Cllr Simon Eardley presented his August 2025 report to Saughall & Shotwick Park Parish Council at their meeting held on Monday 4th August. Read the full details below.
Church Road – plans to introduce additional ‘no waiting at anytime’ restrictions (double yellow lines)
Parish councillors will be familiar with this longstanding discussion. It has recently developed further with a limited (to the properties most affected) initial consultation by CWaC on Church Road. The following feedback has been received by officers (sent to me and Cllr Kerr):
“As you are aware from previous emails, we have been looking at installing parking restrictions along Church Road between the current double yellow lines and the Aldersey Close junction. After a consultation with 34 residents, we received the following responses:-
4 Yes | 1 Yes/No | 8 No
Several of the responses were worried about the increase in speed these restrictions may bring and issues with parking outside of the Saughall Service Station and having better access to their own driveways. Because of this we have decided to tweak the double yellow lines a little. Please see attached a new plan. We have removed the small section of double yellow lines near to the Saughall Service Station and increased the length of the other section to just outside of Argoed next to the pharmacy. Neither Argoed, the pharmacy or Aldersey replied to our first consultation.
Before I move onto the next stage of obtaining approval to advertise the scheme and commencing the public consultation exercise, I would be grateful to receive your views on the new parking restrictions and if you could advise before the 8th of August, it would be appreciated. If I do not hear from you by this date, I will look to proceed with obtaining the formal approval.”
Separate to this, I have received a request from a resident for consideration to be given to the introduction of some double yellow lines at the junction of Saughall Hey and Greenway, following the incident between a bus and parked car with a trailer in mid-July. I have asked for comment on this from CWaC officers.
ACTION – please will parish councillors offer any views to me on the above and attached [not included on this webpage - available by email on request] at this meeting, so that I can feedback further to officers in the coming days.
Pear Tree Farm development update
The condition of the Pear Tree Farm development continues to be of considerable concern. Frankly, at present the ‘green space’ areas are a complete disgrace and, as we know, there remain various outstanding conditions and actions from the planning permission granted here to be undertaken. I continue to liaise with residents most impacted by this situation. In response to some queries made, on 19/07/25 I was advised as follows by the CWaC Enforcement officer dealing with the site:
“Thank you for your email. As you are aware all documents have been sent to the Councils Legal team for review of commencing prosecution proceedings. I am unable to advise on any outcome or next steps, that will be for the Legal team to advise the Planning team, however I think if a prosecution is successful, a defendant could be fined. I could attend a meeting with the residents; however, I feel this should be done when there are key updates to provide for them. At the moment, I don’t have any further information to the above.”
Separate to this, I have visited a resident of Green Lane who has concerns regarding the impact of vegetation that is out of control in the vicinity of their property on their boundary wall. I am in the process of trying to support the resident in getting an appropriate individual to get this resolved on their behalf.
Community Speedwatch – recent session / lighting columns for SID deployment update
I was pleased to join the session held on 01 August 2025 on The Ridings. In just 30 minutes, ten vehicles were observed in excess of the 20mph speed limit, with the highest speed recorded being 31mph. It is surprising to me that when a Facebook post around this subject is put up online (as it was last Friday), some residents choose to react with a ‘laughing face.’ This is a serious business and we know speeding is a major concern in the village. I am grateful to the team of volunteers for their ongoing diligence and attention to this important work, which it is a pleasure to join myself on a monthly basis.
Graham Haughton has kindly arranged a further training session for new volunteers, to take place on 10th August 2025 at his home. I have publicised this already, but it would be good if the parish council could do similarly and indeed, if some members of it would like to become more actively involved the team, that would be welcomed too.
I have been in further correspondence with the CWaC ‘Street Lighting Team’ around the request to identify appropriate lighting columns where the ‘SID’ device can be attached. This is proving to be very frustrating. However, the most recent reply received on 22/07/25 was as follows – there remains work for me to do on this in terms of getting us to a satisfactory position:
“Apologies for the delay in response to your follow up email.
Unfortunately, the columns identified by Saughall PC were not suitable for mounting the Speed indicator device (SID) as the additional loading would compromise the structural safety of the column. In particular, the issue identified by the manufacturer is the structural design of the columns not being suitable for the additional loading rather than the condition of the asset. Therefore, the standard street lighting columns in Saughall will not be suitable for mounting the SID.
As detailed in [Name]. email, we can obtain quotes for installing heavy duty columns if this is a way forward the Parish Council would like to explore.
In the meantime, I will ask a member of the team to double check that Saughall does not have any heavy-duty columns which have already been installed and could be utilised for the SID.”
Public Right of Way matters
- Saughall FP6 (off Hermitage Road at ‘The Peg’). Excellent clearance works have been undertaken on this route via CWaC officers. However, a substantial tree branch (about halfway up has been left blocking the area). This was sent as an issue to the CWaC PRoW officer on 18/07/25 for attention. A substantial amount of flytipping was also reported here on 17/07/25, but by 18/07 it had been removed successfully. There is some wider litter on the route, which I will endeavour to pick at some point.
- Saughall FP4 (off Church Road) – a request for attention to be given to the weed growth here, as previously reported. I am pleased to see this has been actioned by CWaC contractors.
- Public Right of Way access obstructed – ‘Saughall FP12’ (off Hermitage Road, Little Saughall). Reported to CWaC, 14/07/25 – ref. CE731231045. The PRoW officer attended the site and made enquiries and the route was opened up with the gates unlocked. This has subsequently been blocked off again with heavily padlocked gates and I have asked the PRoW officer to investigate again.
Darlington Crescent – white post markers request – action request contained within these notes
I met with a resident of Darlington Crescent on 18/07/25. A request has been made to CWaC for consideration to be given to the introduction of white post markers to prevent vehicles accessing the green space between 64 and 40 on this road. This is understood to be a problem, particularly during periods of poor weather when the ground gets churned up. I await a response from CWaC officers, but I am aware that they had recently stopped authorising such hardware introductions. If they are in agreement, because I have severe pressures on my 2025/26 Member Budget allocation, I wondered whether this might be something that the parish council would consider funding. If you are willing to undertake this and CWaC is prepared to agree, I would seek a quotation for the supply of the posts and assist in facilitating the project.
Report reference as follows:
Thank you for your enquiry submitted 19/07/2025. REF: CLR732615405. Service: Highways - Non-report it requests. Enquiry summary: Request for white post on a green area (which another body might fund).
Planning Application - land at Fiddlers Lane, Saughall – proposed telephone mast - Reference Number: 25/01983/TEL
A number of residents have contacted me with concerns regarding the above planning application. As such, I have placed a provisional ‘call-in’ request around the application which will allow for greater time to discuss it and take soundings from a wider group of people. The reasons I have stated as follows:
- potential detrimental impact on residential amenity
- potential detrimental impact on the green belt and open countryside
I am not saying that I object to it in principle (there is a need for infrastructure in the Saughall area), but I feel I must acknowledge the concerns that have already been raised with me on the matter. This is not unusual in cases like this.
The proposal is summarised as follows: “The installation of 1no. monopole mast (height up to 25m) which includes antennas, dishes, operator cabinets, multi-user electrical cabinet, and ancillary development thereto. This multiuser structure with secure compound and power supply will provide coverage in the wider area.”
Update (01/08/25) – I have been in correspondence with the CWaC Planning officer allocated to this application and am awaiting further clarification around the extent of my ‘powers’ as the borough councillor to act in some way on it (as I have outlined above). The notification received included details, in the standard way, regarding ‘call-in’ with a deadline of 04 August. However, I have been informed as follows:
“This application is for the prior approval of the LPA [Local Planning Authority]. This must be assessed under the relevant part of the GPDO [General Permitted Development Order], and is as such, permitted development, subject to the LPA's prior approval on solely siting and design. As such, these application types cannot be called-in to planning committee. Each public comment will still be read and taken into account in respect of this application.”
Subsequent to dialogue on this, because the above is not what the notification document says, I have now also been informed of this position:
“From my understanding of this part of the GPDO, as well as reading of the constitution, this must be a mistake. The paragraph of the constitution which that refers to is not in relation to Councillor call-ins either. I note that you have stated that you wish for a provisional call-in to be placed on the application. I will have internal discussions in the coming days. If it is possible to call-in these applications, it will be formally noted. If, as I suspect is the case, this is not possible, the call-in would not stand. If it cannot stand, I would welcome your comments as the ward member which would be taken into consideration in line with the GPDO. Please could you confirm if that’s an acceptable way forward?
I have posted again on my councillor Facebook to update residents on the matter and included an extract from the planning documents which shows precisely the proposed location.
Regardless of the above, residents with comments to make (both negative and positive) should do so via the CWaC Planning Portal or via email to: [email protected]. I intend to submit a note as part of this with a summary of the contacts I have received on the matter.
To clarify the meaning of GPDO, a simple definition here:
“The General Permitted Development Order or GPDO for short, gives permission to carry out certain items such as extensions, rear dormers, erect fences, porches, outbuildings, satellite dishes, demolition etc. and much much more, for residential, commercial properties and land across the country.”
VJ Day Service – 16 August 2025
As Sheriff of Chester, alongside the Sheriff’s Lady, I very much look forward to attending the important VJ Day 80th Anniversary Service to be held at All Saints’ Church, Saughall on Saturday 16th August 2025. I am grateful to all those who are working hard to make this poignant event a success.
Reminder – next joint surgery – 16th August
The next joint surgery is due to take place on Saturday 16th August 2025, 10am to 11am, outside the Co-op. As ever, I would welcome the engagement of the parish council in this opportunity for residents to bring their concerns to us. Posters will be produced in the usual manner.
CWaC Highways – summer minor improvements scheme
I have repeated below the list of locations that I have requested action from CWaC Highways on as part of their ‘minor improvements scheme’ which should be undertaken in the coming weeks. There may have been other locations that would have benefited from this, but overall across the Saughall & Mollington Ward, I have requested intervention in 66 areas, so it is important to be mindful of the extent of resources available too. I will report back on what gets undertaken as part of these works.
See this link for more details: https://www.simoneardley.uk/news/action-66-issues-logged-cwac-resolutio…
Miscellaneous reports / issues
- Pothole – near the Lodge Lane sign on the island at the bus terminus. Reported to CWaC, 16/07/25 – ref. CE731774662. The repair here has been actioned.
- Tree maintenance – tree between 46 and 60 Darlington Crescent. Request for bottom branches trimming / crown lift for ease of mowing. Also added to ‘Highways Small Community Projects’ request list. Reported to CWaC, 19/07/25 – ref. CE732614412.
- A cherry tree is dying in the green space within Greenway, in the vicinity of number 28. CWaC have issued a notice (03/07/25) to say that they will fell the tree in the coming weeks owing to its poor condition. The notice (which had a closing date for comments of 31/07/25) includes a comment that they will consider planting a new tree in the vicinity of the dead one. I have emailed to say that I believe this would be a welcome move.
- Light & Life Festival event feedback. I have continued to collate a report with resident experiences from this activity in June. If there are any other comments parish councillors would like to make (or residents who read this report), then I would like to receive these by 15th August at the latest in order that I can send the report to officers. It would be helpful if the parish council could advise whether they wish to hold a ‘public meeting’ too, most likely in September, to give others an opportunity to comment. ACTION – parish council to advise.
