Date |
Event |
|
1904 |
Watling Gate was built at a cost of £2,500 |
|
1937 |
Lieutenant Colonel Charles Newton bequeathed the house and surrounding land to the newly created Altrincham Borough (and successor organizations). |
|
1938 |
Altrincham Borough Council resolved that the premises become a public art gallery and museum with self contained living accommodation for the use of the chief librarian and a resident caretaker. The Council decided to develop the ground to be called Newton Park. |
|
1956 |
Watling Gate was leased to Cheshire County Council as a nursery school feeding into the local primary school, Park Road. The Borough Librarian occupied the flat above the nursery. |
|
??? |
|
|
??? |
The flat become vacant and the House was used solely as a nursery from then on. |
|
28-08-2002 |
Trafford MBC received an application to demolish Park Road School and erect a single storey school including nursery accommodation with access from Leys Road. |
|
April 2004? |
Watling Gate became vacant. The Council did not identify an alternative use and, at this time, it already required considerable repair and refurbishment (over £250,000). |
| April 2004 | D. Eatock, now chair of The Friends of Newton Park wrote to the Council suggesting that a Trust be set up to manage the house for the benefit of the community. |
|
August – October 2004 |
Public meetings were held by the Council. Local residents were invited to put forward ideas for the future use of Watling Gate. Trafford MBC suggested that a Friends group be created. |
|
17 Jan 2005 |
The Friends of Newton Park held its first committee meeting. On the advice of Council officers, the Group decided not to concern itself with the building, which, the Council felt should be disposed of as soon as possible as it was unlikely to survive another winter. |
|
April 2005 |
The Chair of The Friends, D Eatock, wrote to the Council |
|
September 2005 |
The Friends’ constitution was adopted. However, the Group’s activities then, and subsequently, have been severely curtailed because of uncertainty about the House and Park. |
|
September 2005 |
The Council announced its proposal to sell off the House and invited proposals from potential buyers as to how much parkland they would require in order to make a bid. Locals suggested alternative uses for the building. |
|
Dec 2005 |
The residents concerns were ignored and a preferred bid, for a Yoga and Complementary Health Centre, was identified. The bid required extra land to accommodate parking for 10-12 cars. |
|
Dec 2005 |
Local residents voiced their concerns about the creation of a business in a residential area in direct contravention of covenants placed on the bequest. They were also extremely angry about the sale of parkland. Alternative suggestions were made for the use of the building. The Council countered with the spurious argument that the nursery had been a business and so there was no change of use. |
|
February – March 2006 |
Local residents became angrier. This anger was very evident at public meetings held at this time. |
|
April 2006 |
The Council ignored the protests and advertised the proposed sale of the House and Park |
|
April – May 2006 |
There was vocal opposition to the sale of the park including 46 letters of objection from nearby residents. Requests for information under the Freedom of Information Act were ignored, as were any concerns raised in the letters. Nobody received any feedback. |
|
10 October 2006 |
Officers ignored the objections and issued a report recommending that the sale proceed subject to all legal obstacles being overcome. |
|
25 October 2006 |
A meeting of the Environment and Community Overview Scrutiny Meeting decided to call back the decision for review by the Public Executive. |
|
Today |
We continue to protest and will not be ignored. |