Cheadle in Doom - Update from Cheadle Town Council
- Apr 30
- 5 min read
Cheadle Town Council met in their Leek Road Chambers at 7 pm on the 7th of April, 2026. The main item for discussion was a report regarding a meeting that had taken place between the Mayor, the Deputy Mayor (both district councillors), the chief executive of the district council, Andrew Stokes, and Cllr Paulette Upton to discuss potential asset transfers that could take place as part of the reorganisations, which will result in the demise of the district council next year.
Standing Orders were suspended to allow an open discussion to take place.
No Assets for Cheadle Town Council
Cllr Upton informed the council that quite a lengthy meeting took place, but it was a good meeting. Cllr Upton stated that the leisure centre is firmly off the books for being transferred to Town Council ownership and control. Plans are in place for it to go over to the new unitary authority. It was felt by the District Council that Cheadle Town Council was too small an entity to take on the responsibility of running the centre.
The car parks are also going over to the new authority. The market square could possibly be a special case, but the revamp needs to be done first.
The Churchill Road recreation ground could come under Town Council control.
Can Projects be Completed in Time?
District Councillor James Aberley said there is nothing new here but did state that the cut-off date for the District Council spending in October means they cannot spend more than £100,000. South Moorlands Leisure Centre is estimated to cost £10,000,000 and there is a real risk that as there are other leisure centres nearby, the new authority could say that it is not cost-effective to develop and use the land for something else such as housing. This will present an interesting prospect because this space was actually purchased by the people of Cheadle; therefore, the ownership is not cut and dry.
Cllr Aberley further said, "The leisure centre hasn’t been costed or planned, so it’s a big risk that it could go. The car parks look like a cash cow, but the running costs are more than is thought. The market square has got five months left for action." He told the group that "he has not seen the costing yet, so it looks like that’s not going to happen there either." He said that the District Council were talking about spending £3.5m on the market square, which he thought was a bit high.
He also told the meeting that although Cllr Plant is working on the locality plan, he thought there is nothing to say that the new authority has to commit to the plans laid out by Cllr Plant.
May Meeting
Cllr Plant reminded the council that the Growth and Economy meeting in May will be discussing the market square and said there is a meeting next week (no details were given to the Council) and he hopes to get the market square signed off by August/September.
Councillor Comments
Cllr Ellis said it’s a very sad night for the council and a very sad night for the town. He said the town is being shafted by the government by getting LGR, which was never asked for. But more alarming is that our District Council is selling us down the river. He thought that a cash-strapped new authority would be looking hard at the half-baked plans for Cheadle, and that the deadline clock is ticking. He complained that it took over 18 months to get an artist’s impression of what the market could be. He further stated that before the council owned the market, it was fully functional. The council owning it has led to it being closed down. He described it as a degeneration project on the part of the District Council.
Cllr Ellis still thought that the Town Council could take on the car parks. The smaller car parks, like in Tean Road, are managed by the Town Council. He also felt Cheadle may lose its public toilet under the new administration. He complained that the district councillors present at this meeting are supporting this change.
Cllr Walley said, “We are being sold down the river and the people of Cheadle will be sad about the leisure centre.”
Cllr Upton said that Andrew Stokes didn’t want to see the Town Council bankrupt; as a small town, they could not run these assets.
Cllr Alan Thomas commented that it’s a sad day for Cheadle. “You will see the leisure centre turned into housing, and the front section was paid for by Cheadle.” He could also remember when parking on Tape Street car park was free. The market square was a running concern and is important, as we are having a Spitfire on it in the summer, and he was told that there is £250,000 at the District Council to spend on the facility. He felt it would also be kicked into the long grass by a new authority.
Cllr Michelle Wells said the council knew about this governance change for over a year and she felt insulted that the District Council thinks that we don’t have the capability to run our own assets. Instead of being fobbed off by the district, the Town Council could have been trained to do our own business plans and financial statements for running our town’s assets, and the Town Cllrs would do a better job. She finished by saying that the Town Council is pointless because it is not listened to or informed.
Cllr Pete Jackson said he could see Cheadle becoming a suburb of Stoke-on-Trent.
Actions Discussed
Cllr Gary Bentley asked, “Who are they to say we can’t have our assets?” There must be councillors at the district council instructing the Chief Executive, Andrew Stokes, so we need to write a letter. Part of our council tax bill goes to the District Council, so we should get some of that money also. The Tape Street car park makes a profit—why should we be giving that away?” Cllr Gary Bentley continued.
He proposed that we ask for the four main assets of the town, as well as the costing of running them. The whole council approved this request. It is not the first time that the town council has voted on this.
Cllr Wells concluded that the council has a lot of work to do in a very short space of time.
Standing Orders were not reinstated after this discussion took place. This is a legal requirement providing a framework for council meeting practices and one which, if not followed correctly, could have all kinds of issues for any matters acted upon outside this framework. It seems that such was the strength of feeling regarding the discussion this important item was forgotten by all in attendence.
Safeguarding and Protection of Young People in Our Community
Cllr Wells spoke about a concerning trend across the nation where covered shop fronts are being used to conceal illegal practices. Particularly worrying is the trend that these coverings are being used to exploit and abuse children. Cheadle has been plagued with this trend of concealing stores with stickers for some time, and this is also a breach of our conservation area requirements, not in keeping with a historic market town.
Cllr Wells said, "We need stricter planning rules, and closer collaboration with owners of these premises, along with guidelines and commitments." She suggested writing to all the shopkeepers.
The Mayor said that she would get a letter out to the first responders, and the Town Clerk agreed to write to the planning department at SMDC.
Cheadle in Doom - Update from Cheadle Town Council - created 28th April 2026
