Nantwich councillors are keen on a plan to build and install concrete chess tables in the town.
The council was told last night (July 11) that the idea was mooted by a resident who contacted the authority.
Other towns in Cheshire East – including Sandbach and Alsager – are also considering the additions.
The plan would be to install two concrete chess tables and associated chairs (pictured), which would cost around £4,000 in total.
Nantwich Town Council clerk Samantha Roberts said one of the locations proposed is on the “promenade” on Waterlode where recent re-paving work has been carried out.
But other locations such as Mill Island could also be considered.
Cllr Loic Charbonneau said: “I know some people from Crewe Chess Club and they are very supportive of this idea for chess tables.
“They suggested somewhere like Mill Island, where there could be wooden benches installed for people to watch the chess or wait to play next.
“I will support the motion of adding this idea to our budget workshop.
“For it to work it needs to be a pair of tables rather than a single one.”
Other councillors agreed and voted in favour of adding the proposal to their next budget workshop.
Seems like people don’t know the difference between Nantwich Town Council and Cheshire East Council.
Loic Charbonneau mentions that he knows “some people from Crewe Chess Club”, could this be Finlay Charbonneau who is listed as a member? Are they related? If they are surely there’s a conflict of interest!
What on Earth goes through the council’s heads when they dream up these flights of frivolous fancy? I thought the council was short of cash so why not use the £4000 (along with any hidden costs saved) on something essential for the community as a whole? This is just madness!
Waste of money …like the 15 k weed machine …which doesn’t work on all weeds?
If Councillors had to dig into their own personal finances to fund such frivolous, inconsequential ideas then I guarantee goofy ‘Concrete Chessboard Tables’ projects diabolically wasting Ratepayers money would never see the light of day!…
Not sure there’s a big chess community in Nantwich but they’ll come in handy for the local yute to put theirvbewr cans and rolls their spliff puff
Deckchairs and Titanic spring readily to mind.
Cllr charbonneau looks to have relatives who are members at CREWE chess club (how many people with that surname live in this area?). If that is the case, he should have declared an interest in this item and kept out of the discussions at the council meeting instead of pushing the idea.
Also, why should CREWE chess club want tables in Nantwich and not in Crewe? Ask them to pay for it!
The problem is that repairing that dangerous crumbling wall or any of the other jobs that REALLY need doing is not much of a talking point at the annual back slappers ball.
It’s all about being able to say ” look what I’ve done with tax payers money” What us peasants want is totally irrelevant.
I think they need to consult with a wider representation of the community as a whole, not just a small minority at the chess club! We really do not have the weather for this. Mend the dangerous crumbling wall on hospital/pillory street junction flower bed, that will fall on a child one day. Place some more seating around town. Add some more bins. Do not waste our council tax on a concrete chess eyesore.
I have lived in Nantwich since October 1994. The precept for Nantwich Town Council was £109.68 in tax year 2014/2015. The current financial year of 2024/ 2025 it is £183.80 for a band e house. The increase is 67.50%. Go back further and the increase is even greater. Way above the rate of inflation as measured by RPI or CPI.
Sadly my income has nor risen by that amount.
The key issue what is the business case for this project, it is not just capital costs, it is the full operational costs of maintaining, security and other hidden cost that it places on the residents. This reminds me so much of the clock in the Cocoa Yard and the Fountain in the Lake.
Thousands of pounds wasted.
We have all suffered the impacts of COVID 19 and the Russian Ukraine war and the consequences of inflation squeeze on our finances.
Where is the full business plan for this proposed project with a detailed SWOT analysis. This should include a detailed cost analysis, this should be published on the Nantwich Town Council and on Nantwich News.
Local Government transparency should become best practice.
The Town Council should focus on key responsibilities not the pet projects of the counsellors and officers. They live in a world where they think they have a right to spend tax payers money without any form of accountability or financial prudence. They are never held either responsible or accountable for the unintended consequence of the their poor decisions and policies.
I am still waiting for the detail of the ROCA on the cherry picker which The Town Clerk was confident that they would achieve when I questioned her some years ago in a public meeting. ROCA is the return on capital advanced.. it should include a detailed financial analysis of capital costs, and all operation costs, including maintenance costs, staffing, training, and insurance.
this is probably from a fund they have been given to spend on the town, however fine a chess board table is its just a single use table, far better would be more seating around the town, as the elderly population struggle to be able to walk too far, and would make their journey walking from home to the town more efficient as they could rest near a bus stop, or sit a while for a chat, will help community spirit, personally I feel this should be spent of volunteer groups set up to encourage youth programs to keep teenagers occupied in some sort of pastime, open air dance, and sports activities, some water based activity, given you never see a canoe on the river in a race or competition, waste of a natural asset
Really ????
It feels like Nantwich Town Council have a need to spend some money on something totally useless ( again )
Just how long do they think these things are going to last ? They will be a magnet to the local brat population.
It doesn’t matter where you put them, the challenge will be to see who can break one first.
Yet another useless idea from the folks that have no idea of current reality.
Really
I thought the council were on the verge of bankruptcy. We don’t need this sort of crap !!
Great to see the Council is trying new initiatives. However, surely they should consider stopping all spend unless it’s of an essential nature and focus in ensuring that they do not go bankrupt. Seems that they have no concept of managing budgets and understanding the difference between must and want when it comes to using our monies .
Fix the chuffing pot holes!
How about reducing our council precept instead. It went up 42.5% in 2020 – an increase we were told was only temporary due to a drop in income during the pandemic. As far as I am aware the pandemic has ended, yet strangely it has not been decreased.
Really?
We have SOOO many other priorities for Nantwich. if you want to improve facilities, put this into proper funding to support youth development in the town to reduce anti-social behaviour.
Bonkers