GOOSTREY residents are being asked if they want the parish council to make an offer on land which could be retained as open space for the village.

An area covering 6.4 acres which contained the former railway sidings is up for sale, and Goostrey Parish Council is considering whether to make an offer to buy the land.

If the council bought the land it would need to take out a 25-year loan and raise the precept to repay it.

The council says the main benefit of buying the land would be to preserve it as open space, and it would be owned by the parish council on behalf of the residents.

In addition over time the council would hope to be able to open up the land, which is to the west of Station Road, for other uses by the community.

Parish council clerk Sharon Jones said because the land was being sold by a Receiver the sale needed to take place in a very short space of time.

She said in a letter to residents on the council’s website: “Consequently we do not have time to fully examine the state of the land, and do not know the extent of remediation needed to allow other uses.

“For this reason the land would not initially be open for general access.

“If the parish council is to make an offer we would need to take out a Public Works Loan, which the Government makes available to bodies like ourselves.

“The loan would have a low and fixed rate of interest. To cover the repayments we would need to raise the precept - that component of the council tax you pay to the parish council - for a 25-year period.

“To allow scope for negotiation we need flexibility on the size of the increase.

“We are proposing that for a Band D house the maximum would be 54p/month; the maximum levels for the range of Band A to H would be 36p to £1.07/month).

“Any offer we make could of course be outbid by another prospective purchaser.

“We would like to get your view on whether or not you are in favour of the parish council making an offer and raising the Precept.

“Please could you complete the slip on the copy of the letter you receive and return it to the Village Hall letterbox or The Trading Post, or complete the online survey at Goostrey.info by 10pm on Monday, January 27.

“The overall response will be reported to the parish council meeting on January 28, where the way forward will be decided.”

A letter has been delivered to all households in the village and posted to outlying properties. If you wish to respond online visit surveymonkey.co.uk/r/M5HDGW2