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February 24, 2020

Council calls for roundabout

TRAFFIC controls on a main road adjacent to a major new housing development need a rethink according to Uttoxeter Town Council. Current planning permission granted for 429 homes on land at Hazelwalls includes highways provision for traffic lights in Stafford Road. However, temporary lights in a similar location for works on a separate housing site caused two-mile long queues.

Arthur’s quest for 70 year old photo

A FARMER is appealing for help in his quest to find a photograph of a tractor that was taken outside Uttoxeter Town Hall in 1948. The machine now belongs to Arthur Prime who farms in the area, and he has spent years trying to track down photographs taken when it was brand new. The UDS diesel tractor by Minneapolis-Moline (England Ltd) was shipped over in kit form from the USA in the late 1940s and assembled at Sale Tilney & Co Ltd at Wokingham in Berkshire where a Dorman diesel engine, made in Stafford, was installed.

Lots of entertainment scheduled for VE Day celebrations

A PACKED schedule of celebrations for the 75th anniversary of VE Day has been organised for a Moorlands town. A street party, the special planting of a dedicated tree and even the possibility of a fly-over are just some of the events set for Cheadle to mark the day in 1945 when allied forces in World War II accepted the unconditional surrender of Nazi Germany. The weekend of jovial community activity will begin on Friday, May 8 and last until Sunday, May 10.

“The effects of inhaling NOS gas can be sudden death”

MEMBERS of the community have aired their concerns over the evidential use of a legal high after numerous canisters have been found in a Moorlands town. Community group Cheadle Moorland Litter Pickers discovered several of these metal canisters, which were thought to have contained nitrous oxide (also known as ‘NOS’), behind the currently vacant Alton Castle public house in Tape Street, during one of its waste-collecting Sundays. Member Dean Powell told the Times and Echo about the discovery of these canisters.

Ambulance chief quizzed over community response post closure

A LEADING emergency service chief has vowed that he has “made the right decision” in removing a community response post in a Moorlands town. Professor Anthony Marsh, who is the chief executive of West Midlands Ambulance Service, made the statement at the Cheadle Town Council meeting on Monday (February 17), which he had been invited to following concerns from the community with regards to the removal of Cheadle's community response post in Ashbourne Road. Last month, a spokesman for West Midlands Ambulance Service (WMAS) confirmed that its rapid response vehicle had been taken out of Cheadle on January 26. They also stated that Cheadle's community response post in Ashbourne Road will shut by the end of March but that the trust will replace the rapid response vehicle with a “double crewed ambulance”.

Arrest made after police called to village incident

A WOMAN was arrested at the weekend following an incident in a Moorlands village. New Road in Tean was closed for several hours on Friday evening after the emergency services were called to a report of an unidentified liquid being put through a letterbox. The incident saw four people being assessed by paramedics and also firefighters wearing breathing apparatus assessing the area.

Plaque commemorating WWII air crash unveiled

A COMMUNITY in the Moorlands has honoured the lives of service men who died in a WWII disaster in a village by unveiling a plaque in their names last week. Residents in Kingsley gathered together for a ceremony at Blakeley Lane Methodist Chapel on Friday (February 7) to commemorate the six men who were killed on February 7, 1944 when a Handley Page Halifax bomber crashed onto farm land close to the chapel after its engine became frozen during a training mission. Flying officer Ernest Charles David Richards, Sgt Kenneth Murray, Sgt William Desmond Joshua, Sgt Herbert John Couling, Sgt Albert John Denny of the Royal Air Force Volunteer Reserve, and flying officer Hubert Lloyd Kerr of the Royal Canadian Air Force all died in the crash.

Three cheers to pub landlord Paul

THE OWNER of a pub in the Moorlands has been bestowed with a prestigious national title after impressing judges with the work he has done. Paul Collins, who runs The Roebuck in Forsbrook, was presented with the Star Pubs and Bars Newcomer of the Year Award at a recent ceremony at the Luton Hoo Hotel in Bedfordshire for his excellent work. “We didn't know we were going to win,” he told the Times and Echo, after his pub was shortlisted alongside four other drinking establishments.

Family pay tribute to “very loving” Mandy

A FAMILY has paid tribute to a Cheadle woman who sadly passed away recently. Mandy Cope, aged 56, passed away on Wednesday, January 28 surrounded by her loving family. Born and raised in Cheadle, Mandy spent her school years in the Moorlands town before moving on to work at numerous places, including the Cheadle and Tean Times.

U-TURN ON PARKING CHARGES INCREASE

A COUNCIL has made a U-turn on its plan to increase parking charges in the Moorlands. Staffordshire Moorlands District Council (SMDC) is due this month to set its budget for 2020/21 and among the proposals for expenditure and income, the council was looking to increase parking charges at it's car parks, including those in Cheadle, Leek, and Biddulph, by 20p. However, after an “overwhelming number” of councillors on the councils Resources Overview & Scrutiny Panel voted to recommend to object against the increase in charges at its meeting last Wednesday (February 5), the SMDC Cabinet decided to reject the proposals at a meeting yesterday afternoon (Tuesday, February 11).

Parking charges on the increase

A TOWN council is set to hold a special meeting focusing on proposals to increase parking charges in the town. Staffordshire Moorlands District Council is due this month to set it’s budget for 2020/21 and among the proposals for expenditure and income during the next financial year, the council is looking to increase parking charges at its car parks including those in Cheadle, Leek, and Biddulph. In Cheadle, the proposals are for charges to be put up 20p. These are for parking in both Tape Street and Well Street car parks where the price to park for up to an hour will be rising from 90p to £1.10, for up to two hours from £1.40 to £1.60, for up to three hours from £1.80 to £2, and for Well Street where drivers can park for up to 10 hours this fee will go from £2.20 up to £2.40.

“Members of the public learning CPR will save more lives”

THE WEST Midlands Ambulance Service (WMAS) has confirmed that its Chief Executive will be attending a town council meeting this month amid concerns that a town’s community response post was to shut by the end of March. Then, last month, a spokesperson for WMAS confirmed to the Times and Echo that its rapid response vehicle had been taken out of Cheadle from its post in Ashbourne Road on Sunday, January 26. The news has caused much concern within the community of Cheadle with a public meeting being held and to petitions being started.

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