Staffordshire Moorlands District Council Archives

October 29, 2020

Moorlanders urged to ‘Remember at Home’ this November

Residents across the Moorlands are being asked to mark Remembrance Sunday safely from their homes this year as efforts to control the spread of coronavirus continue. Staffordshire Moorlands District Council, Staffordshire Police, the town councils and local branches of the Royal British Legion have worked together to ensure that, collectively, the district honours the service and sacrifices of our Armed Forces whilst safeguarding our communities.

“Nothing is set in stone” states council leader

A community leader has vowed that possible options for major changes in a Moorlands town which have been described in a council report are “not set in stone.” The Leader of Staffordshire Moorlands District Council (SMDC) councillor Sybil Ralphs attended the virtual meeting of Cheadle Town Council on Monday evening after being invited following the SMDC Cabinet’s decision to establishment of a 'Town Centre Delivery Board' and a 'Stakeholder Panel' which are set to work to improve the town of Cheadle.

Castle plans up for council decision

Plans to fund the conservation of a Grade I Listed castle by ploughing revenue from running it as a hotel into essential repairs have stalled. Entrepreneur Robin MacDonald and Staffordshire Moorlands District Council are stuck at an ‘impasse’ after receivers failed to complete a Unilateral Undertaking that would guarantee investment in protecting Caverswall Castle.

Thumbs up signs get thumbs down from residents

Two signs on a housing development site in the Moorlands have been seen as offensive by residents. The two 'thumbs up' signs, which Keepmoat Homes have stated were put up for health and safety reasons, had been placed at the housing development off Thorley Drive in Cheadle.

Green light for two farm planning applications

Two planning applications in the Moorlands, which had both been recommenced for refusal by council officers, have been given the green light. A paintball business is to be replaced by five holiday cabins on land at Broad Oak Farm in Kingsley after the Staffordshire Moorlands District Council (SMDC) planning committee passed an application for change of use at its virtual meeting last Thursday (September 17).

Local plan for the Moorlands is finally adopted

After more than 17 years in the making – and debating – Staffordshire Moorlands District Council has adopted its Local Plan. The document will inform planning decisions until 2033 and is the first local plan with site allocations for the district since 1998.

Tributes to long-serving community leader

Tributes have been paid to a well-respected community leader who served his area for more than 40 years. Arthur Forrester, aged 88 of Alton, died last Tuesday (August 25) just weeks after he and his wife Beryl celebrated their Diamond Wedding Anniversary on August 6.

Red light for condition change on housing development

A developer may have to demolish two partially-built houses on land off Thorley Drive, after an application to alter a planning permission condition was rejected. Keepmoat Homes applied to vary conditions on ground levels for two properties on the land which had been elevated by around a metre.

Council seeks to protect public spaces with new orders

Measures to keep public spaces across the Staffordshire Moorlands free from dog fouling and nuisance dogs are being considered by community leaders. Staffordshire Moorlands District Council is seeking to replace the current Dog Control Orders, which expire in October this year, with Public Space Protection Orders (PSPO) requiring people to keep their dogs under control and to pick up after them.

Signage for free parking “is a joke”

Concern has been raised regarding “poor signage” which has been put in place to promote a free car parking scheme. Staffordshire Moorlands District Council (SMDC) is currently operating a three hours free parking scheme on all district council car parks across the Moorlands including those in Cheadle.

No CCTV despite second human faeces incident

A district council has stated that it will not be reinstating CCTV in a Moorlands village – despite there being a call for it following a second incident of human faeces being left in a public place. The appeal to “Reinstall the CCTV Cameras in Forsbrook Square” was posted on the 'Blythe Bridge & Forsbrook – The Place Where We Live' Facebook page on Sunday (August 2) following human faeces being found on the outside of a property.

Free parking but at a cost of £46,000

It is set to cost a council an estimated £46,000 to operate a free parking initiative which is aimed at getting footfall back into town centres after the coronavirus lockdown. We reported last week that Staffordshire Moorlands District Council (SMDC) is to offer visitors to its three town centres – of Cheadle, Leek and Biddulph – three hours parking a day throughout the month of August.

Staffordshire Moorlands District Council