A Letter to Saughall Parish Council
Category: General
Published: 01/07/2023
Saughall resident Lex Greensill recently asked for an opportunity to speak at the Parish Council meeting Scheduled for Monday July 3rd, 2023 to further explain his plans for the Shotwick Park Estate.
Specifically, Lex wanted to talk about the “covenant” devised at the Parish Council’s request to prevent the construction of houses on the estate for 80 years.
Some Parish Council members don’t like the way the proposed covenant was drafted, but refuse to sit down and talk about how we can make it better. In the absence of that dialogue, and in response to the council’s refusal to allow him to speak at the meeting on Monday, Mr Greensill sent this open letter to Shirley Hudspeth, the Parish Council Clerk:
Dear Shirley,
That is disappointing. I would ask that you pass on to all councillors the following feedback:
- We first offered to have a collaborative working group with the Parish Council and CWAC so that issues concerning the Shotwick Park Estate sale could be openly discussed in November last year.
- Since that time, we have contacted you on a number of occasions asking for the working group to meet and received no response beyond your commitment to get back with dates – which you have not done.
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Given the Parish Council declined to constructively engage, we worked with CWAC to draft a covenant to address the Parish Council’s wish to prevent residential development on the farmland.
- The Parish Council’s solicitor raised certain concerns about the covenant agreed with CWAC.
- At the last Parish Council the Chairman refused to allow me to speak and you have again refused me the opportunity to speak at the upcoming meeting.
- The point I was endeavouring to make is that I would be happy to have our solicitor work with the Parish Council’s solicitor to see if it is possible to re-draft the covenant so as to give confidence that there can be no residential development on the farmland of Shotwick Park for 80 years.
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I am aware that the Parish Council is concerned about the costs associated with this and would be happy to cover your solicitors’ fees, provided a cap is agreed in advance.
I am at a loss as to why the Parish Council will not engage via a working group or directly, but if that is impossible then surely our solicitors can work together on this basis to provide the community with confidence that there can be no residential development on the farmland of Shotwick Park for 80 years?
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If, despite this offer and more than 6 months of our efforts to reach out, the Parish Council is unwilling to constructively engage then I would respectfully suggest that councillors no longer have the democratic right to use their office to make disparaging remarks about the covenant.
Warmest regards,
Lex
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