End of the road
for village cobbles!
EXCLUSIVE by Gary Skentelbery
ANCIENT cobbles which have lined the streets of a local village for more than a century are being ripped up and sold by a council contractor – with the full blessing of the town’s highway chiefs!
The cobbles are being removed as part of road improvement works at Lymm, Warrington.
Local councillors are outraged that the cobbles are being sold, possibly for profit.
“This is our village heritage which is being sold,” said dismayed Lymm councillor Mrs Sheila Woodyatt.
“It is disgraceful that this is being allowed to happen. I am most annoyed that as a local councillor I knew nothing about this. Even if the cobbles are worthless we should have been informed and given some say in the matter.
“At the very least the parish council should have been consulted. There is talk of the village perhaps one day becoming a pedestrianised area and these old cobbles may have proved useful.
“We need to be more careful about how contracts are awarded and now there is a new administration at the town hall we will be ensuring procedures are tightened up.”
Council leader Ian Marks, who also represents Lymm, said he was “concerned” to hear about the practice of selling the cobble stones.
“Procedures certainly need to be tightened up and we will be looking at contracts like this very closely,” he added.
Local shopkeepers were outraged when they heard the cobbles were being dug up and sold by the contractors.
One said: “Cobbles like this can sell on the open market for around ?10 each so there could be a few thousand pounds worth of cobbles ending up in someone’s back garden!”
Jonathan Plant, the borough council’s Design Consultancy Manager, said: ?Eagle Brow has for some time been a high priority road maintenance project as part of the considerable investment, being made by the Council, in bringing the road condition up to the standard expected of a main road. The condition of the road, evidenced by years of pothole repairs is such that full rebuilding of the road has been necessary, rather than simply resurfacing the top layers.
?At the Bridgewater Street end of the road, an area of sett paving previously covered by tarmac is being removed and replaced with conventional macadam construction. The area of sett paving is riddled with pot hole repairs and service trenches and has a thin layer of tarmac over the top of it, and this has no doubt contributed to the failure of the current road surface.
“The setts are polished and potentially have low resistance to skidding and structurally, the condition of the stone could not be guaranteed for reuse. As we have no plans to incorporate the old setts into the project, they are being removed from site by the contractor who is entitled to any residual value they have, if any.
?The project does however incorporate a considerable enhancement to the street environment through the heart of the village, as new sett paving, to current specifications and design standards will be provided adjacent to the lower dam?.
New police appeal
over body in river
by David Skentelbery
POLICE investigating the death of a 40-year-old Warrington man have issued a new appeal for help from the public.
The body of David Raymond Atherton, of St Katherine’s Way, Howley, was found in the Mersey on May 16. He had been missing from home since May 9.
Two schoolboys, aged 14 and 16 have subsequently appeared in court charged with his murder.
Police are anxious to trace Mr Atherton’s movements since he was last seen on May 9 and in the week prior to his body being found in the river, at the rear of Warrington Parish Church.
A spokeswoman said: “Anyone who saw him during that period, either alone or in company, is asked to come forward with information.”
The number to call is 0845 458 0000.
Labour dealt
another body blow
EXCLUSIVE by Lesley Wilkinson
JUST weeks after the local elections Warrington Borough Councillor Ann Haddow has shocked the Labour Group by withdrawing from the party whip and continuing as an independent.
Coun Haddow, of Nairn Close, Cinnamon Brow, is local councillor for the Fairfield and Howley Ward.
When warrington-worldwide contacted her to discuss her resignation from the party, she declined to comment and hung up her telephone.
Her decision to quit the party means Labour is no longer the largest group on Warrington Borough Council. The current standing is now Labour, 25 seats, Liberal Democrat, 25, Conservatives, six and Independent, one.
Councillor Mike Hannon, deputy leader of the Labour Group, said: “She has resigned for personal reasons. Obviously we are disappointed but life goes on.
“We are not the largest group on the council now, but it is a done deal and we cannot undo it. It is her decision, he added.
Meanwhile some of Coun Haddow’s council colleague’s feel her decision may have been swayed by recent outbursts by Labour members at the council’s annual meeting, which has left other members of the party considering their future.
Music festival would
overwhelm villages
by Lesley Wilkinson
FEARS that 45,000 partygoers and a couple of thousand “hangers-on” attending a pop festival will “overwhelm” the area, were expressed by Walton Parish Council.
They were worried the event would lead to “mayhem, vandalism and theft” and residents would experience similar conditions to the occupied Channel Islands during World War Two.
Two special meetings have been held by the parish council to discuss the proposed Creamfields pop festival proposed in Daresbury in August.
Both meetings were packed by residents representing more than 500 objectors from the villages of Hatton, Walton, Moore, Daresbury, Stretton and Appleton.
Clerk Roy Stopford has sent a list of objections to the Licensing Officer of Halton Borough Council, which is considering the application for the event.
“These hangers-on are seen as a cause for concern in that they will not be subject to the security and control that will exist within the event site,” he wrote.
Residents say traffic will disrupt local life including that of visitors to Walton Hall Gardens, Walton Hall Golf Club and the Crematorium. He said elderly residents were worried about partygoers roaming the streets.
He said that although the applicant is funding extra policing, residents were concerned that police would be taken away from their normal duties.
“The opportunities for mayhem, vandalism and theft over the two days, especially after dark, will be massive and, if they occur, will either be left to run their course or only controlled by depriving other areas of the county of police cover,” he wrote.
“Residents are fearful of widespread crime and drug related problems despite the comments from Cheshire Police that this was not experienced at the Liverpool site and the promise of increased patrols,” added Roy.
A string of other concerns included the safety of children in the villages, extra demand on the town’s emergency services and the difficulties of overseeing the movement of large number of cars and people.
He said: “Residents, and the parish council, are very concerned that a ‘for profit’ company is able to impinge on the civil liberties of residents around the site by the imposition of identity checks, road closures and passes to access their own properties.”
He added residents would face controls and restrictions “similar to those last experienced by UK residents of the Channel Isles during the occupation in the Second World War.”
The parish council has also put its objections to Warrington Borough Council, Halton Borough Council and Cheshire Police.
Sports boost
for charity
by staff reporter
STAFF and customers at Warrington’s Birchwood Leisure and Tennis Complex have been doing their bit for charity.
They have joined forces
in a charity drive and are delighted to announce they raised a fantastic ?5,858 for St Rocco’s Hospice.
Bingo nights, raffles and a sponsored 24-hour spinning session were just some of the activities that people have been involved with.
Now they are planning more events – including 10 of the female staff taking part in the Starlight Ladies 13 mile walk in June.
Ian Brooke, head of leisure facilities, said: “I would like to thank all the staff and customers for their support and contributions. We are delighted with the amounts we have raised and this is spurring us on to continue with all our activities and raise even more!
It’s also a great way for our staff and customers to get to know each other and work towards a common aim and have fun as well.”
Woman ?stable?
in hospital
by staff reporter
A 34-year-old woman taken to hospital at Warrington in the early hours of Sunday May 21 with serious head injuries is now is a ?poorly but stable? condition, according to police.
Originally, she was said to have been in a ?critical? condition.
Two people arrested in connection with the incident, a man of 66 and a woman of 59, have now been released on police bail.
Charity fun day
by staff reporter
A FUNDRAISING night for a local children’s charity is being held at a Woolston Club on June 18.
Monks Sports and Social Club, Hillock Lane, is expecting to raise about ?450 for local charity JUMP.
The charity holds its own fun day from 1pm to 5pm at the club on the same day.
And in the evening artists will perform free when then club holds a charity night. Appearing will be Tanya Marie, Craig Williams and the Pete Rigby Disco. Tickets priced at ?3 and available from the club now.
