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Bottle bank
grants to end
by John Hendon
THE annual presentation by Frodsham Town Council of grants to local community groups from the proceeds of the town's bottle bank looks set to become a thing of the past.
Kerbside recycling has meant fewer bottles are taken to the recycling centre at the station car park. This year's handout totalled £2,200 compared with amounts of more than £4,000 in former years and the total would be likely to shrink further.
In addition Vale Royal Council has recycling targets to meet which mean the proceeds of recycling in Frodsham can no longer remain with the Town Council.
However, Coun Lynn Riley told the Town Council local groups should not lose out. The council, in common with other local authorities, was being told by the government to make savings and some of the savings could be put into the grants account.
If sufficient savings were made, local community groups could end up receiving more money in grant aid than they had received from the bottle bank scheme.
Tyre slashing warning
by Gary Skentelbery
A spate of tyre slashing has been carried out in the Frodsham
area, particularly in the Fluin Lane and Blue Hatch areas.
These incidents have happened during the hours of darkness.
Robin Curry, Business Watch Officer, Partnership Development Unit at
Cheshire Police said: "Make sure you park off the road where possible and ideally lock your car
away at night in a garage if you have one.
"If not park where there is natural surveillance and good lighting. Keep an eye on your vehicle and
listen out for activity. Please pass this on to all your staff and
customers."
If anyone sees or hears anything suspicious please contact the police on 0845
458 0000 or leave a message for the Community Action Team on 0845 458 6393.
Anyone who thinks they know who is carrying out these crimes or any other crime and they wish to
remain anonymous they can ring Crime Stoppers on 0800 555 111
Council to buy
speed cameras
by David Skentelbery
FRODSHAM Town Council has agreed to press ahead with the purchase of two speed cameras to enable a local community speed watch scheme to start.
The council will also purchase high visibility protective clothing for volunteer camera operators to wear.
Coun Denis Taylor, chairman of the traffic management committee, said a number of volunteers had come forward who were "pretty enthusiastic."
He said: "They are members of the public who are concerned about the speed of traffic in Frodsham.
"They are willing to be trained."
Coun Taylor said he was confident that Helsby Parish Council would agree to join in the scheme and share the cost.
But he stressed the importance of pressing ahead as quickly as possible.
"I want us to get it up and running while we still have some long days. We can only do it in the daylight."
The Mayor, Coun Nigel Griffiths said: "We need to be sure we can get training from the police."
Coun Maureen Turner expressed concern over speeding traffic in Bridge Lane. She believed road markings, speed limits and other measures were needed to control speeds.
"This is needed more than speed cameras" she said.
Coun Taylor said the problem was being worsened by construction work in the area.
"I think we should put more pressure on the contractors to do something about the traffic."
Residents urged to pledge
money to buy woodland
by David Skentelbery
RESIDENTS, worried that more than 30 acres of attractive woodland at Frodsham and Helsby could be sold off for paintballing or motorcycle scrambling, are to be asked to sign pledge forms to raise money to enable it to be purchased for the local community.
More than 200 people attended a public meeting at Frodsham called by the Woodland Trust to discuss the future of the 26-acre Frodsham Hill Wood and the eight-acre Harmers Wood at Helsby.
Trust representatives pledged to try and acquire Frodsham Hill Wood but said they were not interested in Harmers Wood.
Coun Nigel Griffiths, chairman of Frodsham Town Council, told the meeting: "The council is unequivocally opposed to losing the woods"
Both woods have been placed on the market by current owners, Cholmondeley Estates with an asking price of £75,000 for Frodsham Hill Wood and £30,000 for the smaller wood. Both are offered with sporting rights and are described as having scope for more active management, sporting and private leisure.
Woodland Trust spokesman Peter Leeson said the Trust already owned and managed significant tracts of woodland throughout the country and saw this as an opportunity to aquire a new site.
The Trust was a private charity which could not make nor provide loans. But it could raise money against a project and it could take pledges from individuals or organisations.
In his view, the threat to the woodland was not so much from paintball or scrambling but from poor management and neglect and the level of public access allowed after the sale.
Coun Griffiths said he was aware of offers from various bodies, some of which had the interests of the woodland in mind and others which did not.
But it should be saved - even if it meant that a loan be taken out. Various grants were available.
He warned that a new owner could fence off everything other than existing public footpaths.
Mr Leeson said a management plan would be a prerequisite to acquiring the woodland and would involve annual inspections and tree safety checks coupled with actions such as rhododendron clearance, footpath works etc. The Trust was not interested in the purchase of Harmers Wood as it was not as ecologically important as the ancient woodland parcel within the Frodsham Hill tract.
The Trust had limited resources and in their view the spine of Frodsham Hill with its ancient woodland was extremely important ecologically.
A resolution was passed unanimously that the woodlands should be taken into public ownership and it was agreed the Woodland Trust would distribute pledge forms to get an indication of the amount of money that could be raised.
MP narrowly misses
terror bomb atrocity
by staff reporter
WEAVER Vale MP Mike Hall has told how he was almost caught up in the terrorist bombing atrocity in London.
It was the second time he had narrowly missed a terrorist bomb - he was in Warrington town centre in 1993 when the IRA set off two bombs which claimed the lives of two schoolboys.
A defiant Mr Hall said: “The actions of those responsible for this attack stand to be utterly condemned.”
Mr Hall, who lives in Warrington, told how he had narrowly escaped the London bombs.
He said: “At 8.40am this morning I tried to go on the Underground tube to Euston to attend a Ministerial visit to NHS Logistics in Runcorn.
“I was turned away from the tube station and got the bus instead. I arrived at London Euston at 9.10am. I boarded the Runcorn bound train which departed on time at 9.18am. During the train journey I was informed of a number of explosions that had taken place at tube stations across London.
“This is the second time in my life when I have narrowly missed the terrorist's bombs. I was in Warrington in 1993 when the IRA blew up the town centre.
“The actions of those responsible for this attack stand to be utterly condemned. This attack comes at a time when the World leaders are meeting in the UK to discuss ways of tackling poverty in Africa and the developing world, bring forward measures to tackle global warning, improve the treatment of people suffering from AIDS and Malaria in Africa.
“The whole country will be resolute in its response to these atrocities and redouble our efforts to tackle international terrorism and safeguard our democratic freedoms and way of life.
“My condolences go out to all those who have lost loved ones in these cowardly attacks and to those who have been injured.”
MP receives petition
over threatened woodland
by David Skentelbery
A PETITION calling for assurances that public access is retained for footpaths in Harmers Wood, Helsby, has been handed to Weaver Vale MP Mike Hall.
Residents are setting up an action committee to fight to keep the woodland open to the public - and the MP has pledged to support them.
The wood is currently up for sale and locals want to ensure that they will continue to have the right of access to the footpaths that they have enjoyed for many years.
Mr Hall said: “I understand the concern the local residents have about access to this wood. Many people like to walk through the woods and the footpaths through this ancient wood have been a source of enjoyment for many years.
“If the land is sold privately residents want to know that they can still have access to the old footpaths that run through it.
“Local people are going to set up a committee to try and ensure that the wood retains its public access. I fully support the efforts of this group of people.”
The eight-acre Harmers Wood is being advertised for sale for £30,000, along with the 26-acre Frodsham Hill Wood, which has an asking price of £75,000.
Harmers Wood is said to offer scope for more active management, as well as sporting and private leisure.
The Woodland Trust, which already owns woodland in the area, has called a public meeting to discuss the issue. This will be at the Church Hall, Church Street, Frodsham on Monday, July 11 at 7.30pm.
Picture shows petition organisers Audrey Davies and Maureen Parker with MP Mike Hall.
Hospital sports ground
should be preserved
by David Skentelbery
WHATEVER the future of the former Crossley Hospital, planning chiefs are anxious to preserve the sports facilities in its grounds.
In the picturesque, wooded grounds there is a cricket field - formerly used by Kingsley Cricket Club - tennis courts and a bowling green.
A planning brief drawn up by Vale Royal Council makes it clear they expect these facilities to be restored and made available for public use.
Kingsley Cricket Club now plays in the village itself and chairman Adrian Burden says he cannot see any likelihood of the club wanting to return to Crossley Hospital.
He said: "It was a pleasant ground but on the small side. The only circumstance I can think of where we might want to use it again would be if we started a third team.
"But it might come in useful for informal matches involving teams which don't have their own ground. It would certainly be a shame if the ground was lost."
The hospital site has been vacant for about 12 years. The development brief has been prepared to establish the planning principles involved in the development of the site and to ensure that any important natural features and recreational land on the site are safeguarded.
Vale Royal wants to bring the former hospital buildings - Grade II Listed Buildings - back into beneficial use.
Cricket club's
car boot sale
KINGSLEY Cricket Club is holding a car boot sale on Sunday, July 31 in aid of club funds.
The sale will be at the club's Croft ground in Kingsley and will run from 7.30am to 12 noon. Anyone who wants to book a pitch should call 07813 640479.
Kingsley run two teams in the Cheshire Building Society Cheshire Cricket Alliance and both teams doing well, with the 1st XI challenging for promotion and the 2nd XI top of their division. There are also Sunday and midweek teams and junior teams.
The club is always seeking new players and at the moment the 1st XI are also looking for a scorer. Anyone interested would get expenses paid, plus a free tea. Contact 1st XI captain Mark Butcher on 07881 551755 pr 2nd XI skipper Andrew Ainsworth on 07976 845231.
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