Featured News Archives - Page 2 of 20

December 23, 2019

Alterations made to carriageway road closure schedule

FURTHER alterations have been made to the schedule of works that are currently being carried out on a frequently-used double carriageway in the Moorlands. The A521 in Blythe Bridge is currently partly shut as three phases of works on land adjacent to the road are completed by contractors from housing developers St Modwen Homes after previously being granted planning permission to build up to 120 new homes on the site. Earlier this month the Times and Echo reported that Staffordshire County Council's website explained that 'Phase Two' of the roadworks would see the “complete closure of the opposite side of the carriageway for seven weeks with two lanes open eastbound i.e. traffic leaving the A50,” while phase three signified “four weeks with three-way traffic signals and lane closures.”

Five per cent tax increase in parish

A PARISH council is set to increase it's precept by five per cent. Forsbrook Parish Council has stated that the extra money to be paid by council tax payers within their parish during the financial year of 2020/21 will enable it to carry out “more community activity” within the village. A precept is a 'bill' which parish and town councils, and other statutory bodies, send to district councils - the authorities which collects council tax.

Appeal focuses on historic crash

AN APPEAL is being made to help collate information about a fatal war-time crash in the Moorlands so that residents of the area can properly commemorate those who died in the incident – some seven decades later. Local historian Martyn Hordern is currently working with Kingsley Parish Council to commemorate six members of the Royal Air Force on the 76th anniversary of their deaths. Martyn explained: “Whilst researching Kingsley’s World War 1 history, the story of a little-known Halifax bomber crash on land off Blakeley Lane was uncovered.

Vehicle defect notices issued in Moorlands road policing operation

MORE than 30 vehicle defect notices were issued to drivers as police stopped cars with light defects and other faults in a road traffic operation in the Staffordshire Moorlands recently. The operation, which focused on rural areas in and around Cheadle, Leek and Biddulph ran for two weeks and was part of Staffordshire Police’s new roads policing plan named Operation Lightning. The forces latest operation aims to reduce the number of deaths and serious injuries on the county’s roads and to disrupt and deter criminals’ use of the road network.

Permission sought to sell alcohol at health and beauty store

A TOWN council has decided it has no objections to an application which has been submitted by a high street shop for an alcohol licence following a debate amongst its members at a meeting recently. Health and beauty store Savers has applied to Staffordshire Moorlands District Council for permission to sell alcohol at its premises on High Street in Cheadle. Cheadle Town Councillors debated about this application at a council meeting on Monday (December 2).

Roadworks on track to completed on time

STAFFORDSHIRE County Council has provided an update on roadworks that are taking place on a frequently-used dual carriageway in the Moorlands. The A521 in Blythe Bridge is currently partly shut as works on land adjacent to the road are being completed by contractors from housing developers St Modwen Homes, with one side of the carriageway completely shut while one lane on the opposite side open as part of 'Phase One' of the plans. A second phase will see “the complete closure of the opposite side of the carriageway for seven weeks with two lanes open eastbound i.e. traffic leaving the A50,” while phase three signifies “four weeks with three-way traffic signals and lane closures.”

Plans for new discount food store in town

A NEW discount food store could be coming to a market town after plans were submitted for construction this week. Food chain Aldi is asking for permission to build a brand new store on land at the corner of Old Knotty Way in Uttoxeter. Should the proposals be approved by planning authority East Staffordshire Borough Council, the shop will create up to 40 jobs, according to a design and access statement which has been submitted with the application.

Decision to close shop “not taken lightly”

A NATIONAL supermarket chain has revealed that a decision to sell a store in a Moorlands village was “not taken lightly”, after a resident raised concerns about the loss of the store at a parish council meeting recently. The Times and Echo reported in September that Co-operative was set to sell its branch on Uttoxeter Road in Blythe Bridge in October. The store is now independently owned and run as a Nisa. At a Forsbrook Parish Council meeting on Monday, November 18, a resident asked if the council could write to Co-op to find out what the reasons were behind selling the shop.

Students gain insight charity work

THE FOUNDER of a global charity has visited a Moorlands school to speak to youngsters about how the cash they are raising is being spent. Founder and Global Chief Executive of Mary’s Meals, Magnus MacFarlane-Barrow, took time out of his busy schedule recently to visit Painsley Catholic College in Cheadle. Magnus addressed all the students at the school along with representative students from its feeder primary schools; St Filumena’s in Caverswall, St Giles’ in Cheadle, St Joseph’s in Uttoxeter, St Thomas’s in Tean, St Mary’s in Leek and The Faber in Cotton.

“Glass is the way forward,” says dairy owner

A DAIRY processing company in the Moorlands is encouraging residents to opt for glass bottles instead of plastic when purchasing their milk. Wheat Brothers of Cheadle deliver to around 2,500 people in the Moorlands and Potteries area, with around 70 per cent of customers opting to receive their milk in a glass bottle rather than a plastic one. Company owner Michael Wheat wants to encourage more people to ditch the plastic and use glass instead.

Hospital decision delay due to elections

THE date for when a decision about the future of community hospitals in the Moorlands has been delayed due to the forthcoming general election. The governing bodies of the Clinical Commissioning Groups (CCGs) of Stoke-on-Trent and North Staffordshire were set to meet in December to decide on the future of both Cheadle and Leek & Moorlands Hospitals. However, a spokesman for North Staffs CCG said: “The General Election will take place on Thursday, December 12, with Parliament now dissolved.

Police alert residents to postbox scams

STAFFORDSHIRE Police are urging residents to be vigilant after a big quantity of credit cards and pin numbers have been found in rural postboxes. The force said that individuals in rural locations have discovered “large numbers” of such cards that they have not been applied for in external mail boxes. Police said they believe that fraudsters are intending to return to these later on to remove them before occupants have any knowledge.

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