by David Skentelbery
WORRIED councillors fear a sell-off of garage sites at Culcheth could lead to increased parking problems near the village centre.
The parish council has been consulted by the borough council, which is considering the future of more than 840 garages and garage plots across Warrington which could realised more than £2 million if sold.
One garage site is in Ellesmere Road, Culcheth - and is already notorious for parking chaos.
Cllr Keith Bland (pictured) said: "We are concerned that if these garages were sold it could lead to even worse parking problems.
"Some, if not most, of the garages are currently rented by local people. If the garages were sold-off, would they remain available? If not, where would the people who currently use them park their cars?
"We have no idea what the site might become."
The borough council currently receives about £27,000-a-year in rent for garages across Warrington - but this barely covers the cost of repairs and management.
Officers have put forward a number of options for the future use of the properties, including selling them, retaining them as garage sites, using them for affordable housing developments, allotments or gypsy/travellers sites.
A consultation exercise is being carried out before a decision is made.
The parish council has been consulted by the borough council, which is considering the future of more than 840 garages and garage plots across Warrington which could realised more than £2 million if sold.One garage site is in Ellesmere Road, Culcheth - and is already notorious for parking chaos.
Cllr Keith Bland (pictured) said: "We are concerned that if these garages were sold it could lead to even worse parking problems.
"Some, if not most, of the garages are currently rented by local people. If the garages were sold-off, would they remain available? If not, where would the people who currently use them park their cars?
"We have no idea what the site might become."
The borough council currently receives about £27,000-a-year in rent for garages across Warrington - but this barely covers the cost of repairs and management.
Officers have put forward a number of options for the future use of the properties, including selling them, retaining them as garage sites, using them for affordable housing developments, allotments or gypsy/travellers sites.
A consultation exercise is being carried out before a decision is made.
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4 Responses to "Parking worries over garage sell-off" 
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said this on 19 Dec 2011 9:08:30 AM BST
I think a gypsy/travellers site will be a very public spirited move !!! Why are these clowns still in employment?
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said this on 19 Dec 2011 2:09:36 PM BST
Yet another example of a planning & regeneration department out of control and casting around for solutions to a problem that would never arisen if these sites had been managed properly at the start. Typically for WBC the cause of the problem, which is clearly mismangement and failure to collect rents when due, is not faced upto.
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said this on 19 Dec 2011 5:25:49 PM BST
What a great idea.... turn them all into a gypsy sites and get NO revenue whatsoever!! Gypsies pay nothing towards anything and yet expect everything in return....clowns is certainly the right phrase!.
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said this on 20 Dec 2011 12:31:18 AM BST
When are these people going to realise that insulting the intelligence of the general populace will NOT make them popular! The idea of disposing of the council garage plots has surfaced previously - and received mass objection (though I don't remember Keith Bland being one to object at that time).
These particular types of pathetic stunts are about the only times that WBC's officers and councillors are truly transparent - who do they think is not going to see right through this one? Are they really expecting those taking part in the consultation to back their plans for housing development in preference to the other options given and ignore the fact that they have A RIGHT to other options more in line with their RIGHT to protection of valuable community / open space? Also, what kind of blundering officers could have suggested using such tactics? They may be trying to make a quick buck but antics like these can cost dearly. The cost of defending a Human Rights challenge for depicting Gysies /Travellers as some kind of Bogie Men could end up more than any profits they expect to make.
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