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High school closure
could hit businesses
by David Skentelbery
CLOSURE of Frodsham High School could have a damaging effect on businesses in the town.
The warning has come from Mayor Nigel Griffiths who has called for a Town Council debate on the issue in January.
He said: "So far the council has not had much to say on the subject of the proposed school closures - mainly because
we have not had people approaching us about them.
"This is probably because so few pupils at Frodsham High actually come from Frodsham.
"But closure could have a damaging impact on businesses in Frodsham, who have already been hit by the opening of the
Tesco store at Helsby."
Coun Christine Lloyd told Frodsham Life that only about one third of pupils at Frodsham High came from the town.
Most of the others came from Runcorn.
The situation had arisen because of parents having a choice of schools. Many Frodsham parents had chosen to send their children to Helsby, which had always had a good reputation.
In turn, Runcorn parents had chosen to send their children to Frodsham.
"The school probably does provide a lot of business for Frodsham traders which would be lost if it closed," she said.
"But it may be that Frodsham parents would welcome their children going to school in Helsby. Certainly all the pressure to stop the closures is coming from areas like Kingsley. There has been very little said in Frodsham itself."
Meanwhile, parents at the various primary schools threatened with closure or amalgamation have continued to mount a
vigorous campaign to keep them open.
Hundreds of parents and children took part in a demonstration at Delamere Forest when children spelled out a giant SOS - "Save our Schools" - message on a hillside.
The governing body of Kingsley St John's CE Primary has put forward the idea of a "hard federation" with Norley CE Primary as an alternative option to amalgamation.
This would mean the two schools continuing on the existing sites but with one governing body and one head teacher.
Both schools would continue to be CE Aided School.
A spokesman said: "The governing body has considered all information from the local authority. On educational and
community grounds, we feel that federation is the strongest viable option at this time."
Picture shows an earlier public protest by local primary schools about the closure and merging of local schools.
Christmas is a
time for giving
Christmas message from MP Mike Hall
This time of year brings home to me just how important the Yuletide celebrations are for people and communities.
I have recently been researching my Grand Father’s military career in World War 1. Private PW/443 Thomas McBride served
on the Somme, Hindenburg Line, Flanders, Passchendaele and Lys. He spent the Christmas of 1915 and 1916 on the front
line of the Western front.
At the time my Grandmother, Martha McBride and my Aunty Martha Jane McBride had to celebrate Christmas on their own.
He was sent home sick for Christmas in 1917 but returned to France for the spring offensive in 1918.
Today we have members of our armed forces stationed abroad often in dangerous situations. We should keep them and their
families in our thoughts this Christmas.
Now we celebrate Christmas in many ways and get a great deal of pleasure from the different aspects of the festive season.
Christmas Day is for family, presents, food and drink. And of course many are disappointed when it fails to snow.
We have lots of different things to look forward to.
In wishing all the readers of the Frodsham Life the very best for Christmas and the New Year, I also
ask you to remember that other people at home and across the world need our support now so that they can enjoy Christmas.
Please be generous this Christmas and give what you can. Every little contribution helps.
Mayor says thanks to
woodland campaigners
by David Skentelbery
MAYOR Nigel Griffiths has expressed the thanks of the Town Council to the people of Frodsham and to the Woodland
Trust for their hard work in raising the £125,000 necessary to retain Frodsham Hill Wood for community use.
Speaking at the monthly council meeting, Coun Griffiths said: "I think we should say a massive thank you to the Woodland
Trust and to our residents.
"A great deal of the money for the future maintenance of the woodland came from the people," he said.
A total of £125,000 was raised to purchase and manage the ancient woodland - and the Woodland Trust, who now own the
site, acknowledge that £25,000 in pledges from local people had been integral to the success of the appeal.
Other money came from Vale Royal Borough Council's Rural Delivery Programme, £75,000, the Mersey Forest Partnership,
£10,000 and the Sandstone Ridge ECOnet Partnership, £15,000.
Coun Brian Lloyd said he had been amazed at the amount of support from outside the local area.
"The number of people from Liverpool who were prepared to make a pledge was amazing," he said. "It think it is a
sign of how well Frodsham Hill Wood is all over the North of England."
New look for
Hospice shop
by Mark Vallely
HALTON Haven Hospice -Shop in Frodsham now has a new look following a re-opening ceremony.
Fundraising Manager Shaun Pollard said that thanks to an offer of some help from community punishment the premises
had been completely refurbished.
It is the second of three shops to be refurbished although it is the biggest, and the third one will be Widnes
in the new year.
The 3 shops generate 10% of the charity's income and it's all thanks to people bringing in items for free.
Meanwhile the charity is planning to celebrate their Silver Jubilee in January.
Picture shows Mayor Nigel Griffiths opening the new-look store with: Front Row 3rd from Left Dot Reid (Volunteer);
Lynn Peck (Manageress); Ann Wynn (Volunteer), Nigel, Margaret Dandy (Halton Haven Hospice Director); Shaun Pollard
(Fundraising Manager); Jean Allen (Volunteer).
MP slams county over
school closure plans
by David Skentelbery
WEAVER Vale MP Mike Hall has criticised Cheshire County Council over its school closure and amalgamation programme in the Frodsham and Helsby area during an adjournment debate in the House of Commons.
He said the proposals were causing great concern in four villages in his
Constituency - Kingsley, Manley, Norley and Alvanley.
And he also accused the county council of failing to study the possible implications of closing Frodsham Technology College (High School).
Mr Hall (pictured) said many people believed the county council's "transforming learning communities" initiative aimed to close two, possibly three schools.
The council had decided on the basis of population projections and birth rates that it would have a surplus of some 5,000 school places by 2010.
It decided on a piecemeal approach to dealing with the problem and has divided the county into eight different areas, three of which it will visit this year, a few of which it will visit next year, and a few the year after.
The first part involved Manley village school, Kingsley St Johns school and Norley Church of England school, as well as Alvanley primary school.
It also recommended Frodsham Technology College for closure because it has only 700 pupils, at least 400 of who are from outside the county council area. Most of them, in fact, come from Runcorn.
He did not believe the county council had thought through the implications of closing Frodsham Technology College for other parts of Cheshire, particularly for Ellesmere Port and Neston.
Young people from the village of Elton would be very much affected by the closure, and could be forced to go to a school other than Helsby High School for their secondary education.
The review suggested Alvanley Primary "amalgamate" with Manley Primary, and that Kingsley St Johns and Norley CE school should amalgamate. That could result in the closure of all four schools and the opening of two new schools on sites yet to be determined, or it could result in two of the schools closing and the two other schools amalgamating on one of the sites.
"Whatever happens, village schools in my constituency will close. When we pressed the county council on the matter, its first argument was that it had to tackle falling school rolls and surplus places.
"The four primary schools, however, are full. They have a buoyant intake, they do not face the prospect of falling school rolls and they provide an excellent education for the pupils in their care. The role that they play in their communities is equally important. They are vital to the infrastructure of their communities, and closure of any one of them would be irrevocable."
Mr Hall said the county should not be adopting a "piecemeal" approach but should review every primary school in the county and, when it had an idea of the changes it would like, go to the second stage of the process and carry out the statutory consultations required by law.
That would give a clear picture of the effect on the whole county. Everyone would see that the process was fair and transparent.
"There is a fear that the county council will do the first tranche of work and find out that the temperature out there is so hot that it needs to rethink its views, so that village schools in my constituency will close but a different attitude will be taken to reviewing the rest of the county.
"That would be unfair and unnecessary. I hope that the county council will consider that view, but I am not optimistic that it will do so."
Mr Hall said birth rates in Cheshire were rising and the county council acknowledged that all the four schools were full. He could not see how they could justify closing or amalgamating them.
Police seize alcohol in
clamdown on binge drinkers
by staff reporter
AROUND 20 containers of beer, wine and spirits were confiscated from underage drinkers in the Frodsham and Helsby areas at the weekend.
The seizures were made by police as part of a major clamp down on binge drinking and anti-social behaviour across Cheshire.
A police spokesman said: “The pub and club scene remained quiet and safe thanks to the heavy presence of officers and investigations are now well underway into the two calls of note received - an assault by a known perpetrator and a report of a fight at a local restaurant.”
Community Action Team officers were out in force keeping an eye on the night scene in all areas.
No major fights or serious street problems were reported and the few people who did display unacceptable behaviour were dealt with firmly and effectively.
In addition, genuine emergency calls were dealt with fast, firmly, and fairly.
The crackdown on binge drinking takes place every Friday and Saturday all over the festive season to ensure the message that drunken, violent, rowdy behaviour is not acceptable and will not be tolerated by Cheshire Police.
Thousands flock to
Frodsham festival!
by Gary Skentelbery
FRODSHAM'S annual Christmas Festival proved to be a huge success, attracting 15,000 visitors into the town.
The main High Street was thronged with spectators for the reindeer parade, despite a downpour on the Saturday evening.
The two-day festival, has now become firmly established as
a great family event.
Local primary school children from Manor House, Alvanley, Frodsham, St Lukes and other schools entertained the crowds on stage in Eddisbury
Square and also joined in Santa’s parade with his Reindeer.
Market traders lined the bustling street as the festival helped bring a welcome boost to local trade in the build up
to Christmas.
Santa broke off from his hectic preparations to attend the event. He said: “This is the third year my reindeer and I
have visited the Festival to lead the night time parades and hear all the children’s wishes. I can tell you the
children have been incredibly well behaved this year and I will have a busy time on Christmas Eve”.
Coun John Grimshaw, Lead Councillor for Recreation, Rural and Culture, also enjoyed the event. He said: “I am delighted
so many people came to the event despite the bad weather on Saturday. It just shows that this Festival has something
for all the family to enjoy; come rain or shine”.
The Mayors of Vale Royal and Frodsham joined Santa and local school children for the Lantern Parade on the Friday evening.
The event is sponsored by Frodsham Forward and supported by the local Town Council.
Picture shows Santa touring through the town and with twins Hannah and Ewan Palombella aged 5.
For more pictures from the festival click here FRODSHAM FESTIVAL
Frodsham to join protest
over waste plant scheme
by David Skentelbery
FRODSHAM looks set to hold its own public protest meeting over the controversial plan for a giant waste processing plant on marshland in the neighbouring borough of Ellesmere Port.
Members of the Town Council have agreed that action needs to be taken to raise awareness of the plant - which could involve Britain's biggest incinerator - on Ince Marshes.
Around 500 people have already voiced their strong opposition to the scheme at a meeting at Helsby.
But very few Frodsham people attended the meeting.
Coun Tony Hinkins told the council: "This will be an enormous incinerator burning stuff from Liverpool, Manchester and almost anywhere. It will be come in by road, rail and ship.
"The meeting at Helsby was packed - but mainly with Helsby people. Many Frodsham people don't seem to be aware of the situation.
"Everyone is worried about the health implications - but there are other issues, such as traffic.
Coun Hinkins said the scheme was a commercial venture, not part of the Cheshire Waste Plan.
"It's ironic that Vale Royal, which has won an award for recycling, should get the country's largest incinerator on its doorstep," he added.
Coun Brian Lloyd said the council should press Deputy Prime Minister for a public inquiry into the proposals.
"We need to raise awareness in Frodsham. The people I have spoken to found out about the public meeting at Helsby late in the day. I think we should have a public meeting in Frodsham."
It was agreed to organise a meeting early in the New Year.
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