“Zero tolerance” call in
fight against yob tenants
by David Skentelbery
AN MP and a councillor have joined forces in a call for “zero tolerance” in the fight against anti-social housing tenants at Warrington.
Warrington North MP Helen Jones and Coun Brian Maher, who represents the Poplars and Hulme ward on the borough council, are calling on housing chiefs to toughen up their act in respect of nuisance tenants who make life intolerable for neighbours.
They also want Golden Gates Housing – the borough council’s arms length housing company – to take quicker action to remove graffiti and clean up stair-wells in blocks of flats.
Anti-social behaviour orders should be sought against the culprits, they say.
The MP said: “I am looking for swifter and more decisive action to be taken against the small minority of people whose yobbish behaviour is simply not acceptable.
“The powers are now in place. Those causing problems should be served with anti-social behaviour orders or evicted. Housing managers would not put up with these problems if it was happening next to where they lived and I don’t see why tenants of Golden Gates should have to.”
Coun Maher said: “People don’t want to live in flats and houses covered with graffiti and with refuse strewn across the roads. Swift action is needed to clean up the mess and tough action needs to be taken against those causing the problem.”
Peter Mercer, director of Golden Gates Housing, said: “We have adopted a strong policy towards anti social tenants, we are committed to stamping out such behaviour and have already taken legal action against people who cause misery in the borough. We are also looking at issuing Anti Social Behaviour Orders in line with our policy.
“We appreciate Helen Jones’ and Brian Maher’s support for direct action and a strategy outlining a multi agency approach to anti social behaviour has been agreed by the council, which will help us in our aim to promote secure communities across the borough.”
Coun John Kerr Brown, executive member for neighbourhood services, said: “Street Scene is the Council’s dynamic approach to street cleaning, grass cutting and removing graffiti.
“The team combines multi skilled operatives and enjoys much success right across the community.
“Anyone with any queries or problems can contact the Customer Care Help Team on 01925 443000.”
Youth orchestra’s
anniversary trip
FORTY members of Warrington Youth Orchestra are back home after a visit to German twin town Hilden – organised by the Hilden Music School.
The trip marked the 25th anniversary of the first-ever exchange visit and the Hilden Music School pulled out all the stops to make it a memorable occasion.
There was a joint music course at Burg Bilstein in the Saarland – a scenic castle in an idyllic setting. Here the members of WYO and the HMS renewed old friendships and made new cross Europe friends.
They rehearsed and then played sport – and in the most important game England beat Germany 12-11 at soccer!
The orchestra toured Hilden and met the Burgomeister, Herr Scheib. Chairman Roy Greeen passed a letter of greeting from the Mayor of Warrington, Ted Lafferty.
Warrington Youth Orchestra, the HMS symphony and wind orchestras and Wind Orchestra played in a concert at the Stadthalle. This was a magnificent setting for the music the orchestras had rehearsed together at Bilstein The Finale “Threeceratops” composed by Matthias Kaufman, the leader of HMS, to celebrate the anniversary involved 120 players on stage.
There was a visit to Koln to the WDR radio station and for shopping.
At the leaving party which wound up the visit, Karl Hentschall, director of HMS and Anthony Ridley, musical director of WYO, who had both been involved in all 18 exchanges agreed it had been a very special event.
While Warrington Youth Orchestra was in Hilden, the Second and Third orchestras went to the Glan-llyn Centre in Bala in North Wales for an intensive music course. During this event the 40 strong orchestra were conducted by Nigel Jay.
Music learned and rehearsed at Bala will be played at the WYO Christmas concert at the Parr Hall on December 11 – a concert that is open to all.
The young musicians also enjoy swimming, climbing, canoeing and rafting – the latter on Bala lake.
Two out of three stars
for Social Services
by staff reporter
SOCIAL Services staff at Warrington Borough Council have been given a two-star rating in the latest assessment figures for adults and children’s services carried out by the Social Services Inspectorate (SSI).
It was the third year running that Warrington achieved a two-star rating, on a scale of zero to three.
The ratings are an annual measure of every local authority’s performance in carrying out Social Services functions.
Both childrens and adults services were judged as serving most people well and that room for improvement was promising.
Coun Colin Froggatt, the borough council’s executive member for Social Services and Health Promotion, said: “I am delighted that Social Services has maintained its performance from previous years and this demonstrates the department’s commitment to maintaining a high level of service in the borough.
“We are always striving to deliver top rate social services and the star rating is one way of letting the public know how effective our services are.
“This rating is well deserved and reflects the hard work and dedication of our Social Services staff.”
Three-piece suites
are fire hazard
by staff reporter
HOUSEHOLDERS across Warrington have been warned to beware of dodgy dealers selling PVC plastic covered three-piece suites claiming they are leather.
The bogus leather three-piece suites have been advertised through small ads placed in shops and other outlets and are being sold in supermarket car parks, motorway service stations and door-to-door.
Lorries packed full of the fake leather sofas and three-piece suites, some of which pose a serious fire risk, have arrived from Poland and Trading Standards Officers are warning consumers to be extra vigilant as scammers are targeting Warrington.
The majority of these sofas do not comply with UK safety legislation because they are not made of fire retardant material. One of these sofas went up in flames within 30 seconds of contact with a lit cigarette. It was transformed into a roaring inferno within just three minutes.
The latest scam is to display swing tags, which claim that they comply with UK safety legislation when they may not.
Coun Mike Hannon, Warrington Council’s executive member for community and wellbeing, said: “We want to warn people that these sofas are potentially very dangerous and we would urge them to be very wary of ‘bargain’ sofas off the back of a lorry. Consumers should be especially wary when the seller offers to bring the suite to your home or sell it in a car park. Consumers should always put their personal safety first and remember if the bargain seems too good to be true then it probably is.”
Trading Standards manager Peter Astley added: “We have received complaints from local people who have told us they were duped into purchasing the suites believing them to be genuine leather.
“The sellers of these goods are highly mobile and we would be grateful if the public in Warrington could alert us to any suspicious circumstances where sofas are being offered for sale. Due to the potential risk to the public we will take strong action against anyone found selling these goods and use our powers of seizure to ensure they do not end up on the market.”
Woman cheated to
obtain ?15,000
by court reporter
A WOMAN who falsely claimed more than ?15,000 in benefits from Warrington Borough Council and the Department for Work and Pensions has been ordered to complete 210 hours of community service work – and repay the money.
Katrina Atherton, (41), of Festival Avenue, Orford, Warrington was found guilty of three counts of failing to declare changes in circumstances and one count of making false declarations.
She claimed the money by declaring she was a lone parent when in fact she was living with her husband.
Atherton defrauded the council of ?3,786.81 in housing and council tax benefits between March 2002 and May 2003.
Over the same period she defrauded the DWP of income support amounting to ?11,911.18.
Adrian Webster, the council’s benefits manager, said: “Benefit cheats must realise that they cannot abuse the benefit system and steal from the rest of society. They are not just defrauding government or the local authority, but their own neighbours and communities.
“Fraud is a serious matter and this case is a clear demonstration of our determination to tackle benefit theft and to reduce the amount of money lost through fraud and abuse.”
Online service for
housing tenants
by staff reporter
GOLDEN Gates Housing, Warrington Borough Council’s housing service, has come up with an innovative way to enable its customers to access its services – a touch screen kiosk!
The kiosk, which can be found at Lymm Library, allows customers to pay their bills, bid for homes and report repairs five days a week. The state-of-the-art kiosk is a pilot to find new ways to make it easier for people to manage their finances and find out information on housing services with the ease and efficiency of new technology.
The kiosk is available during library opening hours, five days a week (Monday to Saturday – excluding Wednesdays and Sundays).
Golden Gates Housing director Peter Mercer said: “We’re always looking at easier ways for our customers to access our services and the kiosk is a cost-effective solution to do just that. It is particularly effective in Lymm where the local office is only open one day a week.”
The pilot will run for 12 months and if successful, will be rolled out to other locations in Warrington.
