A FRODSHAM councillor has launched a stinging attack on Cheshire West and Chester Council (CW&C).
Cllr Lynn Riley (pictured) – currently the town’s only representative on the borough council – says she is “incredibly disappointed” with the way CW&C chooses to deal with Frodsham.
“We are rarely a priority and for the most this is our normal and we deal with it as creatively and practically as we can,” she said.
“ However, the general neglect has put Frodsham residents at real risk in recent times.
“ The huge struggle we have to fix the basics like the flooding on Alvanley Terrace and the potholes in the overspill car park behind the leisure centre resulted in Frodsham not getting a Covid test centre at the time that we really needed it.
“With infection rates so high in Halton and Warrington in 2020, we could have done with this facility in Frodsham. “
Cllr Riley also hit out over “neglect” of Frodsham Leisure Centre and a failure to even keep up with basic maintenance.
There was now a real risk of the centre closing if further problems came to light.
CW&C was looking at options for Frodsham but there waqs clearly no plan and an insufficient budget allocation.
At the most recent meeting there was lots about Helsby and plans in Halton from the rowing club but the “glaring omission” was any comment on Frodsham.
“In my opinion CW&C has little to teach communities around here and could learn a thing or two from what is delivered each day, week and month by amazing grass roots volunteers.”
Cllr Riley was also critical of Brio Leisure – the council run leisure arm.
She said: “ Brio has had nine years to sort its plans out and has delivered little but poorly managed decline. It’s time for new thinking and my view is that we need to look at Brio alternatives in the form of a community sports trust.
“This would be a sensible first in England and reflect well on CWA
&C whilst literally putting the locals in control.”
Frodsham has so little to moan about it’s Tory representative moans about it not being a priority – and “Helsby got more than us”.
Brio is the Council company set up by the Tories as their mechanism to outsource Leisure Services. It is potentially £millions in debt due to the Pandemic forcing facilities to close, and it was beginning to lose money before that – as the bounce from the new Leisure Centres in Ellesmere Port and Northwich wore off. What it does or can do is almost entirely down to decisions of the Borough Council. The assertion of “managed decline” matches well the impact on Local Government of the last 11 years of Tory Government.
It’s almost as if there is an election coming up, nice to see her face pop up at this time.