More important than shopping- Irene bethell

I am particularly concerned about our beautiful roundabout. The idea is hateful that some shops like Sainsbury can come along and dictate our town's road plan to us so that they can hasten their customers to their shops.

If it indeed had that effect. Like most other people I consider that roundabouts ease traffic flow, are low maintenance and don't rely on electricity to make them work.

I think that there are more important things than shopping. Where are the shoppers coming from? Macclesfield has a Sainsbury. Biddulph has a new one, we are inundated with supermarkets.

it is going to ruin things for our already hard pressed  shops and small businesses. There is certainly isn't much money in people's pockets. We are in the grip of recession. What does Leek Council hope to gain from having a large supermarket like Sainsburys in its struggle for market share, against the wishes of a people it was elected to represent.

As for the programme of job creation I think we need to implement more intelligent schemes than those based on shopping and tourism

Decision is not Sainsbury's by Nick Reade

I see we have another article this week about the furore regarding the removal of the roundabout. It would be nice to hear a balanced argument to hear arguments both for and against

It also seems odd that there is a section highlighted in greenwhere Reg Davies calls for the boycott of Sainsbury, but it is not Sainsbury's decision but the council. It is the councils who have linked the highways improvement to Sainsbury's planning application, not the other wat around.

I believe it is also the case that the council offered a memorial garden which was rejected. As the roundabout is nothing to do with the memorial. It seems to me that other powers are at play here and it is more that people are pointing a finger  at the big supermarket coming to Leek apparently to " tell us what to do". However that is itself contradictory as no one has protested againgstb the Morrison expansion, Asda taking over Netto or the proposed expansion of the Coop.

The arguments about Sainsbury have been done and dusted. The traffic plans seem sensible much like the ring road around Stone and you don't see any snarl ups there. Why not let them get on with it and see if it can be improving

This is one of the biggest changes to happen to Leek. It is also an important investment in money and people. I hope that people can look at a bigger picture

Roundabout Campaigners will not be moved

Campaigners have pledged the fight is on to save Leek's landmark roundabout as news of its plight goes global.

Veterans residents and councillors have vowed to carry on the fight despite hopes of the retaining the traffic island seem to have been dashed by highway officials earlier this month.

Brian Pointon, a leading figure in the campaign to Your leek Paper he remains adamant that he will stand before the bulldozers to get his views heard

" We are continuing this fight, he said." I am going to chain myself to the roundabout, I will do this and I have been getting support about it"

The news has come that the plight of the stricken roundabout reached the States where a calender showcasing the island in all its splendour hit the printers.

Staffs Moorlands baker and roundabout crusader Sarah Gayton e-mailied Florida's Ocoee Community gazette in a bid to raise the bar of the fight to international levels

"The newspaper sticks up for little people",she said  "I e-mailed  them a little time ago and they lead with the story of the roundabout and they mentioned it again. Nobody has been listening ,we are doing everything in our power, but no one is listening"

Leek Deputy Mayor Cllr Pam Wood meanwhile said she is very aware that the people of Leek still want to challenge the decision to remove the roundabout

Road Masterplan is unworkable- Rick Martin Bacon

It has been interesting to see those who are campaigning to get the proposed road changes to Leek stopped. They include the scare-mongers who claim that if Sainsbury's are not allowed to remove the monument they will get in a huff and remove their ball of 350 jobs  unlikely they are here to make money, not change the landscape; attempts to label campaigners as dinosaurs- unfortunately the writer of the letter that included a fictional dinosaur in the letter title and another claimed that we were a "noisy" minority need to look at that referendum result again.

Now we have a claim from Cllr hart that unless we sit down and shut up we will destroy the Leek Masterplan.

Now call me an old cynic, if you will, but I think that this argument is the most hollow of all. For one, having not been consulted on the said masterplan I could not care two hoots about retaining an iconic feature of the Leek townscape allowing traditions to go on  without the inclusion of the Green Cross Code and actually asking  people who have to live with the consequences what they think it means then its back to the drawing board. Such considerations have to be included  from the start

But a more pertinent question must be what masterplan?

There isn't one.

Yes there is a draft one, but just how sacrosanct  that is can be judged  by the fact the plan  includes a draft multi storey car park on the High St car park, a site that will serve the town centre and ease parking problems for those who wish to park within a reasonable distance from where they intend to shop.

That all changed when a person decided that they wanted land to put up a privately owned cinebowl. Our leaders fell over themselves to change the masterplan

Now call me an old stick in the mud but that does suggest to me that the plan is amenable to change? Or does one man's business scheme trump the wishes  of the 6,000 people who signed the petition who have signed  the petition calling for road changes to be shelved. I would be interested in seeing how this relates to democracy

In short the road changes which includes cutting off the alternative route through the town , using the residential  West End of Leek  as traffic calming measures and stopping the people going about their business are unworkable  and potentially catastrophic.

As in integral part of the masterplan then the masterplan is unworkable and needs to be changed. As as has been shown this can happen. The only obstacle is the council, and even though they may have forgotten this, they work for us. Time for them to be reminded.

Petition aims for 8,000 names

Campaigners organising a petition  to be presented to parliament in a bid to save the Leek roundabout have raised 3,000 signatures in one week.

As part of Sainsbury's plan to redevelop the Churnet Works  site off the Macclesfield Rd, the town road network will undergo major restructuring.

This involves the roundabout in front of the Nicholson War Memorial, being demolished and replaced with traffic lights.

Campaigners hope  to raise the 8,000 signatures  which will then be given to Moorlands Karen Bradley eMP to present to Parliament..

Almost 25 years ago the then MP  Sir David Knox presented a petition to Parliament calling for enquiries  into proposals by Dixon  Properties  and the Moorland Council to redevelop the town. Following the petition junior minister William Wadergrave ordered a public enquiry.

However the property developers walked away before the enquiry was started.

Queen of the Moorlands- Roger Warrilow

Don't let down my dear old town
I have lived here for so long i am part of a crown
Give me your word , that words will be heard to conserve me.
I am the big full stop at the end of Derby St
A town centre key.
\I am the garden in the round easily to be found

I have the signs of the destination where you are bound.
The sun shines on me as it does the moon
Through Sun and rain, your rainbow in December or June
I am round and I am happy and reflect on your sunny side
I am your Bayeux Tapestry, your town centre pride


I am your war memorials garden and if I say it myself,
In a roundabout way, I am your Town Centre Treasure,
So please don't throw me away.

Our Roundabout Hypocrisy- Roger Warrilow

We have our master plan
And you will obey,
If you did
That would be bordering on democracy
We have our master plan
So forget your referendum
Forget the march of one thousand
It might as well have been just one
Now that we have you
On the run
Just lie down until the job is done
　
We have our master plan
We might have said that there would be a consultation
But you’re only Leek’s population
Not the whole of England’s nation
You did pay for it
But it’s locked in a secret location
No you cannot see that it might cause consternation
You might as well ask
But we have the power.
We have our master plan
You have no chance whoever you are
The Staffordshire Moorlands Leek Councillors
Voted two to one against you at
Our one or only chance
You can win but the chance is slim
Ring your MP Karen Bradley
Everyday of every week
Also ring your Council Leader
Sybil Ralphs, she will let you speak
Do not lie down and forget your town
Speak to the above and do all you can
The head of the street must have its crown
The roundabout must stay
So ring now and pray for a better day.