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Andrew Needham reported that it had been stated in the Chester Chronicle that Little Budworth Country Park could close due to cutbacks by Cheshire West and Cheshire Council.   The Country Park had been run by the Council and its predecessor since the late 1970.  The lease was due to expire at the end of February 2013.  

In response Ian Hesketh said that the Council was not in a position to run the Park as it had previously.  Discussions were being held with the Trustees of the Estate, which included looking at different ways the Park could be managed.  The Park would not be closing at the end of February 2013 as the lease would roll forward until an agreement had been made or 3 months notice of termination been given.  

There was also concern that if the Park was closed that only the definitive footpath routes would be available to the public and that this could lead to a number of DMMO applications as there were no permissive arrangements in place for the other paths that crossed the Park.

Andrew Needham also reported that Defra has issued a discussion paper on a possible merger of Natural England and the Environment Agency to form a single environmental organisation.  The deadline for comments was 4 February 2013. The discussion paper could be viewed on the Defra website:-

http://www.defra.gov.uk/review-ea-ne/

Neil Collie said that a collection would be held at the end of the meeting for contributions towards a memorial for John Taylor.  It was hoped that a suitable location could be found on the Crewe to Nantwich Greenway for a tree with memorial plague.