Borough-wide ban on
drinking in the street?
by David Skentelbery
WARRINGTON Borough Council is determined to make sure something good comes out of the tragic murder of father-of-three Garry Newlove.
A report is to be presented to the council?s executive board as soon as possible ? and could recommend the designation of alcohol free areas across the borough.
In fact the whole borough could be declared an alcohol designated area, which would give police greater powers to seize drink and clamp down on anti-social drinkers.
Leader of the council Ian Marks said: ?I was out of the country at the time of the tragic murder. But I read about it because its significance is great and transcends boundaries.
?That is why we must ensure some good comes out of this awful event.?
Coun Marks said lessons had to be learned that could benefit communities across the town.
One lesson concerned the abuse of alcohol.
He said: ?We are determined to press ahead with the setting up of alcohol designated areas in the town which give the police additional powers.
?Work is well advanced on this and the main issue is whether we want to designate certain areas like Stockton Heath initially or go for a borough wide designation.
?We know the police are very sympathetic to moves in this direction and certainly the Chief Constable has been very outspoken in his determination to cut down on alcohol offences.
?We certainly support his wish to make parents take more responsibility for their children. We have asked for a report to be taken to the executive board as soon as possible so more action can be taken to curb abuse.?
Town Hall row over
council staff morale
by David Skentelbery
SENIOR councillors at Warrington have clashed over the issue of Town Hall staff morale.
Coun Mike Hannon deputy leader of the opposition Labour group, says many staff have left, others are seeking to leave and others are unhappy.
But Liberal Democrat leader of the council Ian Marks says staff morale is “excellent.”
Coun Hannon sparked the row when he tabled a question at a meeting of the council.
He asked: “Is the leader of the council satisfied with staff morale at Warrington Borough Council?”
Coun Marks said: “The simply answer is yes – I am very satisfied. But I want to say more than that.
“I regard our employees as our most important asset, working with all councillors as a team to deliver excellent services to all our community. I know this sounds trite but it’s true.
” We are particularly fortunate to have a skilled and dedicated workforce that contributed in no small part to our last Comprehensive Performance Assessment which stated that Warrington is ‘an excellent’ council.
” The Administration is giving clear leadership to the council and we know this is appreciated.
” Our Investors in People award and subsequent re-accreditation was only achieved through direct feedback from our employees and is a clear indication that we value our people and that morale is good.”
Coun Marks said a recent survey showed Warrington Council employees had above average satisfaction levels when compared to other councils in the region and nationally. But the council had undergone significant change in the last 18 months and it was inevitable change would make some people uneasy because of uncertainty.
He accepted there could be isolated instances where there may have been some “tensions.”
Coun Hannon said many officers had approached him expressing concerns. Many had left and many were seeking to leave. Many others said they were unhappy.
He told Coun Marks: “I would ask you to personally carry out a full investigation as to why there is so much unhappiness among our staff.”
Coun Marks responded: “I just can’t believe this. There may be isolated incidents but this is inevitable in any large organisation.”
But he promised to look into the issue.
New contact centre opens
WARRINGTON?S new one-stop information centre ? Contact Warrington ? is to be officially opened on Saturday morning at 10.30am.
The Mayor, Coun Celia Jordan, will cut a ribbon to declare the building open in Horsemarket Street.
Then a super treasure hunt will be launched, giving people the opportunity to win prizes by finding the answers to questions about various venues across the town centre.
Anyone who wants to enter simply has to obtain a special AAA (Access All Areas) pass from the new centre.
It will pose 10 questions about places like Pyramid, Parr Hall, Bank Quay Station, etc. The answers can only be found by visiting the venues ? and the completed forms need to be returned to Contact Warrington by September 29.
The new centre is the first of its kind in Warrington and brings together a whole host of council services under one roof in a central, easy-to-access location.
Coun David Earl, the council?s executive member for Innovation and Change, said: ?This really is a big step for the council is terms of its customer relations and services. This project is all part of our Customer Contact Strategy where we are working hard to improve resident?s access to services and information.
?Some of those frustrations about contacting the council will now disappear and we are sure that this new centre will greatly improve people?s experience of dealing with the council in order for them to access the services they need and to also promote our services in general.?
Three tenors for a tenner
– at the Wolves’ stadium
by John Hendon
WARRINGTON Wolves are going into the concert business next month – offering a concert by three tenors for a tenner.
International tenors John Innes, Phillip O?Brien and Tom Raskin will appear with guest soprano Michelle Crozier to present Autumn Pops – a popular mix of classical favourites including Nessun Dorma and Jerusalem among many others.
It will another first for the Halliwell Jones Stadium, in association with Warrington Borough Council, and it will be on on Sunday October 7 at 7.30pm.
The concert is part of the club?s commitment to bring top class entertainment to the Warrington community year round.
Tickets are priced at ?10 (?5 Concession) and are available froml 01925 248888, Monday to Friday 9 ? 5pm. Hospitiality is also available priced at ?40 by 01925 248880.
Scottish born John Innes originally played saxophone in the Royal Scots Military Band. He then studied opera and switched to singing. He is known as the People’s Tenor and has travelled extensively with his own blend of operatic arias, Neapolitan love songs and show songs.
Tom Raskin is a product of Manchester’s Royal Northern College of Music and New College, Oxford. He has sung with many leading opera companies in this country and overseas.
Philip O’Brien studied on the graduate and opera courses at the Guildhall School of Music and Drama and was a finalist in the Wagner Society Competition, London and the Seattle Opera International Wagner Competition. He has also sung with many leading opera companies.
Michelle Crozier?s interest in classical music began at school where she studied the violin and piano. But she then studied opera and has appeared in numbers operas, light operas and musicals. In 2004, she performed at the Millennium Stadium in Cardiff alongside Katherine Jenkins and John Innes. She likes to include dance movement to performances, favourites being salsa and belly dancing.
Volunteer flies to Africa to
study ethical gifts scheme
by David Skentelbery
A FORMER Warrington woman is flying to Africa to see how buying ethical Christmas presents can help improve life for people living in poverty.
Julie Longton, 27, will visit Kenya and Tanzania with the Catholic aid agency CAFOD. She will see projects funded by their World Gifts scheme.
Originally from Appleton, Julie volunteers for CAFOD and is based at the charity’s Salfor
d office. She also presents a show on hospital radio at Warrington.
She wants to see for herself the difference buying ethical gifts can make by visiting the people who benefit from them. She will spend a day with a child who has benefited from a ?7 school starter kit she purchased.
The former Bridgewater High School pupil said: “It’s an amazing opportunity to go and meet the people behind the gifts and get a true sense of the difference they are making. It’s easy to panic buy gifts that people don’t really want – I’ve been given a few myself. Ethical gifts have become more and more popular and I want to find out exactly how they help so I can encourage more people to buy them instead of the usual socks and hankies.”
She will also visit a livestock project and a health project that uses bicycles to deliver food, medicines and care to remote and inaccessible areas in Tanzania.
On her return Julie will give talks about her experiences in schools and parishes in Manchester, Salford and Warrington.
Euro MP warns against
“going soft” on terrorism
by John Hendon
WARRINGTON-based Euro MP Brian Simpson has accused the Liberal Democrats of ?going soft? on terrorism.
He says their decision to vote in the European Parliament in favour of considering repealing the existing regulations that restrict liquids on board aircraft.
Mr Simpson says this amounts to a failure to protect the travelling public.
The original legislation was introduced throughout the European Union last year when British Security Services foiled a plot to blow up aircraft by using liquids.
The Labour MEP said: “I am afraid the Liberal Democrats including MEP’s from the North West have now allowed the possibility of this law being repealed, even though the strong advice from both the security services and the Department of Transport is to keep it in place.?
Labour MEP’s had argued that while it was right to review the legislation on an ongoing basis, to open up the possibility of repeal was both premature and dangerous.
Mr Simpson added: “I know there is a problem with transit passengers and their duty free products when they fly into an EU airport and then transit to another EU airport.
?But this problem can be solved without repealing the existing legislation. To call for repeal of this important piece of security legislation, which is what our Lib-Dem opponents have done is not only going soft on the fight against terrorism, but also shows a total disregard for the safety of passengers and ignores completely professional advice.?
