BREATHING space has been given to those people in Frodsham who have called proposals to develop Castle Park 'premeditated vandalism on a gigantic scale'.

At a Vale Royal Borough Council meeting on Thursday night, councillors agreed to a land swap with Castle Park trustees - despite strong opposition from fellow councillors.

In effect it means that the area known as the 'top fields' in the park will be transferred from the borough council to the trust for 125 years in return for half an acre of land in the north west corner.

This is to enable the trust, if it wishes, to relocate the town's Rock Surgery at the site by building a new medical centre.

Following that meeting the trustees met and approved two resolutions, the first being that the trust will delay the transferring of the Rock Surgery to the site for a year to allow alternative sites in the town to be identified and considered.

If no alternative sites are found, the medical centre will be built. The second proposal was to agree that the One Stop Shop would be provided for in the Castle Park House.

Professor Les Ford, the lead councillor behind the proposals for the park, said: "I am pleased with the decision on the land swap but it is really more of a procedural decision.

"The trust will go ahead with the One Stop Shop by taking £150,000 from trust funds and £300,000 from the borough council's capital programme."

jdriscoll@guardiangrp.co.uk