Verdin Park - Consultation Pending and STILL questions are being dodged!

Northwich Town Council has appointed consultants to run the consultation on turning part of Verdin Park into a car park. The NHS is footing the bill, using public money, while the Council is already investigating how much rent it could collect from our parkland.

You couldn't make this up.

While Northwich Town Council congratulates itself on its green credentials and commitment to biodiversity, it is pressing ahead with a proposal to take away precious green space from a community that can least afford to lose it.

And the public is still being denied information needed to challenge the proposal properly.

The Northwich Town Council's agenda for tonight, 2 November, confirms three important developments:

1. A consultation company has been appointed. Cheshire Community Action will conduct what the Council calls its independent statutory consultation.
2. The NHS Trust is paying the consultancy fees. Mid Cheshire Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust is funding the process. This is on top of the estimated £1m they will pay to build the carp park and the ongoing operational costs for the next 15 years. 
3. The Council is investigating how much rent it could receive for the parkland. The District Valuer has been contacted to assess its potential rental value.

The Council has not yet announced when the consultation will begin.

We are being asked to consider giving up part of a public park for a car park. Yet fundamental questions about the need for the development, the alternatives and the future of this public space remain unanswered.

• The NHS REFUSE to release the alternatives considered - we've referred them to Information Commissioner’s Office. They are also calling our requests vexatious for requesting information on topics such as how many workers are at the hospital, on regular shift patterns and supporting the community externally. These are all basic data needed to understand why our park needs to be sacrificed.  
• We have also referred NTC to the ICO due to their refusal to tell us what the NHS-paid-for barrister reported on the trustee status. Again, basic information that is critical for a fair and open consultation. How are the public suppose to understand if this information is hidden from us?
• The University Hospitals of North Midlands NHS Trust - who run the bloods service - have also failed to reply to FoI request within the statutory regarding the use of the VIN and if other locations are more effective. This is critical because the greatest car traffic is from the tens of thousands of short phlebotomy appointments. If this service was moved to Barons Quay then the extra parking wouldn't be needed.

The thing to remember thought - this is not a done deal.

The consultation is our opportunity to make clear that Verdin Park matters to Northwich. But we cannot afford to wait until the consultation is nearly over before making our voices heard.

When the consultation opens, we expect to have only two weeks  to respond. We need residents ready to participate from day one.

Please share this petition now. Talk to your neighbours, friends and family. Make sure people know what is being proposed and why their response matters.

The Council needs to hear from the people who use, value and want to protect Verdin Park.

Our public park. Our community. Our say.