Clr Bert Grange said this week that he had received reassurances from Macclesfield Borough Council that a renewed effort would be made to sort out the row when the chief executive returned from his summer break.

But he promised to call a public meeting if nothing was done to resolve the deadlock over the £100,000 price tag the borough have slapped on the old folk's club site.

"We're not expecting something for nothing," said Clr Grange. "We're hoping to give £25,000. I would have thought that would be better than having five pence a year rent from the old folk's club."

Clr Margaret Duddy told Clr Grange during a meeting at Macclesfield that negotiations had not reached a stage where the council's valuer could recommend a price to the council.

"The offers so far received for our land infer that we're being asked to accept a small percentage of the value and to finance the cost of a replacement club," she said.

Any further delay to the negotiations between the county council and the developer, who has offered £25,000 for the land, and the borough would mean work on the £1.25 million scheme would be unlikely to start this year.

If the developer decides not to build a replacement community room the whole scheme would need fresh planning permission.

But some Knutsford councillors - including Sue Kipling and Wilson Hamman - support Clr Duddy.

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