Women midnight walkers
raise ?180,000 for hospice
by Gary Skentelbery
AN ESTIMATED 2,500 women took to the streets of Warrington pledging to raise ?180,000 for St Rocco’s Hospice in the annual Starlight Walk.
The women of all ages braved the elements as they set off from Victoria Park at midnight on a 13 mile walk around the town.
They were seen off by the town’s Mayor, Coun Celia Jordan, who is also Chairman of the hospice.
Every area of the town was represented as friends, familys and work colleagues entered into the spirit of the occasion.
Many were dressed in pink, wearing cow boy hats or bunny girl ears.
Coun Jordan thanked all the walkers for turning out in force, doubling last year’s turn out.
“It is fantastic to see so many women turning out to support such a good cause which has touched the lives of many people in Warrington. It is an amazing turn out and a fantastic sight.”
The women were marshalled along the route by other charitable organisations such as the Lions.
Low cost homes shortage
could damage economy
by David Skentelbery
A STUDY into a shortage of ?affordable? housing in Warrington and Cheshire has highlighted the damaging effect this may have on the economy.
The study, commissioned by Cheshire and Warrington Economic Alliance (CWEA) in partnership with the Cheshire Housing Alliance (CHA), involved interviews with 226 employers across the sub region, responsible for 47,504 employees.
It shows that new business growth in the area would be stifled by the lack of an available pool of labour, due to high housing costs.
The lack of affordable housing is impacting on employers? ability to recruit to lower paid jobs and high housing costs could have an inflationary pressure on wages.
Businesses may need to look increasingly at attracting employees from outside the area, leading to increased commuting and higher carbon emissions and young adults unable to set up their own homes, or growing families being unable to move to larger family accommodation.
There is also the possibility of:
Housing shortages leading to large numbers of people moving outside the area where housing costs are less.
Unemployed people being unable to move to take advantage of work opportunities as housing costs are unaffordable.
The report says there is already an existing shortage of affordable housing and the potential impact on the economy has led the CHA to call for at least 1,000 new affordable rented homes to be provided in the region.
Martin Lee, chief executive of CWEA, said: “This report confirms the anecdotal feedback we have received from many employers. We will be addressing the issue of affordable housing with our partners so that our economy can continue to flourish and provide opportunities for everyone who lives here.”
Steve Jennings, chairman of the Cheshire Housing Alliance and chief executive of Weaver Vale Housing Trust, said: “There is an affordability crisis in Cheshire. This study shows how it impacts on the economy and provides further evidence of the urgent need to balance the housing market in this part of the North West.”
Pupils claim home
safety award
PUPILS at Grappenhall Heys Primary School are celebrating after winning the borough?s annual Home Safety Quiz.
Each year, the council’s trading standards team spends four months visiting primary schools in the borough, teaching children the importance of home safety.
Grappenhall Heyes beat off competition from other schools to scoop this year’s prize, which was contested by a record 1,200 pupils from 23 schools.
A survey by the Department of Trade and Industry found that every year there are around 2.8 million accidents in the home which require a visit to an accident and emergency department, and more than 3,000 deaths.
Roy Smith, the borough council?s executive member for Community Services, said: “The level of knowledge shown by all the children who participated in this year’s quiz was very high. Accidents in the home are a major problem and anything we can do to reduce this will clearly benefit people locally and nationally.”
Traffic congestion to
go under microscope
by staff reporter
TRAFFIC congestion in Warrington will come under the microscope at a conference in the town on Thursday (June 28).
The borough council has arranged a ?congestion summit? at the Halliwell Jones Stadium.
More than 70 delegates are expected to attend and there will be a number of guest speakers. The event will be hosted by BBC North West chief reporter Dave Guest.
A council spokesman said: ?The purpose of the summit is to engage key stakeholders on tackling the issue of congestion, looking at the problem, its causes and its impact.
?We will also be discussing what we are doing as a council to address the issue and what could be achieved with stakeholder support. The format and full agenda for the afternoon is at present being finalised.?
Council reveals its
footpath strategy
by staff reporter
WARRINGTON Borough Council has now published its targets for improvements to public paths in the borough.
Walkers, equestrians and other path users can view the final Rights of Way Improvement Plan, aimed at improving the network over the next five years.
The document can be seen at all Warrington Libraries and on the council website, byclicking here
The Cheshire and Warrington Local Access Forum and other interest groups were instrumental in the development of the plan, while residents were given the opportunity to contribute to the final version of the plan during a three-month consultation last year.
Coun Brian Axcell, the borough council?s executive member for Environment Services, said: “The final plan is the culmination of years of hard work aimed at improving the opportunities for path users in the borough and this plan underlines our commitment to improving countryside access.”
Couple robbed of the
memories of a lifetime
by John Hendon
POLICE at Warrington are helping a couple to trace a van that was stolen – with half the contents of their house inside.
Caroline and Richard Forsyth lost sentimental items, including family photographs, memorabilia from around the world and even a wedding dress, when the Leyland Daf black box van was stolen overnight between 8.30pm on June 7 and 7.30am on June 8.
Officers have circulated a description of the van to neighbouring forces and are doing all they can to reunite the couple with their belongings.
The family were moving from Hale to a new base near London and the items were being stored in the back of the van in Woolston, Warrington. This week the couple made an emotional appeal to the thieves.
“We are absolutely devastated,” said Mrs Forsyth. “These items mean the world to us and nothing to anyone else.
“We would appeal for whoever has taken our personal belongings to please return them as soon as possible.” Now the couple, who have two young children, have been left without items they have kept for years including wedding cards, items they have kept from their childhood and items also belonging to their children.
“There were little things in there like a school project I did when I was eight,” said Mrs Forsyth. “It is not worth anything but has so many memories for me.
“The furniture can be replaced but these other items cannot.
“We would just appeal to these people to have a heart and return what is essentially our life.” The items in the back of the van also include furniture, books, CDs and two filing cabinets full of personal information.
Anyone with any information, which could help police with their enquiries, should call 0845 458 0000 – quoting incident number 125 of June 8 – or contact Crimestoppers, anonymously, on 0800 555 111.
Be warned –
bugs like it hot
by staff reporter
BUGS like it hot – so keep an eye on food this summer!
That’s just one of the messages from Warrington Borough Council’s environmental health officers.
During the summer months when people go out for picnics or have barbecues with buffet type foods, they need to be aware that food can be unsafe to eat after as little as four hours at room temperature.
In the hot summer sun, food can be dangerous in even less time. Many of the types of foods eaten at picnics and buffets provide ideal conditions for poisonous bacteria to grow. This can result in millions of food poisoning bacteria in the food in the few hours it’s been in a car boot or on a table in the garden and may lead to food poisoning.
Principal environmental health officer Alan Holt said: “Last year there were 189 notified cases of food related illness in Warrington, many of which occurred during the summer months. If people took a few simple steps such as keeping food in a cool bag with ice bricks, keeping food out of sunlight and keeping raw and cooked foods well apart, the number of cases of illness would no doubt be significantly reduced”.
Head of Trading Standards and Food Hygiene Peter Astley said cases of food poisoning were only half the story.
He said: “Many thousands of people suffer food related illness and never notify ourselves or their GPs as the illness may clear up in a few days and they didn’t realise it was caused by inappropriate storage in the first place.
“We are finding the public is becoming better informed about healthy eating. We also want them to be better able to protect themselves from food that is unsafe to eat. Following this simple advice will help the public to remember picnics and barbeques for the enjoyable time they had rather than the subsequent illness they suffer from poor storage of food.”
