by David Skentelbery
MORE than 200 angry residents demonstrated outside Warrington Town Hall as members of the borough council’s executive board arrived to discuss the controversial plan to go into partnership with a private company to develop the hall as a luxury hotel and conference centre.
Leader of the council Ian Marks appeared on the Town Hall steps to receive a petition signed by more than 7,000 people.
Banners and placards were waved and there was some chanting of protests, but the demonstration was orderly and peaceful, making a substantial police presence unnecessary.
Representatives of the demonstrators – which included the Save Walton Hall Gardens Campaign, the Friends of Walton Estate and Walton Parish Council were allowed into a packed council chamber, along with many other members of the public.
Some members of the public were allowed to speak – an unusual event at executive board meetings. And after a lengthy debate, they heard the board unanimously approve two recommendations instead of the six originally put forward.
These were to agree a draft master plan as a basis for public consultation, with the results of the consultation to be reported back to the board for consideration and to approve continued discussions with potential partners.
Before this, several campaigners had addressed the board.
Mark White, for the Save Walton Hall and Gardens Campaign, told councillors that in addition to 7,000 people who had signed the petition, more than 17,000 people of all ages had registered their support for the campaign on the social networking site Facebook.
He said residents felt the proposals would completely change the character of the hall and grounds.
He said consultation which had been promised with the Friends of Walton Estate and English Heritage had not taken place.
Mr White said there had been fundamental errors in the council’s accounting which purported to show Walton Hall had lost £649,000 last year.
Residents believed there would be exclusion zones in the grounds which would no longer be open to the public if the scheme went ahead.
“This isn’t saving Warrington’s heritage – it is giving it away,” he said.
Keith Inman, of the Friends of Walton Estate, said people believed a decision had already been made and their views would not be taken into account.
Borough councillor Paul Kennedy, who represents the area, said he had been saying for some years that Walton Hall needed major investment and that the council did not, and never would have, the money to carry it out.
He urged the council to consider setting up a Community Land Trust covering certain areas of the park, “to be run by the people, for the people, in perpetuity.”
He admitted he did not know if the idea was feasible but believed it was worth exploring.
Coun Marks admitted the council’s communication with the public had not been ideal. But until recently there had been no detailed proposal on which to consult the public.
“The proper consultation starts tonight,” he said. “No decision will be made until the public has been properly consulted. The irony of all this is that we are all on the same side – we all want to save Walton Gardens”
Deputy leader of the council Keith Bland said until now, the council had had nothing to consult the public on.
“There would have been no point in consulting on a blank sheet of paper,” he said.
“We want to bring Walton Hall back. It used to be the jewel in Warrington’s crown but it is a bit tarnished at the moment.”
The meeting heard there would be widespread consultation with exhibitions, leaflets, and copies of the draft master plan in libraries and other public buildings. The council wanted everyone to contribute.
At the end of the meeting, the board went into private session to consider confidential aspects of the plans which, Coun Marks said, could be commercially sensitive and against the public interest to be made public at this stage.
But he pledged that the council was not hiding anything and that the process would be open and transparent.
Pictures: The demonstrators outside Warrington Town Hall and council leader Ian Marks receiving the 7,000-strong petition from organisers Malcolm Eldridge and Mark White.
200 demonstrate over Walton Hall plan
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About Author
Gary Skentelbery
Experienced journalist for more than 40 years. Managing Director of magazine publishing group with three in-house titles and on-line daily newspaper for Warrington. Experienced writer, photographer, PR consultant and media expert having written for local, regional and national newspapers. Specialties: PR, media, social networking, photographer, networking, advertising, sales, media crisis management. Chair of Warrington Healthwatch Director Warrington Chamber of Commerce Patron Tim Parry Johnathan Ball Foundation for Peace. Trustee Warrington Disability Partnership. Former Chairman of Warrington Town FC.
8 Comments
I am very grateful to the 200 people who protested at the Town Hall on Monday. I couldn’t be there but I really did want to.
I hope we can continue to use this website to keep the public up to date in case we need to protest again.
I am continuing to ask people to sign the petition – is this the right thing to do or is it closed? I ask because I still think awareness is lacking despite great efforts from many people.
regards…….
One response, is that it?
Mandy, yes you are right to continue asking people to sign the petition. Since the protest on Monday and the subsequent publicity more people have become aware of the threat to Walton Hall and Gardens. The campaign continues and is growing in force. Don’t worry too much about missing Monday’s protest, there will be further opportunities!
I was there at the protest and it was a great atmosphere. Just seeing a bunch of people there who all wanted to help save Walton Gardens. Everyone was passionate about saving the gardens and now we just have to hope for the best.
Far from it Carys…. no good simply hoping for the best. The campaign needs to keep going and gain even more backing an momentum. People still need to keep signing the petition. This exec board meeting was only part of the first stages. There will then be another exec meeting after the token consultation and then it will finally go to planning for comments and then to the development control meeting for a final decision on whatever plans and restrictions are drawn up. So important that the public don’t lose interest and that the campaign group keep their website up to date with all the LATEST news, information gained and of course regular feedback on their websites home pages. Hopefully there will be no need to take things further at a later stage but you never know with the council 🙁
Call me cynical, but I’d like to know what kind of paper has already been drawn up – and possibly signed. If English Heritage is interested in working with WBC to preserve Walton, isn’t that better than a private, commercial enterprise? And with the economy like it is, how does a private group have sufficient funds to develop the property? I’m very uneasy about the direction this seems to be taking. Kudos to all those who showed up to protest the council plans and who spoke up at the meeting!
My ancestors worked in walton hall, and are displayed on a board in the museum in the stables. I have also been taking my children to visit the park and gardens for years. It would be a crying shame to close something so beautiful as Walton Hall to the general public.
My ancestors worked in walton hall, and are displayed on a board in the museum in the stables. I have also been taking my children to visit the park and gardens for years. It would be a crying shame to close something so beautiful as Walton Hall to the general public.