https://theromileygazette.substack.com/publish/posts/published

31st December 2025

Dear Monitoring Officer,

I am writing to make a formal complaint regarding the decision to classify my correspondence as vexatious in relation to concerns I raised about traffic safety around Vale View School.

Prior to the school being built and opened, I raised concerns in good faith about the traffic arrangements and the risks they posed to public safety. These concerns were based on the anticipated volume of traffic, road layout, and the presence of children and pedestrians in the area. My intention was solely to prevent foreseeable danger and to prompt appropriate consideration before the situation became hazardous.

Despite this, my correspondence was characterised as vexatious. I find this deeply concerning and inappropriate, particularly given that weeks after the school opened, the police themselves raised complaints regarding the traffic situation. This clearly demonstrates that the concerns I raised were legitimate, reasonable, and ultimately validated by an independent authority.

I do not understand how raising evidence-based safety concerns in advance of a development — concerns that were later substantiated — can reasonably be described as vexatious. Such a designation risks discouraging residents from raising genuine public safety issues and undermines confidence in the council’s commitment to transparency and accountability.

I therefore request:

  • A clear explanation of the basis on which my correspondence was deemed vexatious
  • A review of that decision in light of the subsequent police concerns
  • Confirmation of whether this classification will be removed from my record

I would appreciate a written response addressing these points and setting out the council’s position clearly.

Yours sincerely,

Sheila Oliver
The Editor, The Romiley Gazette

My questions were not vexatious and were the sort of issues council officers and councillors should have been considered.

The cars from most of the houses within the red lines had to exit the estate up narrow Mill Lane at which the entrance to the school was to be situated. Utter madness.