Knutsford could hold its own key (From Warrington Guardian)

Knutsford could hold its own key

WHERE there's a will, there is a way. Knutsford has proved that repeatedly over the years, but much still needs to be done.

The unmade part of Moorside is a problem that springs to mind. It has plagued the town for years. But can we do something to help?

This week the Knutsford Guardian looked at why the people of this town might hold the answers

BRITISH scientist Barnett Cock once described a committee as a cul-de-sac down which ideas were lured and then quietly strangled.

Author John Le Carre likened a committee to an animal with four back legs and the late American comedian Milton Berle said it was a group that kept minutes and lost hours.

Yet Knutsford is ruled by them.

There are committees for seemingly everything from food safety to land charges to health improvement.

Macclesfield Borough Council now has at least 19 committees.

This week a spokesman for Cheshire County Council could not confirm how many it had but there are definitely more than 33. "We employ 23,000 people so it is difficult," she said. "Each department and service will have its own committee as well."

Yet we only need to look at the farcical five months it took councillors to resolve the public's right to park outside the Sessions House. Even Court Service officials were critical of the time it took for councillors to act.

But for all the talking, little has been done to improve one of Knutsford's biggest headaches - the potholed part of Moorside Road, which is often under water.

Local historian Joan Leach said architect Richard Harding Watt, who wanted to build in the area, was complaining about the state of it about 100 years ago.

"He found problems with the condition of Moorside which he aired at an AGM of the Freeholders," she said.

At an urban district council meeting in December 1908 others went on to describe it as a disgrace and a quagmire that was deep in sludge.

Ninety-six years on and still the town is waiting for a solution.

Last month Graham Pike, agent for well-known landowner Randle Brooks, described the problem as an 'old chestnut'.

"It is such a grey area because no one is sure who owns what down there," he said.

But surely that is not an excuse for inaction?

Maybe it is time for the people of Knutsford to set themselves a goal for 2005 - and transform that part of the Moor. Do we care enough to want to make a difference?

We have a wealth of talent in this town.

This is the place where great ideas have been born.

The brilliant engineer Sir Henry Royce helped Britain to win the Second World War even though he had been dead for six years when it began, his engines being used to power the Hurricane and the Spitfire during the Battle of Britain.

Sir John Charnley, who died in 1982, was Britain's leading pioneer in total hip replacement.

We have money too. Knutsford was this week declared as the most expensive place to live in Britain outside the South.

And we have influence.

Recent events have shown that.

When Bexton Primary School needed a new nursery, the parents and teachers managed to raise the funds and get it built.

We have working parties who meet monthly to keep more than 30 acres of the Heath looking its best.

Volunteers from the Knutsford Freeholders, Cheshire Wildlife Trust and Knutsford Civic Society all help.

But helper John Pleydell said one woman, Sue Heath, was the driving force behind the improvements.

On the last Sunday of the month about 12 people clear paths, prune hedges, collect litter and reseed the heather. "She is the one who gets in touch with people and if conditions make it impossible to do the work Sue has to get in touch with them again," he said.

It took one comment from one man to inspire Knutsford to start a rugby club.

After England's success in the World Cup, town councillor Colin Hurrell simply asked colleagues: What about rugby in Knutsford?

The rest is history. Knutsford Rugby Club won most of their matches in the first half of their first season and will challenge for the title this year.

A successful committee is now running the club.

"Some committees are just talking shops, but with the rugby it was different," said Clr Hurrell. "Everyone was so enthusiastic and were waiting for it to happen."

Knutsford has a heritage centre thanks to the Groundwork Trust, a registered charity that acts as a partnership between the public, private and voluntary sectors.

It opened in 1988 after Trust volunteers reconstructed a 17th century timber-framed building, using some of the original materials.

In a letter to the Knutsford Guardian in November Robert Stott, 45, appealed for a touch of community spirit from Warren Avenue residents who had complained to the council about a rundown roundabout. "If they are that upset about its condition why don't they do something about it themselves?" he asked.

"It wouldn't take long or cost much."

Mr Stott said society's attitude needed to change.

"Why do people always seem to expect someone else to pay for or sort out their problems? Why don't they think what can they do for the community?

"They might find it surprisingly satisfying."

Doing good deeds for others has sustained - and continues to satisfy - many organisations in Knutsford.

Rotarians have been raising money for charity in Knutsford for 66 years.

Howard Kirkham, now the club's international chairman, said people were the key to its success.

"We have an excellent club and a committed group of Rotarians," he said.

Of course, the problems in Moorside are far bigger.

But as a town do we want to make a difference?

Perhaps we should take a few tips from the Amish, a plain people who avoid contact with the many trappings of modern life.

Theirs is a strong example of a community that comes together in times of need.

If someone needs a barn, the community will build one in a day.

In many ways, this people apart from the rest of society are also a people together.

knutsford@guardiangrp.co.uk