Latest News (as published on the MiA web site)

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11 December 2011 - Latest News and Christmas Good Wishes

Here's the December 2011 edition of Marple in Action's newsletter:

http://www.marple-uk.com/marple-in-action/MIAnewsletterDec2011.pdf

Merry Christmas to everyone and thank you to those who joined us on Saturday to share a mince pie and some punch – especially those who have made a donation to Marple in Action. We are taking a bit of break now from having the stall in Market Street, but we will be back in the New Year. In the meantime we will continue the fight against ASDA and would urge people to write to the CEO of ASDA with their own views on the issues.

There is one final Area Committee meeting this year on Wednesday 21 December which MiA will be attending.

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29 November 2011 - Allocations DPD consultation is closed

The Allocations DPD Consultation phase 2 – Issues and Options – is now closed. Thank you to all those people who took the time and trouble to visit the MIA stall in Market Street and complete the response form and those who completed the response on-line. The responses are being collated by the Planning Policy Team and when the results are known Phase 3 – Preferred Options – will be open for consultation. If all goes to plan this will take place between May and mid/late June 2012. We will let you know the number of responses from phase 2 when the Council have logged them.

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13 November 2011 - Allocations DPD consultation is very important!

The Council is writing a new plan called the ' Allocations DPD' which sets out what types of development should be allowed on different areas of land – this is a very important consultation and the people of Marple should ensure that they have their say.

Documents relating to the consultation process can be seen at www.stockport.gov.uk/allocationsdpd

The online questionnaire is rather “clunky” and takes a long time to complete.

Marple in Action have developed a simplified form to respond to the Allocations DPD that covers 6 of the ‘danger’ development sites in Marple. The Planning Policy Team has agreed that they will accept responses in this format.

The simplified forms will be available on the Marple in Action Saturday Stall throughout the remainder of November and the MiA Technical Team will be on hand to discuss the issues. People can complete the forms in comfort at the table and chairs that will be provided and MiA will have stamped, addressed envelopes ready so they can pop across to the mail box and post them off straight away.

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27 October 2011 - WORK STARTS AT HIBBERT LANE?

Local residents have reported that what appears to be building survey equipment, is now being used on the Hibbert Lane site. This is being monitored to ensure that noise levels are contained but it is obvious that the College, the owners of the site, are not concerned about their neighbours. Stockport Planning have been alerted and if any householder nearby is troubled by the noise ( as some where at 7.30am this morning! ) they should phone SMBC Environmental Health on 474 4284 and report a “noise complaint”. They will be given a reference number and the matter will be investigated.

Christina Cassidy, the Principal of Cheadle and Marple Sixth Form College claims in last week's Stockport Express (page 8 ) that they “have met with everyone who has asked to meet with them” over the supermarket threat. I'm sure this will come as a surprise to Dave Goddard, Leader of Stockport Council, who at the recent Extraordinary Marple Area Committee meeting, said that he “cannot get to meet the Principal” as she refuses to meet with him. Who is right?

Mr Goddard repeated his pledge at that meeting that the Council will:

• REFUSE PLANNING PERMISSION FOR A SUPERMARKET ON HIBBERT LANE
• FIGHT ANY APPEALS TO THEIR CONCLUSION

He was keen to emphasise that the SMBC would not hesitate to use it's financial muscle in any battle against a supermarket development on this site.

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23 October 2011 - ANOTHER IMPORTANT MEETING

Marple Area Committee will be holding a public forum over the "Local Development Framework - Allocations Development Plan". Sounds dull but it's actually the review of the use of way land and buildings can be used in Marple. The College land at Hibbert Lane is bound to come up for consideration and important decisions on whether it should be used in future for education, leisure, housing or even retail (!) will be made after the public consultation period. The meeting is at Marple Library 6pm on Wednesday next 26th October - please be there to have your say.

Documents relating to the consultation process can be seen at www.stockport.gov.uk/allocationsdpd
 
DEFINITELY NOT MARPLE IN ACTION! - the milk bottles and graffiti being left on the Hibbert Lane College railings are nothing to do with Marple in Action. We love Marple and don't want to see it spoiled by either rubbish like this or the construction of a huge supermarket on the site. Local residents are being upset so will the person responsible please desist.

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22 October 2011 - EX-GOVERNORS SPEAK OUT THIS WEEK:

EX GOVERNORS SPEAK OUT to the Stockport Express this week - Stephen Downs and Margaret McLay resigned their posts at Cheadle and Marple Sixth Form College over plans to sell its Hibbert Lane site to a supermarket chain.

Mr Downs, a governor for four years, said a new store would ‘put local shops out of business’ and add to congestion. He would prefer to see affordable homes built on Hibbert Lane.

Mr Downs said: "Given my personal and community-based objections to the scheme, it was impossible for me to represent the college independently as a governor. "While I acknowledge that financially a large supermarket offered the best deal, I believe that the college has a responsibility to make decisions that are in the best interests of the wider community – and a large supermarket does not do this. "The governors are all good people trying to do what is best for the college in very testing times."

Ms McLay, also a governor for four years, said: "I know that the college faces a difficult time but it’s not the fault of the residents. "A supermarket will have a huge impact on Marple’s town centre and the traffic is very very busy. I think the college has been badly advised on this. We already have a large Co-op and a Morrisons in Bredbury, so another supermarket is not necessary."

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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.

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15 October 2011 - GOVERNORS STATEMENT

The Chair of the Governors of CAMSFC admitted publicly for the first time that "The College is currently negotiating with a large retailer to sell the site to them. The sale will however be subject to them obtaining planning permission for a new store from the Local Authority." The local authority in question i.e. Stockport MBC has repeatedly said that planning permission will be refused so the Governors clearly expect that "TescoPower" will squash all local planning and community objections.

It has been suggested that the College's attitude is "softening" and they are now preparing for "full consultation". Their refusal to even talk to the leader of Stockport Council demonstrates that this is very definitely not the case!

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13 October 2011 - MARPLE AREA COMMITTEE SNUBBED BY COLLEGE

COLLEGE PRINCIPAL AND GOVERNORS REFUSED an invitation from Marple's Area Committee to join a special meeting to discuss their plans in public for the first time last night, even though it was held on their own Buxton Lane Campus! For an educational body to so arrogantly disregard the elected representatives, and the public of Marple, is appalling and says a lot about the attitude of the individuals concerned.

MARPLE IN ACTION WILL FIGHT TO THE END – this was the message delivered to a packed Area Committee Meeting last night. The leader of Stockport Council, Dave Goddard, supported by councillors and planning officials, made it quite clear that they will refuse any planning application for a supermarket on the Hibbert Lane site and fight any planning appeals to their conclusion. Goddard said he had been ignored by the College Principal who wouldn't even discuss the matter with him!

A MARPLE IN ACTION representative at the meeting read out a statement from the group as follows:

Marple in Action was formed by residents and businesses in Marple to oppose the proposed development of a supermarket on the Hibbert Lane campus of Cheadle & Marple 6th Form College.
That is and remains our primary function.
Our position with regards the Extraordinary Area Committee Meeting on Wednesday (tonight) is equally clear – we are not here to debate whether a supermarket development should be allowed on the Hibbert Lane campus, we believe that should not even be under consideration given that the council planning department have made it clear that it is contrary to the SMBC Core Strategy and will be rejected.
We are here to meet with the Principal and Governors of CAMSFC and Council Officers, to hear their response to the serious concerns raised by the community.
We also wish to seek assurances from the Councillors and Planning Department they will maintain their implacable opposition to any proposal for a supermarket on Hibbert Lane campus should the application go to appeal.

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Here is the text of a leaflet that will be handed out by Marple in Action at the Area Committee tonight. A statement from MiA will also be read out at the meeting and this will be published on-line afterwards.

At the August area committee meeting, the Councillors offered to arrange an extraordinary meeting to allow the public to learn the facts and ask questions of the Principal and Governors of CAMSCF. We understand that the Principal and Governors yesterday declined to attend, but to be honest we never really expected them to accept. The issuing of a second statement by Lawrie Grant Chair of the Governors on Monday is, we believe going to be their only response to the public.

Last week we learnt that the format of the meeting had changed to a series of presentations to debate the issue of a supermarket on Hibbert Lane campus.

You will appreciate that this is not what the meeting was originally called for and as Marple in Action’s message is clear – a supermarket on Hibbert Lane campus is unacceptable, it is against the Council’s own planning strategy and would be devastating for Marple in many ways.  We are not here to debate this.

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.

In taking the course of action they currently intend they are setting themselves against the Council and forcing SMBC into an appeals process that will ultimately be costly to all the ratepayers in Stockport. The Governors, in their latest statement seem to be abdicating any responsibility for their actions by indicating that the supermarket developers, their lawyers, consultants and the Council must make the decision [fight it out!], but we wouldn’t be in this situation if it wasn’t for their actions.

There has been a school on Hibbert Lane for generations and Marple folk don’t want to see that end. There must be compromise that is acceptable to the community, businesses, students, staff and Governors.

The legacy of a supermarket on Hibbert Lane is one that many people find hard to stomach.

Marple in Action shall continue to fight against the proposal for a supermarket, although our attentions shall be focussed on the soon to be submitted planning application. If you can offer any assistance please contact Marple in Action.

www.marple-in-action.org.uk

info@marple-in-action.org.uk

Action Helpline 07790 419494

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DECISION DATES FOR SUPERMARKET ON HIBBERT LANE CAMPUS

WEDNESDAY 12TH OCTOBER
Under pressure from Marple in Action, local councillors have called for the College Principal and Governors to meet the public of Marple to explain themselves at a Extraordinary Area Committee Meeting. Amazingly the College have so far ignored requests to attend even though it is being held at their own College on Buxton Lane!
THIS IS YOUR LAST CHANCE TO HAVE INFLUENCE - WE WILL BE THERE
PLEASE ATTEND Doors Open 5pm - starts 6pm

MONDAY 17th OCTOBER
The Governors meet to make a DECISION IN PRIVATE that will affect all our lives for many years to come.
More traffic, houses devalued, more pollution, businesses and jobs lost – our community ruined to satisfy corporate greed.

WRITE OR EMAIL TO THEM BEFORE IT IS TOO LATE - see below:

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28 September 2011 - DECISION DAY! WRITE NOW!

Marple in Action has learnt that the Governor's meeting to decide on whether or not to go ahead with the proposed planning application for a supermarket is set for Monday 17th October. If you feel that a decision to go for planning for a supermarket on Hibbert Lane will change Marple for ever, please write or email the Principal and the Governors.

This may be your last chance to have a say.

We do not have private addresses for for the Governors so write to each c/o the College marking the envelopes "Private and Confidential":

CHEADLE & MARPLE SIXTH FORM COLLEGE
Marple Campus Hibbert Lane Marple Stockport SK6 7PA

Current Governors
(as originally published on the CAMSFC web site at the start of the campaign)
Lawrie Grant Chair l.grant@mmu.ac.uk    
Trevor Jones Deputy Chair
Christina Cassidy Principal
Adrian Clare Governor a.clare@mmu.ac.uk
Ian Doughty Parent (Resigned?)
Stephen Downs (Resigned in protest at College's plans)
Sandra Dunn Staff
Anand Dutta Governor
Mike Gledhill Governor
Margaret McLay Governor (Resigned?)
Phil Masey Student
Karen Moore Governor k.moore@mmu.ac.uk
Ian Powell Staff
Richard Young Governor

Please also click on Writing to Governors & Following up.

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27 September 2011 - Request from College Staff
MARPLE IN ACTION have been asked by staff at the college not to use the Adult and Learning open evening as a vehicle for protest against staff at the College. MIA want to make it clear that our protest is NOT against the teaching and administrative staff at the College - many of whom live in Marple and love the town as we do. We know that privately many have expressed deep concern over the College's plans to sell the Hibbert Lane site to a supermarket group and we are entirely sympathetic to their predicament. It is to be hoped that the Principal and the Governors will recognize the damage they about to do to the people of Marple and look again at their plans.

26 September 2011 - Protest outside the college
MARPLE IN ACTION demonstrated outside the Hibbert Lane College this morning in anticipation of the Ofsted Inspectors arrival at CAMSFC. The intention was to make clear to the Inspectors that the College's relations with the Marple community are being seriously damaged by the plans to allow a supermarket development on the site. Support was given by students and passersby and a letter to the Inspectors was handed in to the College reception.

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23 September 2011 - OFSTED INSPECTORS / MARPLE FESTIVAL

OFSTED INSPECTORS are visiting the Cheadle and Marple Sixth Form College on Monday 26th and Tuesday 27th September and Marple in Action are keen for them to know that relations with the Marple community are at an all time low. We have contacted Ofsted and also hope to meet up with the Inspectors during their visit. Lets hope they get a proper view of how Marple feels about their plans to build a supermarket on the Hibbert Lane campus.

MARPLE FESTIVAL events at the College that are student based or are organised to raise funds for charities are supported by Marple in Action. The “Political Question Time” on Tuesday 27th September ( 7pm start ) and the “Adult and Community Learning open evening” on Wednesday 6pm to 9pm, however are ideal opportunities for members of the public to visit the Buxton Lane College and ask questions over local political and college issues.

SUPERMARKETS GET THE BLAME FOR BOARDED UP MARKET TOWNS - this man seems to have the right idea!

ALL PARTY PARLIAMENTARY GROUP ON TOWN CENTRES: 25 JANUARY 2011 – even Parliamentarians appear to have realised the danger Marple and other towns are in!

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21 September 2011 - Writing to Governors and following up
Marple in Action had some enquiries from members of the public at the Food and Drink Day on Saturday asking what they should do about letters they had written to the Governors. Like many of us, they have received unsatisfactory replies with a copy of the Statement issued by Lawrence Grant, Chair of Governors.

We’ve now had time to think and take advice and here is what we suggest:

http://www.marple-uk.com/marple-in-action/RE-LETTERS-TO-GOVERNORS-AND-FOLLOWING-UP.pdf