“Skittles” to get
extra protection
by David Skentelbery
WARRINGTON?S infamous ?skittles? ? the ?1 million town centre street art features which made national headlines when they were first erected five years ago ? will get the extra protection of conservation area status, if Town Hall chiefs approve the move tonight.
The council?s executive board will be urged to approve amendments to the Bridge Street Conservation Area ? first designated 26 years ago.
One alteration would be to include the whole of Market Gate within the conservation area.
At present, the boundary cuts through the fountain that is the central feature of Market Gate, leaving some of the skittles ? officially known as The Guardians ? outside the protected area.
A report to go to the board states: ?It would appeal logical for the whole of this feature to be included within the Bridge Street Conservation Area.?
When the conservation area was designated in 1980, Bridge Street was considered to be one the finest examples of a Victorian/Edwardian shopping street in Chester ? second only to Chester?s Eastgate Street.
Even earlier, in 1968, Warrington Civic Society co-ordinated a street improvement scheme in which most shopkeepers took part which resulted in the Queen visiting the town to inspect the street.
Now, however, modern shopfronts have robbed the street of many of its architectural features.
The report also suggests a number of other amendments to the conservation area, which in fact cover other parts of the town centre rather than just Bridge Street.
Key issues include the repair and restoration of parts of Cairo Street Unitarian Chapel, renovation of the Lion Inn in Bridge Street, removal of unauthorised signage and inclusion of the whole of the TJ Hughes store in Sankey Street, which is currently only partly within the protected area.
The War Memorial at Bridge Foot ? currently outside the conservation area, would also be included.
New parts of the Warrington Academy building which were omitted from the original conservation area would also be included.
Future of village
school in balance
by staff reporter
THE future of Stockton Heath Primary School will be discussed at a meeting of Warrington?s Schools Organisation Committee tomorrow (Tuesday).
But campaigners fighting to save the 100-year-old school from demolition say they are concerned that the committee may not be in full possession of the facts when the matter is discussed.
They claim the plan to demolish the school and replace it with a new, larger primary school can only go ahead with the committee approves the enlargement of the school.
Only 34 per cent of existing pupils come from Stockton Heath, they claim ? which means expansion of the school cannot be justified.
More than 5,154 people signed a petition opposing the demolition and campaigners claim that 2,162 lived within a mile of the school.
They are threatening an approach to the Local Government Ombudsman on the grounds the borough council has not considered all the relevant information.
But Coun Sheila Woodyatt, the borough?s education chief, who is also a member of the Schools Organisation Committee said: ?The committee is not actually making a decision tomorrow. We will simply be ratifying a necessary process.
?The decision was made a long time ago. We have been given all the relevant facts, including all the arguments for and against the scheme. ?
Planning chiefs have refused permission for the demolition once but will be asked to consider a new, slightly altered scheme next month.
Man rescued from
smoke-filled shop
by David Skentelbery
POLICE are investigating a fire which caused severe damage to a flat above a sex shop in Orford Lane, Warrington.
Fire crews were called to the scene during the night and rescued a man from the flat, which had been sub-divided into four bedsits.
The man had suffered the effects of smoke and was treated at the scene by paramedics.
Cause of the fire is not yet known – but the four bedsits were heavily smokelogged.
No damage was caused to the ground floor shop.
Firefighters were also called to the Riverside Retail Park at Bridge Foot, Warrington to make safe a quantity of cladding on a building which appeared in danger of collapsing.
Dream trip for
hockey girls
by Gary Skentelbery
A dream trip to Barbados has been lined up for a school’s girls hockey team to help promote womens sport.
Nineteen girls from Year 11 at Bridgewater High School, Appleton, Warrington, will be travelling to the Caribbean in July and are busy raising funds to cover the cost.
Each girl needs ?2,000 to fund the trip which will involve playing four local teams in Barbados.
School press officer Julie Heal said: “The girls are busy working hard to raise the funds by making and selling cakes and organising car boot sales. They are also looking for local sponsorship.
“It is the first time the school has organised an international event like this in Barbados and the girls were keen to promote womens sport.
Bin bag backlog will
be cleared this week
by John Hendon
BOROUGH Council chiefs have issued an assurance that bin bags uncollected from houses across Warrington after the Christmas/New Year holiday period will be dealt with this week.
They say the majority of residents DID receive a full collection service last week.
But those whose additonal festive season waste ? in extra bin bags left out next to wheelie bins ? was not collected, should have it taken this week.
Anyone who has concerns, however, can contact the council on 01925 443000.
There was chaos last week when many residents, who had been told they could leave up to three extra bin bags out next to their wheelie bin, found the bags were not collected.
The problems arose from the fact that the council were using an additional lorry, which followed the normal refuse collection vehicle.
As there was a gap between the two vehicles arriving, some residents assumed the bin bags were not going to be collected and took them in before the second vehicle arrived.
?Bad blood? between the refuse collectors and the council, following the recent strike by collectors, was blamed for the problem ? along with a lack of communication.
A Town Hall spokewoman said the council had employed extra resources last week to collect the additional bags and the majority of residents received the full service. Where residents had called the customer contact centre, most problems had been resolved.
A limited extra resource will also be employed this week to collect any outstanding bin bags.
MP calls for action to
protect NHS staff
by staff reporter
WARRINGTON North MP Helen Jones has called on the government to take a zero tolerance stance to protect doctors, nurses and other NHS staff from physical assault.
More than 60,000 NHS staff were physically assaulted by patients or relatives of patients last year – one assault for every 22 NHS staff.
Ms Jones said: ?Nurses, doctors and other NHS staff provide an excellent service.
?They are dedicated to providing patients with the highest possible level of care and they deserve the greatest possible respect. Attacks either verbally or physically are simply not acceptable and a policy of zero tolerance needs to be adopted in NHS facilities across the country.
?In Bolton a system of ?80 on the spot fines for patients or visitors who are violent to staff has been introduced at the local hospital. Cases of abuse have fallen as a result.?
“Hit and run”
driver sought
by John Hendon
A PAIR of unlikely ?hit and run? motorists are being sought at Lymm.
The elderly couple, driving a silver Peugeot car, drove off after colliding with a parked Volvo in Eagle Bro
w ? opposite Churchill?s dry cleaning shop.
More than ?800 damage was caused to the Volvo and even more to the Peugeot.
Volvo owner Robert Manley, of Knutsford, saw the incident.
He said: ?I think the man probably intended to go into reverse but selected a forward gear by mistake. His car shot forward and hit mine.
?I spoke to him briefly after the incident but then he drove off. I thought at first he was re-parking, but the next thing he had gone.?
Mr Manley says part of the car?s number was DE 55 ? but this is insufficient for police to trace the driver.
Anyone who can help Mr Manley can contact him on 0777 579 0666.
