Walton Hall and Gardens SOLD

[byrdy]

You beat me to it.

Not hard,were you having a nap?

[kevofaz25]

Is that the same Daresbury coach that is in the cycle museum at Walton Gardens?

[Gary]

Full report and latest council statement online at 7am tomorrow!

[Dizzy]

Is that the same Daresbury coach that is in the cycle museum at Walton Gardens?

 

Oooh I've seen that one.. is that it then. Surely not as the one Pedro mentioned sounded like a much grander carriage

 

As for the Cycle Museum... don't you just love it... IT'S GREAT

It needs more space though so everything can be seen. Appeals to all, adults and kids alike and it's great when they have some of the older and older bikes out for people to have a go on. How times change eh

 

I hope with whatever decision is finally made for the future of the Hall and Gardens that the Cycle Museum definately stays... and the Childrens Zoo... and the play area.. and the crazy golf... and the bowling area... and the pitch and putt... and the pond with the fishes.. and the formal gardens... and the wooded area where my dog likes to rummage in the undergrowth.... and the.....

 

They can get rid of the blue coat vultures who hide in the undergrowth and then prowl the car park when they think no one is looking though

[Dizzy]

Full report and latest council statement online at 7am tomorrow!

 

Cant wait... might have a lie in tomorrow then

 

Did you know that some anagrams of 'Council Statement' are

 

Culminate Contest

Concealments... I Tut

Conceal Item ...Stunt

Tactic... Solemn Tune

[Bazj]

 

Did you know that some anagrams of 'Council Statement' are

 

Culminate Contest

Concealments... I Tut

Conceal Item ...Stunt

Tactic... Solemn Tune

 

Did you know some others are:

 

"This is a pack of lies"

or

"we wasted one million pounds preparing this report"

or

"sold to the lowest bidder"

[Sha]

Full report and latest council statement online at 7am tomorrow!

 

Will this include a photo of Ian Marks and co standing in front of Walton Hall saying what a beautiful Hall it is and that they are doing all they can to save it for the public?

(similar to the photos that appeared in the press of them outside Stockton Heath Community Primary School just prior to the elections........straight after which they went full out for demolition?)

[kevofaz25]

and the similar photos of Woolston High School- and the gritting wagons that were somewhere else

[Peter T]

Facebook is for people with no 'real' friends

 

Thanks for the link Byrdy I had a look at it ealier.. should be interesting to follow especially when they start uploading any more info as and when it starts to come out

 

Dizzy, you would be amazed at how many people that you know could be on facebook.

[Wingnut]

Does anybody know what happened to the two stone lions that once stood in front of the hall? Were they ever recovered?

[Gary]

Full report and latest council statement online at 7am tomorrow!

 

Will this include a photo of Ian Marks and co standing in front of Walton Hall saying what a beautiful Hall it is and that they are doing all they can to save it for the public?

(similar to the photos that appeared in the press of them outside Stockton Heath Community Primary School just prior to the elections........straight after which they went full out for demolition?)

 

Well we managed a photo of Ian Marks.

http://www.warrington-worldwide.co.uk/articles/7943/1/Storm-over-plan-for-jewel-in-the-crown/Page1.html

[theinsider]

If the council can no longer afford to run this once fantastic facility what is the problem with letting a private investor doing the job properly.

Hopefully we can have a decent wedding venue, proper cafe/restaurant facilities and decent attractions added!

This facility has been a disgrace for far too long.

If it had been run by a pivate business as shabbily as it has been for the past decade it would have closed down and gone out of business.

At weekends it is mainly full of CHAVS and ASBO kids.

Lets hope the new owners can make it a decent facility!

I suspect those who are protesting are NIMBYS who are concerned of increased activity from a well run venue.

[Dizzy]

This facility has been a disgrace for far too long.

 

A disgrace ?????

 

At weekends it is mainly full of CHAVS and ASBO kids .

 

Really ???? Surely the so called chavs and asbo kids you refer too will still go at weekends though as after all Cllr Marks has only today stated that "We know how important it is that public access is maintained."

 

Although again he doesn't actually say FREE access... so they could always charge an admission fee.. which still means public access is available... providing that you pay of course... that should keep the chavs and riff raff out

[observer]

"Chavs and Asbo kids" ? Wondered where they'd all gone! Well, seems this Council has got them off our streets then!

[observer]

"Chavs and Asbo kids" ? Wondered where they'd all gone! Well, seems this Council has got them off our streets then!

[Sha]

/

 

Well we managed a photo of Ian Marks.

/

 

And the usual evasive/ misleading comments as expected!!!

 

No loss of public access............no, the public will not lose access to the hall or grounds.......so long as they can afford to pay the prices charged by a top class boutique hotel! and with more than 75% of the population of Warrington earning less than the national average this will be very few!

 

The council have not yet decided the choice of developer,........ but as only the Contessa offer 'matches the council's own aspirations' for the Hall and Estate the choice will be between Contessa or Contessa. (a bit like Spam or Spam? )

 

The council will decide on the developer in June......... (will this 'decision' require the signing of the deal and 125 year lease (as good as a sell off) as soon as June?)

 

There will be public consultation and a planning application in the Autumn.........errr what's the point of public consultation AFTER the decision has been made?

Probably the only public consultation will be the mandatory notification required re the planning application process.

 

It looks as though Walton Hall and Estate will be offloaded in the manner usual to the present Exec Board then!!!!!

[LymmParent]

A lease differs from a sale in the fact that WBC will retain ownership and therefore control of anything done on the site. We elect the Council and the Council answers to us.

 

I am not on either side so far, because neither side has come up with a solid fact. Clearly, Contesa has expressed an interest in investing a lot of money in the Hall and Park, upgrading the facilities, putting in a pub - which is hardly elitist really - and saving some of the buildings from complete collapse. OBVIOUSLY they want to make money - we're all grown-ups, and eccentric billionaires have so far not stepped forward.

 

We are not overwhelmed by offers from anyone else, are we? Walton Hall may have 5700 Facebook friends, but where are their chequebooks? So what do we want? Another ten years of watching the Hall and buildings decaying to the point where safety issues close the place for good? Or a developer interested in working WITH the community to preserve the Hall, rescue the outbuildings and probably add to the attractions in the Park?

 

There is no point moaning on about how WBC should be able to come up with the same ?20million to do the job. Not going to happen. So how about actually listening to the proposals before deciding we don't like them? I know it's a novel idea for some people, but maybe Contesa putting 20 or 30 bedrooms into the stable block, a nice restaurant into the main Hall, providing upgraded wedding services, installing a 9 hole golf course and opening a pub and tea rooms would be quite nice for visitors? Maybe it's worth pausing a moment to think before raising a lynch mob and running their ?20M out of town.

[Dizzy]

A lease differs from a sale in the fact that WBC will retain ownership and therefore control of anything done on the site. We elect the Council and the Council answers to us.

 

The current Council answers to us

 

As for the Lease... worth remembering that leases are drawn up and AGREED by both paries. Draft leases usually fly back and forth with chages on both sides until a point where the lessee (tenant) is finally happy to sign and start paying up, or in this case taking over responsibility, from the lessor (owner)

 

A lease also usually details specific responsibilities and right of the lessor and lessee and but often grants the tenant posssession and use of the leased property to the exclusion of the owner

 

And of course a Lease be sub-let if..... infact the content of Leases is never set in stone and can be changed at any time with both parties consent

 

Maybe rather than a silly little public consultation excercise (which after all they wont take notice of anyway) all that is needed is for the contents of the actual 125 year lease to be made public prior to it being signed ... Simples and it would stop all this silliness

[Sha]

Full report and latest council statement online at 7am tomorrow!

 

Cant wait... might have a lie in tomorrow then

 

"might have a lie in tommorrow then?"

 

you got what you expected then?!!

[Dizzy]

[LymmParent]

Maybe rather than a silly little public consultation excercise (which after all they wont take notice of anyway) all that is needed is for the contents of the actual 125 year lease to be made public prior to it being signed ... Simples and it would stop all this silliness

 

Well, yes, but that would need them to have actually drawn up the lease and agreed terms and as far as anyone here has said, that's not happened. What we have is a place in need of finance, a company offering it and a council listening to the initial idea. It does actually make sound common sense to discuss ideas with Contesa, let them make proposals based on actual measuring up and costing, and THEN go out to the public with a plan for discussion. Otherwise, all they'd have is a hall full of people shouting and no facts.

 

And yes, WBC answers to us. Nobody sits in that Chamber unless we put them there. They get away with blue murder at times because of this belief that there's nothing we can do about it. There's no such thing as "the Council" - it's a bunch of people we picked to do as we tell them. High time EVERYONE got that clear if you ask me.....

[inky pete]

Walton Hall may have 5700 Facebook friends, but where are their chequebooks?

 

Many of those, now 7,500, Facebook friends dig out their chequebooks and hand WBC a significant sum of money each and every month.

 

Many of them see very little in the the way of services in return for their generosity.

 

It's hardly surprising that large numbers of people are unhappy to be reminded that, yet again, the local council won't spend some of the hundreds of millions of pounds it gets from them on facilities which they obviously think are of vital importance.

[Dizzy]

Maybe rather than a silly little public consultation excercise (which after all they wont take notice of anyway) all that is needed is for the contents of the actual 125 year lease to be made public prior to it being signed ... Simples and it would stop all this silliness

 

Well, yes, but that would need them to have actually drawn up the lease and agreed terms and as far as anyone here has said, that's not happened.

 

Of course it has not happened yet LP as the backroom chats and negotiations have to happen first ALONG WITH discussions relating to the proposed lease (also based on backroom discussions and agreements....) and then of course there's the little sweetener of removing any form of responsibility that if left may require just a tiny bit of work or some brains and forward thinking and planning.

 

My point is that backroom negotiations and discussions will happen... followed by the required public consultation.. (often ignored anyway) whereas the contents of what the the Lease should or shouldn't contain will have already been discussed but will not publically divulged (content probably classed as an 'exclusion' due to 'Section x of Act Y relating to '???'' during any meetings where the public involvement is allowed or any documentation that the public is allowed to view.

 

Then the draft lease will be changed many times until both parties are happy and willing to sign.

 

What we have is a place in need of finance, a company offering it and a council listening to the initial idea. It does actually make sound common sense to discuss ideas with Contesa, let them make proposals based on actual measuring up and costing, and THEN go out to the public with a plan for discussion. Otherwise, all they'd have is a hall full of people shouting and no facts.

 

I am not disputing that LP but the Council go to the public for discussion once THEY have made their minds up about the way forward and not before Seen it so many times and everytime it is the same

 

And yes, WBC answers to us. Nobody sits in that Chamber unless we put them there. They get away with blue murder at times because of this belief that there's nothing we can do about it. There's no such thing as "the Council" - it's a bunch of people we picked to do as we tell them. High time EVERYONE got that clear if you ask me.....

 

People are clear about that LP... it's just the council who can't seem to grasp the idea and therefore they run riot over what we 'the voters' want with what they 'the decision makers' believe is right.... even when they know they probably not right they stick to their script and beliefs so as not to loose face.

 

Maybe you should try questioning Ian Marks and his cronies from time to time and see if they will listen to you... ie 'the voter who put them there in the first place'

 

BLOODY LIB DEMS ...LIES, LIES, DECEIPT, FALSE PROMISES....followed by more LIES.............. THICK AS THEIVES, STUBBORN AS MULES, AND AS DEAF TOWARDS PUBLIC OPINION AND WORRY AS A TAPE WORM IN A GUT !!..... AND WHILE I'M AT IT AS TRANSPARENT AS A BRICK WALL

 

How many times do you see Lib Dims saying we did this.. we did that... or see them pictured in a 'photo opportunity' saying 'WE CARE' only to then go the complete opposite way at the last minute or when it matters or when the going gets a little to hard to be bothered with.

 

 

Ooooh all this election stuff it getting to me now and my memory is starting to kick in.

 

One things for sure THEY ARE NOT GETTING MY VOTE THIS TIME AROUND !!!

[Peter T]

I double checked thinking I had posted that. lol

[LymmParent]

Very good. Sadly, in all that, I can't see anything that furthers the discussion on Walton Hall. Yes, we all pay our taxes and should get our choice of presents - but life is real and we have to deal with it as it is, not as we would like it to be. There will not be ?20M of input from public funds.

 

Yes indeed, those who protest-voted two years ago and ticked the Lib Dem boxes have learned the hard way that you get what you pick. Yes, we have a bunch of wishy-washy, third-rate politicians who have made a lot of noise about doing nothing useful - but we picked them (actually, I didn't, but the majority vote was for peevish protest).

 

We are up against a straight choice. Three options. We let the Park rot, or we accept commercial investment, or we come up with another option that will work. What won't work is demanding ?20M from WBC and stirring up enough hostility to make Contesa decide there are plenty of other communities who'd actually appreciate twenty million quidsworth of upgraded facilities, rescued heritage, created jobs and spend with local businesses......

 

Now, if anyone has a constructive plan for alternative development that will give us more benefit that Contesa's suggestions, let's hear it - because I'm definitely more interested in seeing the estate prosper than I am in council-bashing or in-fighting - and I assume there are at least another 7500 like-minded people.