Statement from Cheadle and Marple Sixth Form College (10 October 2011).

[Miss Marple]

What assurances did the Yes campaigns leaflet give the parents  just a question as I can not find anything on the forum    The reason I ask is that the Yes campaign will need to have their answers ready for parents who WILL want reassurance from them if this development goes ahead .

[HWL1973]

Not sure if this has been posted before but it's the leaflet handed out to prospective college parents by MIA

?16 October 2011 - SOME QUESTIONS THE COLLEGE WON'T ANSWER:

Text from a leaflet handed out to prospective users of CAMSFC during the Open Day yesterday:

If your child is considering attending CAMSFC, there are some questions you may want to ask the tutors and principal before you make any decisions.
...
This week [10-10-11] via the statement on the reverse of this leaflet, we have learnt that the Governors are now only considering one course of action to raise money to provide facilities fit for purpose – SELLING TO A SUPERMARKET DEVELOPER.

To date the Governors have resisted all attempts to open discussions on acceptable alternatives and have persisted with this course of action as being the only way they consider they can fulfil their obligations to their students and staff, but with no regard whatsoever to what this means to the community of Marple.

The Governors in their statement seem to have abdicated any responsibility for their actions by indicating that the supermarket developer, their lawyers, consultants and the Council must make the decision and fight it out. Ultimately they will be forcing Stockport Council into an appeals process that will be costly to all ratepayers in Stockport.

We have serious concerns that the money raised from the sale of Hibbert Lane campus (rumoured to be £12m) will not provide the capital required to transfer all the facilities such as Science Labs, Art Dept, Library, Sports Hall to Buxton Lane.

It seems to MIA that the principal and governors of the college have no respect for the community from which most of their pupils come, moreover their very limited communication and interaction has left many people wondering what the long term future is for the college in our community.

With this in mind perhaps you should ask the college representatives the following questions:

* Ask the Principal to reveal her future plans as we have doubts they are achievable.
* Ask the Principal what the medium and long term plans for CAMSFC in Marple and Cheadle are.
* Ask the Principal what will happen to the plans for Buxton Lane if the sale of Hibbert Lane is unsuccessful.
* Ask the Principal why they have not engaged with the community regarding the sale of Hibbert Lane campus.
* Ask the Principal if all the facilities from Hibbert Lane will be transferred to Buxton Lane.
* Ask the Principal if the move to Buxton Lane will involve redundancies.
* Ask the Principal if the move to Buxton Lane will mean dropping any subjects currently taught.

Make of that what you will 

[Belly]

AFAIK it's the council that carries out the consultation, not the applicant.  The council will write to neighbouring properties, post notices on lamp posts etc, and consult with community organisations, such as Marple Civic Society.  In the case of a major scheme like this, there will probably also be displays (plans, models etc) on show at the Town Hall and, hopefully, somewhere in Marple such as the library. 

You are both right. The Council will consult dirtectly with those specifically affected by the development (neighbours, etc) as well as statutory consultees (environment agency, etc).

The developer is also required to undertake consultation. Lisa is right to say, this can be of variable standard / extent, however, what they do must be recorded and if not properly conducted could be a case for refusal / judicial review by residents. In this case I would anticipate that there will be a planning exhibition held by the developer somewhere in the town (most probably at the site itself). This exhibition will last at least one day, probably more likely a weekend. I've just finished doing one not a million miles from here, they are exhausting but great for real local feedback.

[Dave]

AFAIK it's the council that carries out the consultation, not the applicant.  The council will write to neighbouring properties, post notices on lamp posts etc, and consult with community organisations, such as Marple Civic Society.  In the case of a major scheme like this, there will probably also be displays (plans, models etc) on show at the Town Hall and, hopefully, somewhere in Marple such as the library. 

[Lisa Oldham]

planning legislations states that the HAVE to have public consultation for this sort of development.. however they don't have to really take any notice of it... just pay lip service to it... tick the box on the form that asks if they've done it and then carry on with their plans.   

[Dave]

The college does not need to pay off any debts. Check their accounts via various links on earlier forum posts.

[My login is Henrietta]

What a load of long winded twaddle!it should of read,
                            We are selling to the highest bidder!
                            We don't care about your town!
                            We don't live there!!!!

                   They need the money to improve .

They need the money to pay their debts

[amazon]

I would not sell my home to people I consider undesirable.It is unlikely I would move on from where I am now,apart from future needs due to age or health issues.I would not wish to leave possible problems to my neighbours where I have enjoyed living in a nice environment.Money is not everything! ::)even though it helps.

                It was only meant as an example / Dont take it so serious .

[sooty2]

I would not sell my home to people I consider undesireable.It is unlikely I would move on from where I am now,apart from future needs due to age or health issues.I would not wish to leave possible problems to my neighbours where I have enjoyed living in a nice enviroment.Money is not everything! ::)even though it helps.

[amazon]

What a load of long winded twaddle!it should of read,
                            We are selling to the highest bidder!
                            We don't care about your town!
                            We don't live there!!!!

If You Sell your house you want the best possible price for it .and if some undesirables were to make you a good offer would you say not selling to you .might upset my neighbours . [ i dont think so ]

[heather]

now we know its going to happen wouldn't it be better to work together instead of falling out amongst ourselves, while the council  and supermarkets decide what we are getting, that way we should be able to have a say in what we get. just a thought.

[Dave]

I suspect one reason the college will not be attending this evening's meeting is that there is no point.   And the reason for that is actually contained in the MIA statement posted today on the 'Latest News' thread here on the forum, which says: 'Whilst we have empathy for the situation in which the College finds itself and understand that the Governors are constitutionally bound to seek ‘best value’ when offloading the Hibbert Lane campus, we would urge them to consider again the options.'

Now let's just unpick that.   MIA acknowledges that 'the Governors are constitutionally bound to seek ‘best value’.  But then it urges them to 'consider again the options'.  What options?  If they are 'constitutionally bound' to a certain course of action then there are no options.  And there would seem to be little point in the college turning up to discuss something that doesn't exist! 

[admin]

The following statement from Cheadle and Marple 6th Form College has been issued for publication on the web site via Andrew Hubert this afternoon.

I have taken the opportunity to reply asking Andrew if the college will be attending Wednesday's night's Extraordinary Marple Area Committee Meeting (at the college) to answer questions from the local community. I have also asked Andrew if they are not attending to please explain why.

Here is the answer I received from Andrew Hubert to my question about attending the Area Committee tonight:

"Mark

The College has been led to understand that the Extraordinary Meeting has been arranged so that groups for and against a supermarket on Hibbert Lane could have an open forum to discuss and air their views. As the College is in neither camp it would have no role to play in this.

There is nothing at this stage that could be usefully added to the statements already released by the Chair of Governors. When there are plans in a suitable form, showing the proposed Buxton Lane development the College will fully engage with the community. Similarly it would be expected that any development of Hibbert Lane, as part of the planning process, consults with the community at the appropriate time.

Regards

Andrew"

[tina]

I'm glad the statement has been put on here, its pure and simple, they need to sell Hibbert Lane to focus on Buxton Lane. Not greed or to annoy anyone, just doing what they need to do for the future students.

[amazon]

What a load of long winded twaddle!it should of read,
                            We are selling to the highest bidder!
                            We don't care about your town!
                            We don't live there!!!!

                   They need the money to improve .