Stockport and Tameside councils call for regular train service at Reddish South Station.

1. 4 stockportexpress.co.uk STOCKPORT EXPRESS WEDNESDAY 16 OCTOBER 2013
NEWS
Homes are
‘blighted’
by canteen
RESIDENTS have been left
angered by a firm’s ‘temporary’
staff canteen that they claim
has been blighting their homes
for three years.
The temporary building at
Churchwood Financial in
Heaton Norris has been given a
further six months by Stock-port
Council.
A central area committee
heard it first appeared in 2010
and caused nuisance for homes
on nearby Parsonage Road.
Complaints include security
CCTV pointing at houses, noise
from staff and that the
temporary building is an
eyesore.
But members granted a
further six-month renewal of
temporary permission, half
what the debt management
company asked for.
One resident said: “The
building brings staff into the
car park creating noise and
disturbance. There was no
consultation. CCTV cameras
are pointing into my house, it is
a privacy invasion.”
Churchwood says it is
looking for a permanent
solution, but a planning
application for a new canteen
has been turned down.
Councillor Philip Harding
said: “It is very a unsatisfactory
situation for residents. I am fed
up of this, it makes a mockery
of the whole process.”
A spokesman for Church-wood
said: “It has not been
possible to secure a alternative
premises or agree a scheme.
We are asking for temporary
permission while we get those
plans in order.”
MP’s action on
racist loophole
A LEGAL loophole that allows
racist abuse against the police
inside people’s homes could be
closed thanks to Stockport MP
Ann Coffey.
She has tabled an amend-ment
to a bill currently going
through Parliament – after she
was contacted by a Greater
Manchester police officer who
witnessed a black colleague
being abused while trying to
break up a dispute at a house.
Ms Coffey said: “I was
shocked to hear the offender
could not be charged as it was in
a dwelling.” The amendment
will need cross-party support.
Car vandals
POLICE are investigating after
a car was torched and nine
others vandalised in the early
hours of Sunday.
A Ford Focus was set on fire
in a compound near Gough
Street off Chestergate in the
town centre just before 3am.
Fire crews from Stockport
and Whitehill were called to
the scene and discovered nine
cars had also had their
windows smashed.
NEW HOPE
Dorothy Ash-woth
from the Friends of
Reddish South Station pic-tured
on the deserted plat-form
in 2011 and, above,
the ‘ghost train’ timetable
Station plea gets up steam
SAMSON DADA
TWO councils have joined
forces to urge transport
bosses to open a regular
service to Britain’s quietest
station for the first time in
over 20 years.
Reddish South Station
has been served by the one-way
‘ghost train’, which
stops on Fridays at
10.20am travelling to Staly-bridge
from Stockport,
since 1991.
At tomorrow’s Stock-port
full council meeting a
cross-party motion has
been tabled for a regular
passenger service from
Stockport to Manchester
Victoria, stopping at South
Reddish and Denton.
The motion also has the
backing of Tameside Coun-cil
and states that the serv-ice
would ‘improve access
to attractions, amenities
and places of work in the
area of the city centre
served by the station for
which there is high
demand locally and would
have significant economic
benefits for Stockport,
including supporting local
employment and visitor
attractions’.
It adds the new line –
which would need to be
approved by Transport
For Greater Manchester
(TfGM) – would relieve
pressure elsewhere on
road and rail networks.
Stockport executive
councillor Iain Roberts
said: “The people of Red-dish
South deserve more
than one train and it is
viable for a line between
Manchester Victoria and
Stockport.
“Transport For
Greater Manchester
needs to build the line or
explain why they cannot.”
The Friends of South
Reddish Station, formed
in 2007, have long cam-paigned
for the regular
service.
Reddish MP Andrew
Gwynne said: “It’s really
great news that both
Stockport and Tameside
councils are joining the
campaign to get a proper
service restored to Red-dish
South and Denton
stations.
“The Friends of Red-dish
South Station have
put up such a great case,
but we now need that
higher-level lobbying at
TfGM. That’s why Stock-port
Council’s involve-ment
is so crucial as they
have that important way
in to TfGM, and it’s bril-liant
to have cross-party
support with it.”
But TfGM has said it
would be expensive and
there is a shortage of
trains and tracks for the
service.
Councillor Andrew
Fender, chair of the
TfGM committee, said:
“We are very much aware
of the desire for regular
services on the Reddish
South Denton line.
“The potential provi-sion
of services from
Stockport to both Victo-ria
and Stalybridge has
already been run through
TfGM’s forecasting mod-els
as part of the prelimi-nary
work for this wide-ranging
service review.
“This has confirmed
that the costs associated
with starting a new serv-ice
are considerable, and
that one from Stockport
to Manchester Victoria or
Stalybridge would require
additional subsidy.
“Furthermore, there is
a shortage of suitable
diesel rolling stock and
lack of track capacity on
the network for a regular
service between Stock-port
and Manchester Vic-toria.”
Plans for schools to merge
TWO primary schools
said: “It is a response to
are set to merge under
the increasing number of
plans to create almost
primary school aged
200 extra pupil places.
children in Cheadle
Orrishmere Primary
Hulme and taking into
in Cheadle Hulme will
account the conditions of
close and join with
the schools it is a sensible
nearby Queens Road
option to explore.”
Primary on Buckingham
The plans are part of a
Road if the £8m plans are
four-year programme in
approved.
the borough to provide
The move will create a
2,420 places across
new 630-place school
Stockport. A total of
and nursery – currently
1,140 have already been
the two schools have a
created, with a further
total of around 450
1,280 needed by 2016.
pupils.
The council says the
Both headteachers
alternative option would
have sent letters to
be to spend almost £4m
parents and, following a
on repairs and extension
consultation, the new
at both schools that
Queens Road could open
would leave ‘children in
in time for the 2015
inadequate buildings that
school year.
are unfit for purpose on
Cheadle councillor
two neighbouring sites’.
Keith Holloway, a
A spokesman said:
governor of Orrishmere,
“There is, nationally and
locally, an increase in the
number of children
requiring school places.
“The council has an
ambition to do more than
just extend existing
buildings that have a
backlog of repairs and is
looking to renew
primary schools where
we can and one of the
first of this new pro-gramme
is in Cheadle
Hulme.
“The council is
planning to invest up to
£8m on a new primary
school for Cheadle
Hulme that is proposed
for the grounds of
Queen’s Road Primary.
“Both Orrishmere and
Queen’s Road Primaries
are in active discussion
over their merger when
they take up residence in
2015.”