Much Ado about not an awful lot

Regular readers of the Chatbox last week may recall an exchange between 'AnnT' and 'Worried of Audlem', mainly about the proposed takeover of the playing field complex.

The webteam has now received the following contribution to the debate from Ann Tilling – who is clearly not 'Worried' – which is too long for a Chatbox post but may well be of interest to our wider News readership:

Worried, did you have to wait for me to post something to be able to launch an anonymous and venomous attack on me? I do wish you had taken the trouble to check your facts.

I wasn't going to bother replying to your bile and risk boring Chatbox readers but I feel the need to contradict you on many points but will start by saying that a canvassing of households was a requirement for the Neighbourhood Plan. Whatever you think, the Parish Council is considered to be an elected body. As such they are deemed to be capable of taking decisions without a referendum.

Just think of the chaos if every decision by councils or government were to go to a referendum. Having said that, I have no particular axe to grind if one were to be held but would caution that it is very difficult to provide an unbiased questionnaire. It would certainly stall for time.

• I do happily donate to many causes, both here and abroad but not all comers as you state. I had not realised this was to be denegrated.
• Surely all who vote try to influence how we are taxed. Personally my vote never counts locally as I am not a Conservative voter.
• I was no more elected/unelected than every other member of the Parish Council as not enough prospective candidates put themselves forward to cause a vote to be held.
• My resignation was for purely personal reasons so the timing was coincidental, if it did indeed coincide.
• My vague 'hopefully' demonstrates nothing more than a dislike of being dogmatic about things. People, not myself, have put well over a year's work into the two lots of figures which were put forward at one meeting about the playing field complex. One for a Trust to run the complex and one for the PC alone to run it in which case charitable status doesn't apply, I believe.
• I see nothing sinister in commenting that last November's Extraordinary Parish Council meeting to discuss the playing field complex takeover was packed and that most were supporters of the idea. It was nothing other than a reflection of interest. No less democratic than many other meetings.
• I may well be crass and childish but at least I am out here in the open.
• I was in Scotland prior to the Independence referendum and the company my husband works for has its main offices and organisation there. There was certainly vigorously expressed opinion on both sides but quite why you hold me to account I cannot fathom.
• The car park complex is already there but there are no guarantees of it remaining so if, as with the toilets some years ago, Cheshire East do not wish to maintain it. The toilet takeover seems to have gone very well though I take no credit for that.
• Remember, if you were in the village then, in the 1980s the village's tennis courts fell into disrepair and were never used as the then council, Crewe & Nantwich Borough Council, did not maintain them. They were saved by local villagers, Audlem Tennis Club, and are now superb with added facilities such as floodlights.
• You are right about more development meaning more precept payers, which should make the proposed takeover, if still on the cards, more affordable.
• The precept paid to Audlem Parish Council is in our case less than 3per cent of the total council bill. We are in a fairly high band and it works out at less than £1.40 per week. The emotion and scare tactics being employed seem to be a bit over the top to me.

Finally I would like to apologise to all those parties who will be bored/offended/angered by this but I feel it necessary to ask this to be published.

So, 'Worried', should you wish to take up cudgels with me would you be so obliging as to contact me via AudlemOnline and not use a cloak of anonymity. The more suspicious of us, and this certainly includes me, might think that you had an ulterior motive.

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