Chatbox

To those worried about car parking charges in the village, I highly suspect some of you may be unfamiliar with the real logistical problems Cheshire East would have introducing these. Firstly, a new Traffic Regulation Order is required to amend the off street parking legislation currently in force in Audlem, this comes at a cost. Then, machines and equipment are required, along with data and power connections. You then need contractors to come and empty the machines, service them. The signage all needs changing and road markings enhanced. Quite simply, I would be astounded if the authority deems any of that worthwhile in Audlem, as the costs are likely to exceed receipts, along with the increased risk of theft from the equipment. They then, of course, have to enforce this too, which is currently only done approximately monthly when an enforcement officer drives to the village from Crewe.

The second issue is the levy being proposed to contribute to the Highways budget. Legally, Cheshire East have no legs to stand on to expect the Parish to contribute anything. There is a statutory obligation on Cheshire East, and not the parish council, under the Highways Act 1980 to maintain the roads, pavements and other rights of way, and keep them "in order". Budget, or the lack of one, is not a defence for the authority, and a court will eventually order compliance. There is simply no need for Audlem residents to pay Cheshire East any more than we already do. The Parish Council should enforce our rights under Section 56 Highways Act, rather than handing over money.

Before making any decision on the future of the car park, the Parish Council need to be aware of the projected costs of running the car park and the playing field. In 2016, the then projected annual cost was just over £17000. In addition,there would be an initial cost of about £5000. Councillors felt that the only way to reduce this was to charge for parking via a voluntary payment from motorists. The only other way was for residents to pay through an increase in the Parish Precept. Obviously, anyone living outside the Parish of Audlem would not pay, even though they could well use the car park.
Residents back in 2016 would be aware that I and another Councillor were totally against the purchase, making our views known at public meetings.

Imagine my utter (or should that be 'udder') delight when I turned my tap on to put water in my kettle to make a cup of tea only to find what looked like 'milk' coming out of the cold tap! 'That's great', I thought; 'no need for me to ever buy milk again now that United Utilities are providing it 'on tap'. But then what would happen if I had a visitor and they had tea without milk? United Utilities...if your reading this, can you make black tea come out of the hot water tap now please. I don't know why you shouldn't...I'm paying you enough!
What I must add is; I haven't yet drank it. I'd advise none of you to either until A; I've spoken to someone at United Utilities or B; I drink it and let you know the outcome. If you don't hear anything from me for a while it'll be because A; I'm still trying to speak to a human at United Utilities or B; I'm in Leighton Hospital having my stomach pumped out.
A photo is available (of the 'milk' I mean..not of me having my stomach pumped out....)

I too am disappointed but not surprised regarding the possibility of car park charging in the village. The problem of poor parking is bad enough but this will only exacerbate it. For many years I, like many in the village, have campaigned for the Parish Council to take on ownership of the car park/field after they were offered it by Cheshire East for just £1 but since 2014 they have continued to deliberate and defer this matter despite a village referendum which fully supported the takeover. It also brings up the question of parking on the Turnpike field which despite the problems in the centre of the village over the last few weeks with roadworks, traffic lights etc has not been made available. People are already driving straight through the village due to lack of parking space, asking them to pay will deter them even more and they will choose to shop at supermarkets where they have free parking. Our local businesses are struggling to survive after the last 18 months and the imposition of car park charges could be the death knell for our local village economy.

I wholeheartedly agree with Peter Sylvester's comments re the car park .
The car park should be a priority , was it right to spend £4578 on signs for Turnpike field when 3 years on little or no progress appears to have been made .

Pleased to see Cheshire East announcing the launch of the delayed Rural Mobility Bus, now named "Go-Too"; this is funded via a three year government grant, during which time it is up to us to prove its worth by using it and ensure it is funded by CEC thereafter.
I hope this service is welcomed by all and in particular helps families access employment, education.

"Cheshire East is to launch an on-demand rural bus service – to help reduce isolation in some of the more remote parts of the borough.

The new 'go-too' pilot scheme will cover a wide area south of Nantwich, taking in Bunbury, Wrenbury and Audlem, as well as some other villages, where no commercial services are available.

The bus service will be booked using a mobile phone app or phone call, with a doorstep pick-up service for less-mobile passengers. This allows a resident, or group of residents, to request a bus for a specific journey.

The service is not tied to a fixed route, allowing for quick and efficient shared trips without lengthy detours or fixed schedules.

Two branded 16-seater 'midi' buses will be available between 7am and 9pm, Monday to Saturday, with low-floor access. A third vehicle may operate at peak times, subject to demand".

The full statement including map is available on the Cheshire East Website.

Many thanks to Bob Fousert for his artcle on Cheshire East and car park charges. Driving home on Friday after a week of touring mid and south Wales in our Camper van, I was mulling over the fact that for the whole week, for many hundreds of miles, we had not only had the pleasure of driving through beatiful counryside, but had enjoyed driving the whole time on beautifully paved roads with very fresh, clear road marking on ALL the roads, both major and minor.
On coming home to Cheshire, we were struck by the stark contrast of how worn, patched-up, pot-holed and shabby the road surfaces were in this area. How CAN the counties of Wales do it and Cheshire, supposedly a rich counnty, fail so dramatically?

In the light of Cheshire East Highways committee holding their meeting on Tuesday 21st September
I urge Audlem council to publish the minutes of Monday 13th Septembers council meeting ASAP

Cheshire East may soon impose charges to park in Audlem's car park. This will be a significant disadvantage to the retail shops, pubs and other businesses in the village, whose customers have so far been able to park at no cost, and therefore they do not have to rush to leave before their ticket runs out. The retailers are still trying to recover from the many months of COVID lockdown, when most were closed and had no income. Free parking has helped to make Audlem an attractive village to visit for shopping or walking. And it will be even worse if the charges are the same as in Nantwich and Crewe, destinations that have a lot more retail outlets and other amenities on offer.

I do hope that the Parish Council put up a spirited rejection of the proposal in the consultation process that starts later this month. I also hope that they use the impending charges as a spur to get on with building the car parking area in Turnpike Field, which should not have parking fees. About three years have passed since the field was bought, with the primary purpose of putting in car parking , and precious little seems to have happened since. Would it not be reasonable to get this new parking area open by early next year, the date when fees in the Cheshire Street car park might start?

Thanks to Bob Fousert for his excellent article on Car Parks and charging within Cheshire East, this made it very clear as to what could happen with regards to car parking charges and also how our money is spent by CEC.
There has been the possibility of the village taking control of the central car park and playing field for many years now, which has been delayed for a variety of reasons but, I see that this was on the agenda for the APC meeting for last Monday 13th September.
When the minutes are issued, we will be able to see if there has been any progress on this.
I believe that if it is still possible, then Audlem should be in control of its car park and decide itself if there should be charging or not, and the decision should be taken away from Cheshire East Council totally.
Nigel.

I was sorry to read yesterday that Farm Made Tearooms are closing at the end of the month.
The last 18 months have been particularly hard for the hospitality business + we all know you have got to sell a lot of cups of coffee to just cover overheads before making any profit.
I am sure people will agree it has been an asset to the village to have such an attractive coffee shop with friendly staff+very tasty homemade food+will be sadly missed.

Hi. I am local to the village. I have my own dog walking business. However, I am looking to do off lead/group walks, but with knowing the dogs can't escape. I feel this is what this village needs. Can anyone help me out?

Sorry to read that Farm Made is closing. Always had very nice food and staff always very friendly. Wish you all luck in your next chapter.

At around 2.00pm on Wednesday afternoon, a silver-grey VW Golf containing 3 adult males tried to extort money from an elderly Audlem resident living on Heathfield Road, unsuccessfully I may add. The Police were notified but the number plates on the vehicle were false. Although they claimed to be from Wolverhampton it is believed they may have been from the Chell Heath area of Stoke-on -Trent. The resident in question had lost money from his bank account a few days earlier, it is not known if the incidents were related or simply a coincidence. Yesterday the men were claiming they were owed money from a fictitious roofing job that had apparently been canceled.

AOL Directories, leisure, indoor sports, yoga class central near top. Mandy is great. Many classes still on zoom at present, she has had over 80s in her class!
Her details appear if you click book now on her website.

Can anyone recommend a local yoga class, for me and my partner. We are seniors and have been attending classes before. We are new to the area, hence the reason for this post

I'm looking for a piano tutor for my 11 year old daughter. She has been playing the cello to Grade 2 level but now wants to switch to the piano. Does anyone know a tutor that would be happy to come to our house for lessons please?

Good to know the policy is appreciated. Pity you couldn't resist the negative dig.

10 out of 10 to the AOL team for finally adopting a policy of not allowing animals to be sold via buy/sell, not before time but better late than never.

Well done AOL for not putting any Animal 'sales' on any more. I cringed when I saw ads especially when they included the words 'free'. I dread to think what happened to some of the Animals. Not blaming the sellers, just some of the people the Animals may have gone to. Great decision. ;-)

Hello Clare
You haven't posted phone number or email details, if you could do so, we can then be in touch.
Many thanks

Well done Adam and his team Another big step towards normality. Ignore the odd moaner and bring on more music . Good use of the Turnpike Field.

Thanks all for your messages. He is coming back home....at least for food anyway. Carl

Hi,

If you have electric gate issues, I can highly recommend Colin of "CB Gate Services"; https://www.cbgateservices.co.uk/
07968 584 322.

My electric gates stopped working.
Two reputable companies confirmed both motors had failed and couldn't be repaired.
Fortunately, a 3rd company – CB Gate Services – said one motor was completely fine and only one needed replacing (the broken motor made the working motor malfunction). Thereby saving me over £1,000.

Three weeks later and they are still working perfectly, so I'm happy to recommend Colin. And it's good to support a local company (Mucklestone).
And he does gate servicing as well as repairs.

Thanks Nigel
Interesting they are contemplating a dipping platform , when the reason it's fenced and gated was to protect the wildlife , keep dogs out and prevent children from getting in !!