On 8 July 2020 Cllr Aldis, in agreement with our Chair, called a meeting to debate the possibility of the council purchasing the land adjacent to the Co-op. Whilst the councillors recognised that this piece of land might make a good addition to council’s communal assets and be used to bring benefit to the community, they accept that they are bound by legislation and fiscal regulations that do not permit us to respond to fast moving situations. We are obliged to conduct a series of surveys to ensure that any purchases made on behalf of the residents of Wivenhoe are made on a sound financial basis.

Unfortunately on this occasion, meeting those requirements is simply not possible in the time available, so we have had to take the decision that we cannot realistically consider making a bid whilst remaining within the constraints that we are obliged to comply with.

The strong collective view of the council at the meeting was that we will remain alert to future opportunities so that we can be in a position to act, where we consider that we can make purchases which would enhance our town.