Playing field, car park take over

The Playing Field, Tennis Courts, Children's Playground and the Car Park Complex

I posted a piece on 20th September where I stated my intention to plead for action with regard to securing the future of this community complex for all time and for the village.

I said I would appear before the Parish Council on the 6th October to make my case and invited others to join me there.

I stated on Monday night at the PC meeting that this complex is central to all that goes on here in this wonderful village.

Volunteers

Since the late 90's when we set up the Millennium committee* the village began, as volunteers in ASET, ADAS, the Audlem Festival committee and many others – with no input in effort by the Parish Council – to arrange all the events that now grace life here:

• The Music & Arts Festival
• The Proms on the Park – now Party on the Park
• The Festival of Transport
• The Fireworks display.

All are acknowledged as the best around in South Cheshire – if not even further afield. None of the foregoing would be possible without the playing field and the car park.

Add to that the welter of awards we have been given for the vibrancy of the village including four recent medals for the efforts of Audlem in Bloom, then the case for my appeal to acquire the playing field and the other assets for the village grows.

Cheshire East offer

As I understand it , Cheshire East has offered the whole complex to Audlem at no cost at all. Taking up this offer will protect all for ever, secure for all of the Village community.

The mountain of effort undertaken freely by Roland Hall and others of APHax (the Public Hall extension) is wonderful. Just imagine the scenario if the car park was to go along with the field as a housing estate. Many school playing fields have met this fate across many councils. It would be the death knell of the Public Hall.

I do feel it is so important that the Parish Council stop vacillating and take the offer to take over the complex as soon as is possible – in good order of course, as would be the case for any property transfer.

Paying for field

As a closing statement, I have appealed for help as chair of Audlem FC. We are required to pay for the use of the field, for about 20 games of 2 hours only in twelve months. I wonder who paid to cut the grass before we came along. The cost to AFC is just under £400, the only group that has to pay.

With the huge bank balance held by the Parish Council , would it not be nice for them to be proactive and more positive and state that they do wish to help all groups with funds and then invite such appeals, rather than make one go through hoops to get help.

Ralph Warburton

*The Millennium committee was myself, along with Bill Consterdine and David Higham and others, whereby we published cook books, celebratory china mugs, birth plates for all millennium babies and planted a stainless steel time capsule under the mill wheel in the square (the ancient millstone donated to us by Martyn Measure's father Brian).

AudlemOnline adds: We understand from Monday night's Parish Council meeting that there is to be an Extraordinary Parish Council meeting in the coming weeks – no date set as yet that we have heard of – to settle this once in a lifetime opportunity to acquire these assets for the village.

AudlemOnline, naturally, remains totally neutral reporting village events, but we cannot refrain from noting that taking over village assets from Borough Councils in the past has been a resounding success.

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