Beauty spot “could
become death trap”
by Lesley Wilkinson
A NUMBER of residents have expressed concern that the partly drained Ackers Pit at Stockton Heath could become a ?death trap? for children.
Douglas Ditchfield, a former angling bailiff told a meeting of Stockton Heath Parish Council: “This whole area is a death trap and needs to have something done.”
Another resident said: “The school holidays start soon and if a child gets into that silt, they will never get out of it. If an accident happens there will be loads of questions asked.
“The area will be a magnet to local children. We should try to get the police to patrol to stop youngsters getting onto the site.”
He said fences surrounding the pit had been knocked down in places.
But council clerk Peter Briggs said they were to be repaired.
Acting chairman Coun Maurice Leslie said: “We are aware of this issue but to make the site secure would be difficult.”
Coun June Daynes said: “I feel something more urgent needs to be done to secure the site for the whole six weeks.”
Work on a ?48,252 facelift for the popular beauty spot was abandoned in May after it was discovered the amount of silt in the lake had been underestimated.
Parish councillors are waiting for an engineering report from the contractor before deciding how to move forward.
Coun Leslie said the senior landscape architect in charge of the project was on holiday and negotiations would resume when he returned.
There would be a special meeting of the parish council to discuss Ackers Pit which would be well publicised so that the public could attend.
Teenager through to
road safety finals
by John Hendon
A WARRINGTON teenager is through to the final of a nationwide competition which highlights the importance of road safety among young people.
George Sampson, aged 13, from Birchwood, was chosen from more than 200 entries to go through to the second round of the Ad Star Search ? a competition to create an MTV advertisement for the Government?s THINK! road safety campaign.
During an intensive work-shop, George and his team mates were asked to present an ad concert about pedestrian safety to a panel of expert judges.
The group?s idea was so striking they made it through to the final where they got to see their ad being filmed.
But now they need people to vote for them ? because that will decide which ad will become the official THINK! advert to be shown on MTV to help reduce the number of teenagers killed and seriously injured on the roads each year.
Traffic accidents are the biggest single cause of accidental death for the 12-16 agr group, with more than 2,500 killed or seriously injured in 2005.
Glyn Robinson, from the Department for Transport said: ?It has been a privilege to work with these talented and enthusiastic young people. The final three adverts were brilliant and all the teams should be proud of themselves.?
To see the advert created by George and his team mates, visit www.mtv.co.uk/think between July 16 and 22.
High school wins
“specialist” status
by staff reporter
A WARRINGTON school has succeeded in a bid to become a Specialist Humanities College.
Culcheth High School will attain specialist status in September – with the lead specialism subject of history, supported by English and geography.
A new Humanities conference centre will be built at the school using extra funding received as a result of the coveted status.
Students, parents and staff have raised significant sums to support the school’s bid and commercial sponsors such as BNFL, UK Vodafone and MPEC have also backed the bid.
Headteacher Martyn Froggett, said: “This is a tremendous achievement and reflects the hard work put in by the entire school community to ensure that the bid was successful.
“I would like to offer my particular thanks to Stephen Gray, our Assistant Headteacher, for writing and organizing the bid. He will now become our director of specialism and we look forward to future success as a Specialist Humanities College.”
Shopping centre
puts on the style
by staff reporter
WARRINGTON?s Golden Square shopping centre staged a day of catwalk shows hosted by TV style duo Colin McAllister and Justin Ryan.
Crowds gathered to enjoy the high-impact dance and runway show that featured stunning models and the very latest collections from stores including H&M, Debenhams, Bank, Oasis, Republic, River Island, New Look, Monsoon, Burton, Bay Trading, BHS, Blue Inc, Dorothy Perkins, La Senza, Marks and Spencer, Principles, Officers Club and Warehouse.
Between shows, shoppers heading into the mall to pick up the catwalk fashions were treated to a beauty playground.
Clinique and Clarins presented skin care demonstrations while Superdrug provided advice on sunscreen and Body Shop gave away product samples.
Style guru Flic Everett held a whole day of one-to-one fashion consultations looking at different fashion elements like colour, shape and accessories.
Gala opening for ?8m
bus interchange
by staff reporter
WARRINGTON?S ?8 million state-of-the-art bus interchange is now officially open.
The interchange ? which has been operational since last August ? was officially opened with a special gala event attended by borough council chiefs, Warrington Borough Transport, Golden Square and representatives of bus users.
The Mayor, Coun Celia Jordan was there as was Steven Broomhead, chief executive of the Warrington-based North West Development Agency who were heavily involved in the joint project to build the facility.
There was music from a steel band and from Birchwood High School Swing Band.
A feature of the event was the naming of ?Warrington Worthies? ? local people who have given their name to buses.
These included Chloe Kendrick, granddaughter of Warrington?s longest serving bus driver and Penketh High School pupil James Houghton, who along with fellow pupils, helped create a mural at the interchange and is the son of a bus inspector.
David and Anne Forrest, founder members of the Warrington Borough Transport customer panel, also had buses named after them and joined other representatives of community groups to unveil a special plaque.
The bus interchange was recently awarded a ?Tourism For All? award from the Chester and Cheshire Tourist Board.
Sited only yards from Warrington Central railway station, the interchange offers a fully integrated transport service, and features 19 bus platforms, a new travel centre and real time passenger information boards.
News in brief
Carnival time
THE 27th annual Howley Carnival takes place at Howley Park, off Wellington Street, Warrington tomorrow (Saturday). The event will be officially opened by Warrington North MP Helen Jones at 2pm.
Hospital lottery
WINNING numbers in the weekly lottery run by the League of Friends of Warrington Hospital were 4, 9, 12 and 14. The ?220 jackpot went unclaimed and will be “rolled over” to next week. A ?25 consolation prize was awarded.
Change of use
PLANS to change the use of a building on the Appleton Trading Estate at Lyncastle Way, Appleton, Warrington, to an MOT workshop have been approved by borough planning chiefs.
Park plan
AN existing building in Bewsey Park, off Troutbeck Avenue, Bewsey, Warrington is to be extended to provide a community center, housing office and Sure Start facility, following approval by borough planning bosses.
[ 26.07.2007, 11:26: Message edited by: DS ]
