AN AGREEMENT that could bring an end to flooding on the Moor may have hit the rocks. (From Warrington Guardian)

AN AGREEMENT that could bring an end to flooding on the Moor may have hit the rocks.

The deal to allow Cheshire Wildlife Trust to manage and conserve the Moor was believed to have been struck more than two months ago.

Owners Macclesfield Borough Council and Randle Brooks have signed the agreement to allow a single body to look after the area for 15 years.

But North West Water, which owns about a tenth of the land, has yet to sign. A spokesman for Macclesfield Borough Council said it had been a long-term ambition to reach an agreement.

"It has taken us a long time to get it to this stage and we are disappointed that North West Water haven't returned the signed document," she said.

But wildlife warden Dan Tomes said they were not aware of an agreement being reached.

"The last contact I had with Macclesfield Borough Council I informed them that in today's economic climate we could not provide an annual dowry," he said. He said they were only prepared to give cash on a project basis.

The news will come as a surprise to Knutsford town councillors who were expecting to sign the document at a meeting tomorrow.

Town mayor Bert Grange said he had hoped another problem in Knutsford could have been solved.

"It should be taken care of once and for all," he said.

And Clr Wilson Hamman agreed something should be done with the Moor.

"During the flooding there last year I almost disappeared up to my waste," he said.

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