Charity which saved
?1m faces funding axe
by David Skentelbery
A CAMPAIGN which cut the number of runaway children by 35 per cent and saved Cheshire police ?1 million in two years could collapse because of a Government economy axe.
Home Office funding will no longer be available for the Warrington-based Talk?Don?t Walk project from March next year.
As a result, officials of charity group The Relationships Centre, which runs the project, have started a desperate search for funding to enable it to continue.
Project manager Alison McCausland said: “We are currently in negotiation with our existing stakeholders to try to secure the funding required to continue with Talk..Don’t Walk.
?Within the first two years alone, we have had tremendous success and have reduced the number of young people running away from home by more than 35 per cent and due to this, Talk..Don’t Walk is being held as the flagship project in tackling young runaways on a national level.”
The project helps young people and their families overcome difficulties in their lives.
A quarter of youngsters who run away from home end up sleeping rough on the streets and can become increasingly involved in crime as a way of surviving. This may be through stealing, begging, drug dealing or even child prostitution.
The project works with young runaways who may have been exploited on the streets and their families, by providing counselling, mediation and support to help them come to terms with their difficulties and move towards a brighter future.
Charity chiefs are hoping to get the support of the local community in continuing with the Talk..Don’t Walk project. Anyone who would like to help can contact them on 01925 246910.
Earlier this year, Cheshire?s Chief Constable Peter Fahy said: “Dealing with young people who have run away from home is costly and resource intensive for Police and partner agencies. ?Talk..Don’t Walk? in its first and second year has saved Cheshire Constabulary ?1 million through the reduction in the number of runaways in the Warrington area and their subsequent involvement as offenders or becoming victims of crime.?
“Animal passion” marks
start of married life
by staff reporter
NEWLYWEDS Damon and Joannah Barnard made sure their start to married life was a roaring success – with a little help from Chester Zoo.
Shunning the idea of traditional toasters and kettles, the happy couple, from Burtonwood near Warrington, asked friends and family to help fulfil their animal passion by buying zoo adoptions as gifts.
As a result, Joannah and Damon, who met at University, raised enough money to adopt 27 species of zoo animals. From bats to zebras, the couple have chosen a whole host of animals to support with the adoptions which will run over the next 12 months.
Martha McKinley, the zoo’s adoptions coordinator, said: “This has to be the most unusual request we have ever had. Animal adoptions start at ?40 a ‘share’ but Joannah and Damon really did excel with ?1,120 worth of shares.
“Our 6,000 adopters help make a difference and by buying shares in our animals, they help us, as a registered charity, with our growing annual food bill. Feeding 7,000 animals costs around ?1,000 a day and adoption donations, whatever their size, make a real difference.”
Chester Zoo has 500 different animal species. Joannah, a chartered accountant, and Damon, a solicitor, chose the Rodrigues bats, Spectacled bears, bongos, Bush dogs, capybaras, chimpanzees, coatis, Asian elephants, giraffes, jaguars, Ring-tailed lemurs, lions, meerkats, Spider monkeys, orang-utans, penguins, marmots, pudus, Red pandas, Red river hogs, Black rhinos, Californian sealions, tamarins, tapirs, tigers, Galapagos tortoise, Grevy’s zebras.
Damon said: “Joannah and I have lived together for seven years so didn’t need a traditional wedding list. We first came to the zoo last year and were very impressed with what we saw. We are both animal-lovers and thought supporting the animals would be a worthwhile thing to do.
“Our friends and family thought it was a great idea and were very supportive. Joannah chose most of the animals and went for those that were cute and cuddly. She said absolutely no reptiles however I did manage to squeeze a tortoise on to the list.”
As a thank you to the couple, the zoo has given Joannah and Damon a free annual membership to enable them to come back and see their animals when they like.
For more on Chester Zoo’s adoption scheme, visit www.chesterzoo.org
Man, 50, fights off
thugs armed with knife
by John Hendon
A 50-year-old man fought off two thugs who attacked him with a knife and a metal bar at Warrington, police have revealed.
The victim suffered leg wounds which required nine stitches and numerous other cuts and bruises in the attack in Poplars Avenue, Orford.
He was robbed of a quantity of cash during the attack but managed to escape and alert police.
The attack was at 10.40pm on October 30 but details have only just been released by police.
The offenders, who both had Liverpool accents, escaped in a white coloured car which had earlier been seen in the area.
They are described as being both in their early 20s and wearing dark clothing. One was about 5ft 11 inches tall and of stocky build while the other was about 5ft 8 inches and of medium build.
Police are seeking witnesses and anyone who can help is asked to call DC Ian Hampson on 0845 458 0000.
Man killed
on railway
by staff reporter
A MAN has died after being struck by an express train on the railway at Great Sankey, near Warrington.
Transport police have started an investigation into the incident at Sankey Station.
The man, who has not yet been named, is understood to have been on the track at the station when he was struck b a Trans Pennine Express train en route from Liverpool to Middlesborough via Manchester Oxford Road.
It is believed he died instantly.
Residents kept in dark
over low-cost homes
by David Skentelbery
A DEVELOPMENT of 40 low cost homes will go ahead on land between Helsby Street and Salisbury Street, Warrington if planners get their way.
The scheme involves the demolition of 19 existing homes and a health centre in Robson Street, Fairfield.
Members of the West Fairfield Residents and Tenants Association have expressed concern that there was no local consultation on the development.
But officers are urging members of the borough council?s development control committee to approve the scheme, submitted by Warrington Housing Association.
Most of the site has been previously developed, but it does include areas of open green space on Robson Street.
The residents association is concerned that the scheme will mean the loss of the existing Robson Street Community House. They say alternative facilities are too far away for elderly and infirm people.
There are also too few parking spaces and the availability of local facilities may be lost as a result of a new school being built in St Elphin?s Park.
Residents also complain at a house design which includes kitchens and binstores at the front of the properties.
But planners say the proposal has clear benefits that would make a valuable contribution to the availability of affordable housing in Warrington.
They accept that the lack of car parking could result in too many vehicles being parked in the street. The scheme is finely balanced, but believe its inadequacies are outweighed by its positive benefits because of an additional 40 low cost dwellings.
Volunteers wanted
to hear school appeals
by staff reporter
VOLUNTEERS from across Warrington are needed to get actively involved in hearing school appeals.
The borough council is seeking people interested in joining the Sch
ool Appeals Panel.
Parents can go to the panel if their child or children are not offered a place at their preferred schools.
Members of the public play a vital role in the independent panels. They are set up to make sure the views of parents, and those of the council, are heard in a fair, open and impartial way.
Although the school’s admission authority arranges the hearing, the panel itself is entirely independent of the local authority and the governing body of the school.
The panel hears from both the parents and the local education authority, and then makes its decision in private and the parent will be informed, in writing by the panel administrator.
Volunteers will be trained and paid travel expenses. The majority of meetings are held during the day at the Town Hall, Sankey Street in the town centre and refreshments and parking are provided.
To be eligible – and to ensure every decision is fair – members of the panels must:
Not be a councillor on the borough council
Not be employed by the council, unless as a teacher
Not have, or have had, any connections with the LEA or employees of the LEA, other than a teacher
If anyone has or knows anyone with time to spare and interested in joining the panels, they should contact Julie Pickles on 01925 442114 or email [email protected]
