Angry villagers set up
own rival “council”
by David Skentelbery
ANGRY villagers ? dissatisfied with their local parish council ? have set up their own ?council?.
Sharc ? the Stockton Heath Alternative Residents Council ? says its aim is to help create, maintain and improve a sustainable village community.
In its mission statement, the 12-strong group says: ?We are a group of local residents who have come together to offer residents of this part of South Warrington an alternative to the current ineffective local representation offered by the Stockton Heath Parish Council.?
The group say they will be fielding candidates on an independent, non-party, ticket to fight next year?s borough council elections and the next parish council elections.
In the meantime, they plan to holding meetings, open to the public, where villagers can raise concerns on local issues. They also plan to lobby local councillors and council officers to get recognition or resolution of local people?s concerns.
Among members are former parish councillor Patrick Mullee and Stephen Taylor, a member of the action group fighting to save Stockton Heath Primary School from demolition.
The group?s mission statement adds: ?The parish council claims to be ?powerless? to help residents gain representation at borough council level! Your voice goes unheard on local issues, and your representatives on the parish council appear to operate with the interests of local party politics as their prime directive?.
?We want to start to tackle some of the thorny issues – the character and future of the village is at stake.
?Let?s keep Stockton Heath for the residents, and ensure that those who visit us, and those who want to ride roughshod over our wishes, start to respect the village.?
Issues the group intend to tackle include parking, schools, heritage, development, traffic, pollution and local conservation.?
Mr Mullee said: ?Our two borough councillors, Celia Jordan and Sue Dodd, and seven members of the parish council, would not support us on saving the school. These are the seats we will be targeting.?
Parish council chairman Coun Celia Jordan said: ?I?m not surprised to hear someone may stand against me in the borough council elections next year.
?But I am wondering about the legality of this group calling itself a council ? which implies it is an elected body. Obviously it is not and it may not be representative of the views of local people at all.?
Dominic earns his “wings”
after just 16 hours flying
A WARRINGTON student pilot has been awarded his ?wings? after completing his first solo flight.
Dominic Slater, 17, of Latchford, who studied on Priestley College?s aviation course, started his flying training with Shropshire Aero Club in February and took his first solo flight after just 16 hours of instruction.
The college course assists students wanting to follow careers with civil airlines and the Royal Air Force.
Dominic has flown at Shropshire on most Sundays and also studied for the Civil Aviation Authority examinations in air law and human performance.
He said: “It seems only five minutes ago that I took my first flying lesson – an occasion that I will never forget, as we had to make a diversionary landing at Welshpool due to a snowstorm over our home airfield.
“Ironically my first solo flight was taken on a very hot day, proving again that you have to cope with all kinds of weather when you learn to fly in the UK.”
Now Dominic faces further study in his bid to become an airline pilot with exams in meteorology and navigation and a 150 mile solo navigation test to Gloucester with landings at two other airfields en route.
500 extra police to
control pop festival
by Lesley Wilkinson
A TEAM of about 80 police officers will work to keep traffic on the move and ensure residents can reach their homes by car during the Creamfields pop festival at Daresbury, near Warrington. Police are drafting in 500 extra officers to police the event over the Bank Holiday on Saturday and Sunday August 26 and 27, and 80 of these will help implement the traffic plan. They will ensure that visitors can gain access to and leave the festival site efficiently and by the most appropriate routes. They will also ensure disturbance to residents and businesses is reduced and their access maintained. People who drive to the festival are being encouraged to follow road signs and not use satellite navigation systems as there will be a number of traffic diversions in place. Inspector David Price, who is leading the police planning team for Creamfields, said: “As part of our planning for the event, we have taken into account the extra people travelling into the area.” He said police have consulted the Highways Agency, the two local councils and the organisers and produced a detailed traffic management plan. The two main car parks will open at 10am so that those who arrive early can park and not queue. Visitors are advised to use the official car parks, which are within a 15-minute walk of the site. The north car park, for traffic coming from Warrington, will be located off the A56 and the south car park, for all other traffic, will be located off Daresbury Lane. Toilets and refreshments will be available at the car parks. There will be 19 Police Traffic Points at key junctions and roundabouts in the area to ensure that traffic can flow freely. Police also hope to minimise the number of vehicles using Junction 10 of the M56 motorway, which will be controlled by police officers instead of traffic lights during the day. A shuttle bus service is being provided by the organisers to transport people to and from the site from outlying areas. Inspector Price said: “We hope the implementation of this plan will make motorists’ lives easier while the event takes place and we would ask drivers to work with the police and to be patient so that everyone can continue going about their business and enjoy their Bank Holiday weekend.” People can sign up to Police Direct to receive tailor-made message updates, via text email or recorded phone messages, about policing of the event. Information is also available on the police website www.cheshire.police.uk
Barrister Paul bows out
with style – and rock music
by David Skentelbery
MORE than 100 mourners attended the funeral of barrister Paul Marshall, whose death after a 19-month battle with cancer was reported by Warrington-Worldwide last Thursday.
The secular service at Walton Lea Crematorium included rock music varying from Coldplay to the Beatles and a moving recording by Paul himself, singing ?Sisters of Mercy? to his own guitar accompaniment.
Paul, aged 52, from Appleton, a performance car enthusiast, made his last journey to the crematorium by horse-drawn hearse.
Among family mourners were his widow, Janet, father Ken, mother Jean, children by a previous marriage, Lucy and Piers and Janet?s daughter Steph and son Ric.
Paul and Janet married in January last year, only three weeks after learning he had lung cancer and was expected to die within 3-6 months.
On that occasion, Paul wore racing gear and drove his new bride to the reception in his 1970 endurance racing ?Gulf? Porsche, attended by a fully liveried service vehicle.
After the wedding, Paul fought his cancer through an aggressive programme of chemotherapy.
Paul was head of chambers with a specialist Manchester law firm and the legal profession was represented at the funeral service ? as were the Porsche Owner?s Club and Stockton Heath Tennis Club, where he had regularly played with Janet.
Mourners were told that before qualifying as a lawyer, Paul had taught physics, biology and chemistry, including two years at a school in Orford and had been a junior Welsh tennis champion.
He had also played golf and table tennis to a high standard and had been a keen collector
of, among other things, antiques, watches, and fishing rods.
A talented pianist and guitarist, he had spent a lot of his final months composing music and recording in the studio he had built at his home.
Five Green Flags for
town’s open spaces
FIVE parks and green spaces in Warrington have received the prestigious Green Flag Award.
The award from the Civic Trust goes to areas that enhance the quality of life in cities, towns and villages. Judges assess criteria including being welcoming, safe and secure, well maintained, clean and well-managed.
Sites selected in Warrington to retain the status are Walton Gardens, Fox Covert Cemetery, Risley Moss, Walton Crematorium and Burtonwood Cemetery. All are owned and managed by Warrington Borough Council.
Coun Graham Welborn, Executive Board member for safer and cleaner communities, said: “What a fantastic achievement for Warrington. It is testament to a lot of hard work by many dedicated people, particularly officers in our parks and green spaces teams, who work behind the scenes and I would like to thank them, and our partners, for their contributions.
“The Green Flag awards are very prestigious and this is fantastic news for the Council but also for people across the borough, and further afield, who have so many picturesque places to visit and they should also feel proud of what Warrington has to offer.?
Woman finds burglar
in her bedroom
by staff reporter
A WARRINGTON woman awoke in the early hours of the morning to find a burglar in her bedroom.
The intruder grabbed her bag and contents before fleeing – and the bag was later found by a paper boy doing his rounds.
Police are appealing for help in tracking down the raider who struck at a house in Lansdowne, Culcheth at around 2.30am.
The intruder was about 30-40, slim and about 5ft 8 inches tall. He had dark cropped hair and spoke with a local accent. He was wearing a green top or jacket and dark trousers.
The bag was found in Jackson Avenue, Culcheth.
Anyone who can help police is asked to call 0845 458 0000.
Arson probe
on allotments
by staff reporter
POLICE are investigating a spate of fires involving sheds on the Victoria Park allotments at Latchford, Warrington.
Three sheds were set alight in one day and fire experts believe an arsonist could be responsible.
In each case, the shed was badly damaged.
Fire crews were also called to Delph Lane, Houghton Green, Warrington to deal with a fire involving a number of bales of hay.
