Residents lose battle
over restaurant plan
by David Skentelbery
NEIGHBOURS have lost a long-running battle to block plans for a restaurant on the site of a former bank at Culcheth, near Warrington.
A Government-appointed planning inspector has ruled that the restaurant, on the site of the former Lloyds/TSB bank in Warrington Road can go ahead.
But he has imposed a number of conditions designed to safeguard the amenities of nearby residents.
People living in Newsholme Close, Culcheth had opposed the scheme – backed by Culcheth and Glazebury Parish Council.
The inspector who dealt with the appeal accepts that the effect of noise on the nearest house in Newsholme Close would be the greatest concern and that some parking in residential streets may occur.
But he says the level of activity should not be sufficient to justify a refusal of planning consent and that parking and service areas will be away from the boundary with adjacent houses and separated by acoustic fencing.
He says conditions should be imposed to restrict deliveries to the premises to between 8am and 8pm and that there should be no “sitting out” area at the rear of the premises. The restaurant must also close by midnight on Fridays and Saturdays and 11.30pm on other nights.
Conditions should also be imposed to control cooking odours and light pollution.
He says that because the restaurant will be close to the centre of the village, parking should not present undue problems.
Two applications for permission to build the restaurant were refused by the borough council and the developer appealed against both. It is not now expected he will proceed with the second appeal.
The inspector says concerns about the impact on nearby property values are not a planning issue. He does not support residents’ concerns over possible crime and disorder arising from the restaurant.
Weatherman Fred helps
launch advice service
by staff reporter
FRED Talbot, best known as ITV’s weatherman, helped Warrington’s Golden Gates Housing (GGH) launch its free benefits advice service.
Warrington Wolves stars Mark Hilton and Paul Noone also turned up to help and listen to the live band. Free prize draws and balloons for the kids added to the proceedings.
The service has been set up to help elderly people in Warrington claim thousands of pounds of unpaid benefits.
Fred said: “There’s lots of unclaimed money that people are entitled to and should be receiving. If you, or an elderly family member, needs free advice then call GGH and arrange an appointment.” Anyone in Warrington, aged 60 or over, can call GGH on 0800 195 9195, and ask for a trained advisor to visit them at home and conduct a benefits “health check”.
Director Peter Mercer said: “The launch went really well and it really helped to raise the profile of GGH’s new service “.
Golden Gates Housing Ltd manages 9,300 homes for Warrington Borough Council. It has its own board made up of tenants, councillors and independent members of the public.
500 join in fun
of tag festivals
MORE than 500 boys and girls took part in two major “tag rugby” festivals held by Warrington Wolves RL Club.
The second annual Mayor’s Tag Festival was held on the Town Hall lawns and 14 schools took part including some from Lymm and Croft.
Prop forward Danny Lima and Wolfie were on hand to present the awards and the festival was a huge success. The fair play award went to Stockton Heath Primary School.
Burtonwood Bulldogs hosted a tag festival at Fir Tree Lane playing fields, with Wolves’ Mark Gleeson an interested spectator. Burtonwood were the recipients of the fair play award.
Wolves community and marketing manager Sean Mellor said: “These festivals are the culmination of our coaching within the schools. They give the boys and girls the opportunity to showcase the skills they have acquired. Tag rugby provides an introduction to our sport and judging by the excellent levels of skill and enthusiasm we have seen, some of these players may be the Wolves stars of the future”.
All pupils taking part in the tag festivals will be presented to the Halliwell Jones crowd at the Wolves v London Broncos Superleague fixture on July 17.
Man falsely claimed
?4,704 in benefit
by court reporter
A 46-years-old Warrington man who falsely claimed ?4,704.14 in benefits has been sentenced to a 120-hours community punishment order and told to pay back the money.
Mark Frederick Worthington, of Lydstep Court, Callands, pleaded guilty to working while in receipt of benefits when he appeared before Warrington Magistrates’ Court.
The court was told that between December 2002 and June 2003, Worthington defrauded Warrington Borough Council of ?1,923.60 in Housing Benefit and ?312.01 in Council Tax Benefit, and the Department for Work and Pensions of Income Support totalling ?2,468.80.
He was also ordered to pay court costs of ?75.
After the hearing, Adrian Webster, the council’s benefits manager, said: “Benefit cheats are getting the message that they cannot abuse the benefit system and steal from the rest of society. They are not just defrauding the government, but their own tax paying neighbours and communities in Warrington.” He said new methods of data matching had been introduced and the message to cheats was that they would be caught.
Fraud operations manager Roy Paul said: “This is an excellent example of government departments working together to combat benefit fraud. Our recent research shows that the public is fed up with cheats who steal money from the taxpayer that should go to those in genuine need of help.
“Tough action against benefit crooks is paying off, but we can’t do it alone. People around Warrington, supported by local media, can play their part by telling us about alleged fraudsters free and in confidence, on our National Benefit Fraud Hotline 0800 854 440,” he added.
Help for students who
suffer from “exam stress”
by Lesley Wilkinson
STUDENTS in Warrington faced with the trauma of exam stress are being advised to follow health tips from experts and to keep things in perspective.
Youngsters are being urged to recognise the signs of stress so that they do not become depressed or aggressive, or in the extreme turn to drink or drugs.
Razia Chesworth, a school health adviser with Warrington Primary Care Trust, said: “This can be an extremely stressful time for many students as they leave the structured and supportive environment of their school.
“Often those who become most distraught are the brightest, most ambitious students who have set themselves such high expectations and are fearful of not achieving their goals,” she added.
Razia said that male students are less likely to access support than their female class mates, as they may find it difficult to admit they need advice and are less likely to talk about their feelings.
“Some students during this stressful time could turn to alcohol, drugs or some may become depressed or aggressive. More worrying is the fact that this group of vulnerable students will not have any access to help as they tend not to access local health services,” she said.
Signs of stress include head and stomach aches, lack of sleep, a change in appetite, difficulty concentrating, or feeling unusually emotional. Razia urged those suffering from stress to keep things in perspective and not be afraid of seeking help.
“A timetable allowing breaks for relaxation and fun will avoid burn out. Eating healthily, drinking plenty of water, avoiding caffeine and taking moderate exercise will all help reduce feelings of stress,” she added.
For advice or support students or their families can contact Warrington PCT’s School Health Adviser Service on 01925 261488.
Beasts of the Nile
exhibition to end
by staff reporter
VISITORS to Warrington Museum have unti
l 4pm on Saturday to experience the glittering, magical world of Ancient Egypt! The Beasts of the Nile exhibition comes to an end at the weekend.
There are old Egyptian games, angling in a painted fishpond, cutting out and colouring or fitting together the clues to what is in the secret boxes and colourful wooden jigsaws.
The exhibition has items from the British Museum, Bolton Museum and Warrington’s own animal-related Ancient Egyptian collections.
Visitors can see turquoise scarab beetles that were used as charms; a mummified ibis, as well as the cats; dice made out of bones; a jackal’s head; a stone lion and, in the centre, some of Warrington’s collection of stuffed animals.
Museum spokeswoman Jo Manby said: “These days, people do their best to preserve living things and to breed up rare species to be released back into the wild. But all the objects in a museum are kept to give an insight into the history of different cultures, and the diversity of objects and works of art they collected at different periods in time.
“Lots of children have enjoyed Beasts of the Nile. Last weekend, a visitor called Si?n and her little brother Paddy said they especially liked to be able to touch some of the objects that have been selected to allow children to examine them closely.
“Paddy liked the leopard skin, and the Egyptian replica toys on wheels that he enthusiastically pulled round the gallery. Another visitor, Amy, liked the fact that the mummified cats had smiley faces painted onto them.”
Replica turquoise scarab beetles are available to buy, together with models of Egyptian cat Gods and Goddesses (complete with gold earrings!) and papyrus paper painted with Egyptian scenes, and a hundred and one other fascinating treasures.
For further information about the Beasts of the Nile exhibition, contact Jo Manby or Natasha Lolljee on 01925 442396.
Planners to rule
on driving range
by David Skentelbery
PLANNING bosses at Warrington are to decide whether a golf driving range that was built too wide and too long should be allowed to stay as it is.
The True Fit Golf driving range fairway in Widnes Road, Cuerdley, is 7.5 metres longer than the approved length and its width has been increased by between 15 and 20 metres.
Overall, the length of the range has been increased by 25 metres and its internal level has been increased by 1.5 metres above the approved levels.
Members of the borough council’s development control committee have already visited the site and tonight (Wednesday) are due to decide whether the driving range can stay as it is.
The company says it built the range contrary to the approved scheme to give access for disabled vehicles so wheelchair users to use the facilities. The level was altered to assist drainage.
Officers are recommending the changes be approved because they do not make any difference to the visual impact of the facility.
