilmslow's Green Belt being carved up by developers.
There were at least six totally independent meetings held around the town for the concerned local residents. The groups were in Fulshaw Park, Dean Row, Upcast/Cumber Lane,Welton Drive/Chesham Road, Harefield and Thorngrove areas.
It was very soon decided that these six groups of very concerned residents should come together to act as one voice, one strong lobby group for the protection of our town's Green Belt. These area groups make up the now named Residents Of Wilmslow plus the Wilmslow Trust, which accepted RoW's invitation to join the united group.. We do believe that in having a common & unified purpose we are stronger together than fighting defend our own little corners.
Each area group is responsible for keeping its own neighbourhoods informed,. A number of groups have now built up email lists of its local residents, this makes for easier communication.
A number of benefits have ensued as a result of a unified voice via RoW. One was a large gathering of residents from across the town in the Leisure Centre in late April. Another has been to gain the attention of CEC - it now listens to our, the concerned residents, disquiet over the Green Belt issue, to our views & suggestions.
RoW has been thanked by the Leader of CEC, Cllr Michael Jones, for the "fantastic" response to the Consultation, we motivated the town to answer the Questionairre and you did with the largest number of returns anywhere in Cheshire East - it would quite simply not have happened without a few very concerned & worried residents getting off their proverbials, pointing out their concerns & consequences to their local neighbourhoods, instead of sitting back waiting for "someone to do something".
RoW does not profess to represent a whole strata of Wilmslow's residents, we are what we say we are, Residents Of Wilmslow, - it is concerned with protecting the town's Green Belt and this it will continue to fight for.
In the meantime, if anyone wishes to ask RoW questions, they may do so by emailing RoW on .