“Push for an urgent review of the Guild Hall Project”

Following the departure of the previous tenant in 2017, the fate of Grade II listed building, the Brunner Guildhall, Which opened in 1899, has been in a state of flux.

Built at a cost of £3000, it was given to the town in 1897, by Sir John Brunner - then a local MP and co-founder of Brunner Mond Ltd.

The Brunner Guildhall was used by Winsford and District trade unions, friendly societies, clubs and associations as a place for meetings and functions.¹⁾

The condition of the building has deteriorated over the years, and so a significant effort has been made to restore the building to its former glory and return it to the use of Winsford clubs and groups.

From the Winsford Town Council website:

"Winsford Town Council (which holds the Guildhall in trust
 for the people of Winsford) is undertaking a major project
 designed to restore the building and bring it back into use.
 
 The vision is to see the Guildhall provide a mix of commercial
 and social activity that meets the needs and interests of
 today’s residents of Winsford."
 

However plans have sadly stalled, due to not quite meeting criteria for National Heritage Lottery Fund (NHLF) funding.

It is now up to the current WSotE dominated council to decide whether to heed the NHLF's advice and reapply with a modified application, or chicken out and try to find funding elsewhere, such as dashing the hopes of local residents by raising taxes, or dashing the hopes of residents by drastically reducing the scope of the project.

The new Winsford Salt of the Earth not-party loudly proclaimed on our Election Flyer that we would be tackling this as a matter of great urgency.

Having now spent almost 6 months doing nothing, at the recent WTC Full Council meeting, we announced a Brunner Guildhall Working Group meeting would be held 2 days later, on Wed 18th Oct 2023.

Unfortunately for our residents, we couldn't be bothered to actually hold this meeting, and postponed it indefinitely. Maybe.

Here at WSotE, we are confident that despite appearances, Cllrs Ford, Hulmston, Mellor, Edwards, and Newton will at some point actually meet in order to be briefed on the project.

Perhaps they might learn how to spell its name²⁾, which shouldn't be too hard, since it's literally set in (the foundation) stone, and in big letters over it's doorway, However, since the Election pledge was to “Push for an urgent review of the Guild Hall project”…

…We think its safe to conclude that, sadly, this Pledge is FAILed (as of 2023/10/21).