Town Councillors Express Outrage Over District Council's Secretive Development Plans
- 3 days ago
- 3 min read
Cheadle Town Council convened on November 3rd at 7pm, the customary time for full council meetings held on the first Monday of the month. During this meeting, the activities of committees, sub-committees, and individual councillors are reviewed and decisions are made.
Members of the public are always welcome, and all residents have an opportunity to speak for up to three minutes on any topic of local interest. It's best to check with the clerk first, as only 10 slots are generally available and space is limited.
At the start of the meeting, the deputy Mayor asked for one minute of silence in respect of the death of former Mayor Mrs Locker, who had recently passed away.
Police Reports
Paula Lang, a Cheadle-based PCSO, informed the council that there had been some anti-social activity in the town. Councillor Upton asked if there could be a senior officer at council meetings. Councillor Ellis was concerned about electric bikes and informed the group about an incident outside the council building where a cyclist using a mobile phone hit a gentleman, sharing his view that someone is going to be hurt if nothing is done about it. PCSO Lang said that the police know about two local people using them, but catching them is difficult as their faces are covered.
There was an incident with a circling helicopter over Cheadle recently, and PCSO Lang explained that this was because someone had been reported to be carrying a gun, which later turned out to be an air gun.
Councillor Jarvis thought something could be done about it. He has seen them on farms and footpaths, and they are not a toy. PCSO Lang said she will be putting something out in the press and that parents need to be aware that e-bikes can be modified to go very fast—something COGNEWS shared some weeks ago. You can read it here. https://www.cheadlecog.com/post/staffordshire-police-issue-e-scooter-guidelines-for-cheadle-residents
Councillor Recruitment
Three councillors resigned from the town council last month. The Town Clerk said he has had only one letter for co-option onto the town council. To advertise, he placed a note in the office window at the recreation ground, a banner on the railings at the ground, and a post on Facebook. The District Council will decide in January if a banner is enough. Councillor Upton said a poster could be placed in the library. The town council has not received the official letter from the District, but has until 16th January to replace the two lost councillors. There was no discussion regarding the reason why Cheadle Town Council struggles both to recruit and retain councillors - something which might be valuable to stabilize the organisation for the future, which has a councillor turnover rate of more than twice the national average.
Development Outrage
Councillors were concerned that no information about the leisure centre development, the market square and indoor market, Churchill Road Recreation Ground, and the proposed new primary school in the north ward had been given from the district council.
Councillor Ellis was further concerned that allegedly £100,000 had been spent on the Tape Street car park without any kind of discussion or consultation. He asked what was the purpose of all the poles going up, and why had the town council not been informed about these important changes. He expressed his view that it seemed like a waste of money and that the District Council is running a closed shop with no information being shared with the town council and no consultation taking place either. Something that COGNEW also raised as a concern in our article.
Councillor Abberley had asked to have a look at the Market Square building and was told no without any reason from the District Council. The feeling at the Town Council is that Cheadle is being planned and controlled without any consideration or thought regarding the people of the town or the Town Council councillors who live here. Councillor Ellis said "This administration is a disgrace". The locality ambassador for the district, who is also the deputy mayor for the Town Council, Ian Plant, made no comment and offered no defence.
The council voted in favour that the bowling green committee could have ex-members' ashes spread on the green.
Devolution News
The deputy mayor will be writing to the district to see what is happening with devolution and the LGR process, something which the Town Council is again in the dark regarding and has been asking for openness for many months.
It does seem odd that the locality ambassador, a type of special envoy for the District Council, also the deputy mayor of the Town Council, doesn't know what is happening. We'll update this as information comes in from the District Council's democratic services department, whom we've asked specific questions about this role.
Town Councillors Express Outrage Over District Council's Secretive Development Plans - created 25.11.25
