CAMPAIGNERS fighting for Winsford’s new £10.8m leisure centre to be named after the town’s most celebrated a war hero fear a public consultation exercise is a sham.
Winsford Town Council is at the forefront of a campaign for the building to be called the James Clarke VC Centre after the only Mid Cheshire soldier ever to be awarded the Victoria Cross.
But town councillors fear Vale Royal Borough Council’s borough’s executive committee will disregard public opinion if it does not match the councillors’ own ideas.
They believe the committee is keen to name the facility the self-agrandising `Vale Royal Lifestyle Centre’.
“It should be the choice of the majority of the people who have taken the time and trouble to suggest the names,” said town mayor Cllr Des Worthington.
“What’s the point in consulting with the public if the decision is not going to be based on their views?”
A Vale Royal Borough Council spokesperson said: “At a meeting on September 11 the council’s executive group decided that the lifestyle centre should not be named until an online consultation had taken place.
“This four-week consultation will finish on October 24 and the results will form a report, which will be presented at the executive group meeting on November 13.”
