Furious parents have blasted Cheshire East Council claiming the authority has demolished a bike trail that youngsters built during Covid.
Contractors were seen digging up the trail just days after schools finished for the summer holidays, further angering families.
Some reports on social media suggest the track, built in woodlands next to the village football pitch, was demolished as it was posing a danger to trees.
One Audlem mum, who wanted to remain anonymous, said: “My son and his friends started to build this during Covid …when they were 11.
“They are now 15. It gave them purpose, kept them active, maintained friendships and created new ones.
“They grafted, created, problem solved and had great fun doing it, all the things we want our kids to do when they are growing up.
“And what do the grown ups do .. bulldoze it down when the boys are at school.. on the last day before the summer holidays .. down right mean.. gutted for them.
“We didn’t expect it to receive the support from the Audlem community it has so we are all overwhelmed.
“We hope that both parish and local authorities consider an appropriate way forward to benefit all the children.”
Another resident added: “If it was endangering the trees then manage the trees better, Cheshire East.
“That area has been unused and discarded land with nettles and bracken for years, no management of the trees at all until the kids cleared the nettles and the bracken.
“Children in other parts of Cheshire East have areas like this created for them by the council (using our money) but our children have their efforts destroyed. Gutted for the kids who have worked so hard.”
And a third said: “They should concentrate on filling in the pot holes- let the kids have fun-better than them causing anti-social behaviour!”
One resident believes the demolition comes after a tree survey was completed “which had shown that certain trees have become unsafe due to root bases being exposed”.
He added: “I believe Cheshire East will be doing some remedial work on the site in the near future.”
Councillor Mick Warren, chair of Cheshire East Council’s environment and communities committee, said: “Although we appreciate that the biking community will feel upset about the track being removed, we have a duty to all our residents in terms of maintaining public safety at all times.
“The area has experienced tree damage as a result of the track being created, and as landowners of the site, we are ultimately responsible for maintaining it as a safe space for everyone to enjoy.
“We are always keen to improve our green spaces and we would be happy to support the development of a BMX track in a suitable location, with the necessary permissions in place.
“We would invite anyone who would like to discuss a proposal to contact our Ansa parks team at: [email protected]”
CEC are absolute ar-:h<+es, they are completely useless and need disbanding, they don't do what needs doing, but waste time and money doing what doesn't need doing.
Don’t hold your breath for the response from CEC… my request to them over a traffic issue took six weeks and two follow-up reminders to get a reply.
Staff are leaving in droves and it’s on the brink of issuing a Section 114 Notice (of effective bankruptcy).