A ROW has broken out between two now ex-councillors and Malpas Parish Council over a £200,000 cost of extending a village car park, leading to their resignations.

Chris Whitehurst, a former Cheshire West and Chester (CWAC) councillor and Adrian Waddelove, a current CWAC member, have resigned from the parish body over the High Street Car Park.

In a statement released by the pair, they expressed their concern over a ‘poor deal’ for the car park and said they have resigned.

But the parish council said the work was being paid for using the Community Infrastructure Levy - which is paid by developers as part of planning agreements - and would not be impacting the taxpayer.

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Mr Waddlelove said: "Providing a bigger car park by buying land and paying half the construction costs is the most significant matter that Malpas Parish Council will handle for a generation.

"But the decisions reached mean spending almost every penny the Parish Council has even though it will have nothing to show for this massive expenditure if, at some future date, CWAC closes the car park to sell the land to raise money for itself.”

Mr Whitehurst added: "There is no official paper trail to show local people the process by which our negotiations with the Borough Council and the landowner have led to this outcome.

"In the last year we have not had a single vote on any clear proposal as to how we should be acting in the best interests of the Malpas community to achieve a bigger car park at reasonable cost.

"But then at the April meeting we were told that the present local borough councillor had been negotiating with Cheshire West and Chester Borough Council officers on how the Parish Council should spend its own money - with no councillors involved and no discussions beforehand.  

"Resigning in protest over this poor and ill-managed deal is a sad way to finish after 16 years of my very active involvement in Parish Council matters."

The parish council confirmed it is negotiating for land behind Huxley’s in the High Street, adjacent to the car park, but said Mr Whitehead was not part of this because of ‘a conflict of interest’.

They added that Rachel Williams, CWAC councillor Malpas, had been ask to lead on the discussions in September 2023 and that money to pay for the land will not come from taxpayers.

They said: “Contrary to the statement, there has been no formal agreement reached between Malpas Parish Council and CWaC regarding the proposed car park.

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“It is totally misleading to state that it is the community that will be funding the proposed car park – instead, it is Community Infrastructure Levy (CIL) money that is being used to finance the proposed car park.

“Malpas Parish Council has received a total sum of £208,953.17 from CIL.

“It is a real bonus that Malpas Parish Council may be able to provide that parking and at no cost to the taxpayer as the precept is not being used to pay for the proposed car park.”