Bollington Town Council

Bollington Town Council (BTC) has been dismayed by the series of changes to local services announced by Cheshire East Council (CEC) over the last few months. It has been especially challenging for BTC given where these announcements have occurred in our financial planning cycle.

It is indisputable that the town’s residents feel that their community has been unfairly treated and our Councillors recognise the anger and frustration by CEC’s decisions. We witnessed the threatened closure, then reduced opening hours for the Library, the actual closure of the Household Waste Recycling Centre and the threatened imposition of charges on our main car park.

The Town Council has engaged with the Borough Council on each of these issues.

This statement is to provide up-to-date information to the community on what has occurred since the Full BTC Meeting on 3^rd September, which the public attended in large numbers.

Bollington Town Council has now voted to accept an offer from Cheshire East Highways Department to withdraw the proposed car park charges due to be imposed on Pool Bank car park in October. The cost will be £43,740 per annum at current prices. This deal, which mean that the precept will have to rise next year, will be subject to a positive response to the public consultation exercise to be launched by the Town Council in October.

The Council is only too aware that the difficulty of parking in this historic town is a major issue and that the deterrent effect of steep charges on Pool Bank would only make things worse. Additionally, Councillors believe that many hospitality and retail businesses in the town would suffer should such charges deter customers from visiting them, especially those reliant on their cars.

An agreement has also been reached to maintain the Library’s current opening hours on the basis that the Town Council would pay for 16.5 hours per week of staffing costs. This arrangement would cost £67,728 at current pay rates. It is also subject to a positive response from residents to the consultation exercise in October and to a legal contract agreed by both parties.

Councillors were persuaded by the evidence of strong popular support for maintaining the service, the importance of the Library to families and young children who are a growing part of the community and by the role of the Library in offering a very wide range of services to all residents including a place to study and work and to support reading and other community groups.

The closure in August of the Household Waste Recycling Centre (HWRC) on Albert Road is recognised by all as a serious blow to this community, and indeed to the residents of other parishes who use it. The Town Council has not been able to negotiate a long-term arrangement to keep the “tip” open and the Borough Council’s Environment and Community Committee has now confirmed the closure of the Bollington, Poynton and Middlewich HWRCs. The Town Council is monitoring the Mobile Waste Recycling unit which visits Bollington on the first Saturday of the month. An initial review of the first weekend it operated showed it to be inadequate since the capacity of the mobile unit does not meet the demand. For the moment, the Council’s working group on the HWRC is exploring other options including co-operation with neighbouring town and parish councils and with private sector operators.

The Town Council will continue to oppose strongly these and any further cuts to local services. We recognise the enormous financial pressures on Cheshire East Council but believe residents of the town will suffer disproportionately due to the loss of the Recycling Centre and the costs of protecting the Library and the Pool Bank car park which are likely to be added to their precept.

The Council will continue to work with local organisations to support residents and to look for ways to mitigate the impact of service reductions and any new charges.