Hospital Trust to
get temporary head
by John Hendon
A TEMPORARY head is to take over at Warrington Hospital when chief executive Ian Dalton leaves on October 3.
North Cheshire Hospital NHS Trust – which runs Warrington Hospital along with neighbouring Halton Hospital -has announced that Ann Marr, chief executive of St Helens and Knowsley Hospitals NHS Trust, will be seconded to the Trust as acting chief executive.
But she will remain the senior responsible officer for the strategic development project for Whiston and St Helens Hospitals during her secondment.
She will be the sixth chief executive at the Warrington-based Trust since it was set up in 1995.
The Trust says that, because of streamlining of NHS management structures, all NHS organisations within Cheshire and Merseyside have been asked to freeze all appointments to top management posts for the time being.
Vacancies which arise in the interim will be filled with acting appointments.
Suzanne Hinchliffe, director of nursing at St Helens and Knowsley Hospitals NHS Trust will deputise while Ann Marr is acting chief executive of North Cheshire Hospitals.
Ms Marr is an experienced NHS chief executive who has achieved a three star rating within her own Trust. She will bring experience and senior leadership pending substantive arrangements being put in place, says the Trust.
Her support will enable the Trust to continue to press ahead with the major improvements to patient care, initated by Mr Dalton over the past two years.
Allan Massey, chairman of North Cheshire Hospitals NHS Trust, said: “I am delighted that someone of Ann Marr’s calibre and experience has agreed to lead the Trust for a period of time.
“Ann’s appointment will enable us to continue to press ahead with improving our performance and I am very much looking forward to working with her.”
During her secondment, Ms Marr will remain the senior responsible officer for the strategic development project for Whiston and St Helens Hospitals.
Warrington Hospital’s first chief executive was Rosemary Knights, who left in January 1998 on health grounds.
She was succeeded by Beverley Peacock, who ran the Trust as acting chief executive for 10 months. She was succeeded by Mike Deegan, Paul Cronin and then, in September 2003, Mr Dalton.
When Mr Dalton’s departure was announced, in July, concern was expressed in the town at the frequent change of leadership at the Trust. The temporary nature of Ms Marr’s appointment is likely to fuel local worries still further.
Fair Trade stall’s
birthday celebration
VIP visitors will be dropping in on Fair 4 All, the Fair Trade stall on Warrington Market today (Friday) and tomorrow.
They will be seeing the newly enlarged stall – it has doubled in size – and also celebrating the stall’s third birthday and the latest “Make Poverty History” event on Saturday.
More and more shoppers are discovering the stall, which stocks a wide range of Fair Trade goods to suit all ages, tastes and pockets.
Over the last few months Fair 4 All have sold over 1,500 white Make Poverty History wristbands in Warrington and more will be on offer at the weekend.
The stall is staffed by volunteers and sells an expanding range of foods, beverages and chocolates, many of which are organic, and craft products, including incense, wooden toys and games, unusual musical instruments from around the world, jewellery, hand made paper cards, mobiles and wind chimes, cushion covers, rugs, handbags and purses, etc.
Among the VIP visitors will be MPs Helen Jones and Helen Southworth, Lord Doug Hoyle, the Rev Stephen Kingsnorth, and Linda Tiongco, director of Christian Aid North West.
New ?1.25 million
sports complex
by David Skentelbery
A NEW sports complex, including floodlit tennis courts, soccer and rugby pitches is to be built at Grappenhall, near Warrington, at a cost of ?1.25 million.
This was revealed as plans were approved for four three-storey blocks of flats on the site of the existing Grappenhall Village Tennis Club in Bradshaw Lane.
The new club – formed by a merger of the tennis club with Grappenhall Sports Club – will be in Stockton Lane.
There will be at least six all weather tennis courts – five of them floodlit and most of them with a synthetic grass surface – two full size football pitches and two junior football pitches.
A new clubhouse will be built to replace a semi-derelict clubhouse on the site.
The scheme did not go through without controversy – there were more than 30 letters and emails of objection from people living near the Bradshaw Lane site and Grappenhall and Thelwall Parish Council also opposed the flats scheme.
But the borough’s development control committee was told that unless the flats were built there would be unsufficient money for the Stockton Lane complex.
Mark Phoenix, spokesman for developers Eigtch Bee Jay Property Matters, said: “We are proposing a ?1.25 million investment in the Stockton Lane site.
“Semi-detached houses on the tennis club site would not pay for the new facility.”
A total of 24 apartments will be built in four three-storey blocks at Bradshaw Lane.
Neighbours argued that flats would be out of character with the area, would lead to traffic problems, a loss of privacy and sunlight and road safety hazards for children going to school.
Coun Cliff Taylor, of Grappenhall and Thelwall Parish Council, said: “There is a high level of public concern in the area, based mainly on highway safety fears. There is a school in Bradshaw Lane and we don’t yet know the impact of development taking place on the site of the old Dog and Dart pub.
“Three-storey apartments are not in keeping with the area.”
But planning officers told the committee it was not considered the proposals would adversely affect the amenities of surrounding properties. Planting would be provided to screen new parking areas from existing homes and reduce noise and disturbance.
Last night of the Proms
WARRINGTON Male Voice Choir is to stage its second “Last Night of the Proms” at the Parr Hall on Saturday, September 24.
The choir will again be joined by local mezzo soprano Jan Hutchings, who, in addition to her solo performance of “Songs from the Shows” will lead such classics as “Rule Britannia” and “Jerusalem”.
Also taking part will be Sale Concert Orchestra, providing their own brand of musical entertainment, including Sir Henry Wood’s “Fantasia on British Sea Songs.”
Choir chairman Barrie Johnson said: “We have a very faithful and growing audience, but we are also deeply indebted to all our colleagues in local and regional media. By helping to promote our efforts, they ensure that Parr Hall Concerts generate sufficient funds to allow us to continue, as probably the region’s principal charity performance facilitators, raising many thousands of pounds each year for a wide variety of good causes”.
Village under
police spotlight
by staff reporter
STOCKTON Heath is to be under the spotlight by the police on September 15 – with the latest of its “CAT walks”.
PC Peter Crellin will meet a group of volunteers, including local parish and borough councillors at the police station, to undertake a lunchtime tour of the village identifying problem areas.
The party will be looking for graffiti, criminal damage and vandalism and areas where there are problems with nuisance youths.
A second walk will take place the following day, during the evening, to give volunteers an ideal of the issues affecting the village at different times of the day.
The “hot spot” areas will be recorded by the volunteers who take part and this information, together with the results of a local survey will be discussed at the first Community Action Meeting (CAM) to be held on Thursday September 29, at 7pm at the Sandy Lane Centre.
PC Crellin said: “Everyone is invited
to attend the CAM. The meeting will give local residents the chance to have their say and vote for the key issue they want police and partner agencies, as well as local residents to focus on. The progress made will be reported back at our next meeting due to be held in December.”
Fire crews
rescue baby
FIRE crews from Warrington were called out to rescue a baby boy trapped in a car.
The rescue took place in Liverpool Road, Warrington, where the one-year-old had apparently locked himself – and the keys – in his parents’ car.
Eventually fire crews had to smash the driver’s door window to release the toddler, who was unharmed but frightened.
