Forsbrook Parish Council has announced this week that a successful bid has been made for the former Police Post Site in Blythe Bridge.

Working with a number of other agencies the Parish Council successfully made a bid to the Police and Crime Commissioner Matthew Ellis.

A number of options are currently being considered for the site and ground work investigations are taking place  to assess its suitability.

As part of the project the Parish Council will now need to raise £100,000.  This will be funded through a loan of the full amount from Staffordshire District Moorlands Council. It will be paid back over a period of 20 years, with an option to pay back early. This equates to £100,000 over 20 years at an interest rate of 3.69% making yearly payments of £8690 or £724 per month.

As a result, the Parish Council has applied to raise the amount of precept for the Parish by £5,000 from £45,000 in 2019/2020 to £50,000 in 2020/2021. The Parish Council’s finances are currently as follows:

  • Bank Balance as of December 31st was £87,000.
  • Because the Parish Council manages a cemetery we need to keep the following monies in reserves for that purpose: – £20,000
  • A need to maintain three months operating cash – £35,000.
  • The remaining £32,000 is for future projects including the changing rooms refurbishment and other community projects.
  • The Parish Council intends to fund £4,000 from its operating cash and £5,000 from the precept rise to cover the loan repayments for the following year.

Parish Council Chairman Peter Jones said: “The project will safeguard the centre of Blythe Bridge and its valuable resource of parking. The parking spaces are vital to support the local businesses in the centre of the village and without this we fear for the economic future of the businesses. It’s also important to remember that the Parish of Forsbrook has the only railway station in the Moorlands.

He added: “We intend to carry out community fund raising to help towards the future payments of the loan along with our carefully managed reserves to make the payments for the coming years. We will also make sure that our website and social media channels are updated regularly to keep people informed of the latest developments and proposals.

Fore more information please contact the Parish Council Clerk Dawn Plant on 07919911938 or forsbrookparishcouncil@outlook.com

Issued Monday 25th January 2021