Chatbox

It appears that my recent comment about recollecting that Turnpike field being purchased to prevent further housing development was correct, according to todays article by Heather Jones.
My comment was that if the main reason for the purchase was for a car park then a part sale controlled by the APC was a possible solution, so I am not sure why Heather was disappointed by my comment.
However, when the facts change people are entitled to change their minds and there has been a significant change to the potential cost of a green car park. FACT.
I was hardly suggesting extensive housing development by the sale of 2 plots. It would possibly be half an acre in total. Also why should anyone be concerned that the former land owner would be entitled to an overage payment, there would still be a significant contribution towards the cost of a car park. I am still of the opinion that the APC should consider the suggestion or open the discussion for a public vote.

Very sad to hear of the imminent closure of the very impressive cycle shop in Audlem, not being a regular cyclist I haven't really been able to support the shop as I would have wished but I have always found Tim and Nik to be a great couple and an asset to the village and I wish them both well on their next venture/retirement.

Alan Paterson's memory is correct. The purchase contract for the field included an "overage charge" whereby anything that increased the value of the field would result in significant payments having to be made to the original owner.
Fortunately, because of the potential advantages to Audlem of having a car park this was excluded from the overage clause, with certain restrictions – size and any income.
The following document on the Turnpike websitesummarised that many of the suggested uses of the field that were originally put forward would in fact trigger the clause:
https://tfra.audlem.org/doc/D370052.pdf

When the question of another carpark came up I thought good idea , Turnpike field, porous hard core base job done.
Check out YouTube "road construction and maintenance" and "mechanical concrete"
First principle of design, make it simple, make it cheap and make it work (check out a rawl plug)
Second principle, Information.
How many cars will the car park accommodate?
Does the car park require lighting? If it does who pays?
Do you need to provide charging points for EV cars, if so how many.
Will there be enough electrical power in the village to accommodate heat pumps and electric cars?
The more you try to please everyone the more the cost.

And sadly, it tolls for the passing of Mitchiko Iwata Esplin, who was well known by many of the bell ringers of our parish at St James the Great, Audlem, who passed over this morning after a long battle with cancer. She will be sadly missed by all those who knew her; her diminutive stature greatly exceeded by the beautiful smile that she greeted people with. God bless Mitchiko.

ADAS are asking if anyone has a large (25foot) Christmas Tree they would be willing to have cut down and donate for this years centre piece in the village ?
Please contact adascontact@gmail.com or 07800853539. For any further enquiries or details

May I respectfully suggest that hose who pen words on the subject of the village owned land, read the latest words by Steve Elliot – member of the group charged with the care etc of the field . And await the news as it will evolve. Time is something we have aplenty.

The following item was an extract from an item on AOL on the 24th October last year explaining the usage of the field.

"We are grateful to Geoff Seddon, who was Vice Chairman of the Parish Council at the time, for his article explaining the background to the village decision to proceed with the purchase.
What seems to be clear is that:

The purchase of the land was to prevent further infill development.
As a priority, the land should be partially used for a "green" car park to help alleviate the major congestion in the centre of the village.
The land should also be used as a recreational / wildlife area for the village"

The whole article can be found on AOL

I remember the meeting(s) about the purchase of the Turnpike Field . The seller was quite keen to sell it to the PC so that it would not be used for development. Making the top part into an 'green ' car park availability was a bonus as far as i internalised. Particularly of use when the Music Festival was held. It was never the primary consideration as far as I remember.
Having a car park there would indeed be of benefit but in no way will stop those who park as close to the CO-Op as possible and 'nip' in , sometimes leaving the engine running. This was a tractor driver who was not impressed when I remonstrated with him.
I think the working party, probably few in number, have done a tremendous job . Thank you.

Can anyone else confirm what I think I remember from the original meetings before we purchased the land – namely that anything we do to increase the underlying value of the field will result in a payment to the previous owner? Even the construction of a car park would incur this additional charge. Selling off land and having houses built would result in a very large payment to the previous owner because the price we paid was based on agricultural land. I don't remember all the details but one of the reasons for starting off by doing things that made no change to the underlying use was that we could do them without re-negotiating the purchase. If I am correct, all the residents who went to the original village meeting had this clearly explained to them (particularly in regard to a car park), but doubtless anyone who is new to the village will be unaware of this.

Kevin, that is an excellent and very constructive idea!

With regards to the suggestion that the field be sold if a car park could not be built surely by doing that we would be inviting developers to buy and build more houses which would of course mean even more cars .

I expect that I will be in the minority but my recollection of the main reason for purchasing Turnpike Field was to prevent further housing development in the village and that an additional village car park would be a 'nice to have' item as part of the justification for the purchase.
If the main reason for the purchase was for a car park then one solution could be that part of the field, say 2 plots, could be designated for 2 houses with the PC applying for planning permission (they would be unlikely to object to it) and if successful sell off those plots which would generate sufficient cash to pay for the car park and perhaps even leave some extra to pay down part of the loan.
Over to the PC for consideraration or public vote.

It seems to me that the current APC are applying a foggy malaise around this important village project, and continually kick it into the long grass.
It would be in their best interest and the interest of the village as a whole for the Audlem business owners to form from within their ranks a new and empowered Turnpike Field project team to take control and ownership of this project. Take control away APC and drive this project through to completion.

The failure here as I see it that the proposed figure for the green car park has unbelievably escalated fivefold within a few years? So either the initial figure was not costed accurately or the recent quotes are not competitive, and if as Judith says local contractors who were involved initially have not been asked to quote, I suspect the latter. We were sold this entire project on the assumption of a green car park costing an additional 40k so how is it now become a fifth of a million pounds????

Good morning. I regret to inform you that our game today in Winsford has been called off – flooded pitch .
We will continue with our march to the – hopefully – League Championship next week . Will be good if more of you could come along to give us a cheer when we play next Sunday at home .

I am most grateful to the person who has agreed to find space for the show clobber. I have posted this as soon as the offer was made to save unnecessary phone calls
Thank you all
Chris

Why not make everywhere in the village pay and display? This might cover the cost of a much needed car park on Turnpike, stop the overnight parking on the village hall car park and all the vehicles that are using the Shroppie Fly car park which remains shut

Hi Cheshire External cleaning can clean and point your roof tiles. Contact Cecelia on 07966167894

Very polished performance this afternoon! The kids loved it. Excellent singing. We have some talented folk who are willing to give up their time to entertain us. Ranks with the best of their shows. (But I will never forget Val as Snow White singing 'Someday my prince will come' many many moons ago. Thanks to all the cast.

Can I just point out that we have not once said the carpark is off the table we have said that with the massive increase in cost to the original estimate of £40k to build a car park that it's only right we make sure the tax payers of Audlem still feel a carpark is the best allocation of resources. Surly if you believe a carpark is the best option now is a time to be putting your points across in a constructive manner so that people fully understand your argument for it rather then admitting failure before any vote

Trevor I've nothing against the public being consulted either – call me old fashioned, but it wouldn't it be useful to establish all the facts and explore all the options FIRST !? I spoke to the owner of a local ground working company this morning, who had put his name forward at the start of the project for tendering – he tells me has not yet been asked to formally quote on this project. Sadly, this is what happens when new members come into a committee and fail to discuss and consult effectively with other members, because they already think they know everything. At the meeting I suggested seeking guidance about the availability of grants Janet, and was told "don't bother, there won't be any". I asked how much might have to be added to the precept in the worse case scenario of public funding – not even a ball park figure could be given. So much for research !

I wonder if anyone has a smallish storage area available until mid March. I need to store equipment for a dog show, rolled matting ,bunting posts and plastic chains. All in all the whole will fit into an estate car. All my buildings at Fields farm are crammed full of hay and gardening equipment. If you can help please contact me on 01270 811 070. I am frequently out so leave a message and I will return your call quickly. Many thanks Chris Lewis

I note that the installation of a relatively small 'green' car park at Turnpike Field will probably cost far more than we were led to believe a few years ago (I know that building work is now more expensive, but not 4-5 times more!).
The main reason for the village buying Turnpike Field about 3½ years ago was to provide more car parking. Other uses (dog walking, recreation, nature etc.) were well down the list. Audlem's economy desperately needs more parking, as was discussed at the time, and if we don't get it, local retailers (shops, pubs and cafes) and other businesses will suffer, and we can perhaps expect closures if we don't get continuing tourism by car.
The Parish Council proceeded to buy Turnpike Field for use as a car park. If that proves to be impossible because of cost, then the field must be sold, and the loan paid off. The parish precept must then be reduced by the relevant amount it was increased to service the loan.
The Parish Council simply does not have authority to continue owning Turnpike Field if there is no parking. I certainly would not have agreed to more than £200,000 being spent on providing walking and recreation facilities, and some trees and plants. Audlem and the surrounding area was already well served for them.

It looks as if the Parish Council/Turnpike Committee are following Westminster guidance and their HS2 project -- ever increasing costs and taxations. The only difference here is, this is needed unlike HS2. The costs will get even bigger if they continue at a snails pace instead of the greyhound pace that appears to be happening on the nature side, which is still around us even with the increased housing.
Why aren't details such as planning application, access costs etc etc available, surely this has been looked into by now. Knowing the cost of the 'mesh' is a bit like 'putting the cart before the horse', or have I missed something somewhere ? Have Cheshire Highways been approached for example/