Town Council could soon be looking for new offices

FRODSHAM Town Council could soon be looking for new offices – only months after moving into Castle Park House.
A suggestion that they could move to accommodation at Frodsham Community Centre – which is struggling because of declining rental income – was put to the monthly meeting of the council.
But no decision was taken.
Chairman Cllr Mark Warren it would be necessary to consult with the various stakeholders involved – and Cllr Frank Pennington said such a decision should be taken by the people of Frodsham.
“We must have a referendum of the people of Frodsham,” he said.
The original suggestion came from Cllr Mike Pusey and followed on from a presentation made at the August meeting of the council by Roger Williams, chairman of Frodsham Community Association.
He said the association was struggling due to a decline in rental income. For the first time ever, they had not covered their costs the previous year.
Although they had reserve funds, they could not sustain continued long term losses.
If the Community Association was no longer able to continue, it was written in the Trust Deeds that the building be handed over to the Town Council.
Cllr Pusey told this month’s meeting that when the council had rented the ground floor of Footman’s Cottage in Castle Park for offices they had paid £7,500 rent. They had outgrown the premises and were considering taking the first floor also which would have cost an additional £4,000.
But instead it had been decided to take the ground floor of Castle Park House for £30,000 a year. But this was on the understanding they manned the front desk, and for this two extra members of staff were taken on and for this they were credited with £20,000 for the first three years.
It was hoped there would be an income, but in six months this had amounted only to £800 and this was unlikely to increase. In three years, they would be facing a rent of £50,000-a-year.
But if they moved into the community centre they would be helping to sustain the Community Association and would probably have to pay only about £10,000 a year.
This could help keep the community centre going.
Cllr Pusey said the council was not tied to Castle Park House by a lease – they could leave at any time.
The suggestion, he said, made sense – assuming the Community Association agreed.
Cllr Tom Reynolds said the Community Association was a fabulous organisation and the community centre was one of Frodsham’s jewels. There could be further developments, such as re-building the centre, providing parking that would help Frodsham’s parking issues, and perhaps seeking lottery funding.
It was agreed to consider the matter further, in conjunction with the Community Association and other interested parties.
The council is also seeking a new Town Clerk, following the resignation of John Wild, who has held the post for the last three years.
Service manager Hazel Catt is covering the clerk’s role for three months while the council seeks a permanent replacement.
Cllr Warren said there was a shortage of experienced clerks at the moment and, for a range of reasons, it was a problematic role to fill.