I AM writing to correct the impression gained by your correspondent Paul Curzon (Winsford and Middlewich Guardian, September 30) that Vale Royal Borough Council has "axed plans to build a new sports complex by the river in Winsford."

The position is that the borough council is looking into a variety of different ways to provide better facilities for the Winsford Youth Forum, who run canoeing activities which are much appreciated from what is now a very shabby and inadequate building at Winsford Marina.

One of the ideas which the council explored was to try to achieve a new facility, combined with a hotel and restaurant, in such a way that the commercial building would go a long way towards meeting the cost of the community facility.

The council's architect produced an exciting scheme, and consultants have put a lot of effort into trying to find a developer who would be interested in making it happen.

The result of these investigations was that although no developer was prepared to go along with our scheme as it stood, there is a developer interested in building a family pub and restaurant and providing funding which could be used for a separate community building.

Councillors are now looking into this option as well as several others.

Unfortunately time is not on our side because of the deterioration of the existing building. So we have decided to go ahead with the demolition, and if need be to provide a temporary solution to the problem while we continue to try to achieve the best possible way forward in this beautiful part of Winsford.

Clr Brian Lloyd,

Chairman of Vale Royal Borough Council's leisure and community partnerships committee.

Converted for the new archive on 13 March 2001. Some images and formatting may have been lost in the conversion.