New council faces its
first political battles
by David Skentelbery
THE newly-constituted Warrington Borough Council will see its first political battles since the municipal elections when it holds its annual meeting on Monday (May 22).
Labour ? still the largest group on the council ? will attempt to push through a motion that group leader Coun Terry O?Neill be elected as leader of the council.
But the Liberal Democrats and Conservatives, who together, outnumber Labour, will move that Coun Ian Marks, the Liberal Democrat leader, should be leader of the council.
Labour will propose a new executive board consisting entirely of Labour members but the Liberal Democrat-Conservative alliance will propose an executive board consisting of six Liberal Democrats and two Conservatives.
In addition, the Lib Dem-Tory alliance will propose that the executive board, or ?cabinet? shall be reduced in size from 10 to eight.
They will also propose an increase in the number of scrutiny committees from four to five, with the additional committee dealing with health related matters.
The alliance will also propose that in future, the office of Mayor should be offered to each of the main political parties in rotation. At present, Labour claim the Mayoralty most years.
Another proposal is that the council undertake a complete review of the structure and function of the scrutiny process.
If, as expected, the Lib Dem-Conservative alliance pushes through its proposals, the new executive board would consist of: Coun Marks, (Lib Dem), leader; Coun Keith Bland (Cons) deputy leader; Coun Sheila Woodyatt, (Cons) and councillors Roy Smith, Peter Walker, Brian Axcell, George Welborn and David Earl (Lib Dem).
It is expected the meeting will elect the present deputy Mayor, Coun Linda Dirir (Lab), as Mayor and a Liberal Democrat ? possibly Coun Celia Jordan ? as deputy Mayor.
Quest to find
Roman Lymm
by Gary Skentelbery
VITAL clues to a Warrington village’s Roman past may have been unearthed by local archaeologist James Balme. During a recent archaeological exhibition in Lymm held to display many rare and exciting finds from the ancient settlement of Warburton, including artefacts spanning almost 8000 years of local history, James was quizzed by local residents about the village’s possible Roman roots.
Now James is about to launch an investigation into possible Roman links with the village and the Roman fortlet he discovered in nearby Warburton almost eight years ago.
He said: ” My discovery of the Roman military site in Warburton was very exciting but following further research I believe that there is extremely strong evidence for a Roman presence in Lymm. It has long been rumoured the Romans may well have been in the village but as far as I am aware no solid evidence has been forthcoming. At the exhibition many people kept asking when I was going to do something about finding out more about the Roman history of Lymm and for that reason I have decided to launch an investigation to hopefully come up with proof that the Romans were here.” He will be following up several clues as he begins his investigations.
“An immediate and obvious starting point is Pepper Street. Almost every Roman town in Britain has a Pepper Street including Chester, so where better than here to begin.”
The base of Lymm cross is also thought to be the original plinth for a statue of the Roman goddess Minerva and Eagle Brow is also thought to be the location of an early Roman sandstone quarry. Many other clues will be investigated over a three year period including the “mysterious” sandstone caves that are prominent in the village.
During initial research into ancient activity in the area James came across several heads and other unusual features carved into the sandstone cliffs which are predominant in the village.
“I was approached by a woman who has lived in lymm all her life. She asked if I would be interested in taking a look at strange shapes she had noticed on a cliff face close to her home. They had been hidden under thick undergrowth for many years and had just come to light during some gardening work. I went to examine the sandstone and was amazed to find two carved heads on the face of the cliff and several unusual small caves cut into the rock. There was even a carving that is almost certainly that of an owl or large bird. There is evidence of a natural spring flowing from the cliff and all of this could indicate an ancient shrine or ritual area.
“This may well prove to be the first of many clues to Roman activity in the heart of the village and I will certainly be investigating this one in great detail.”
James is convinced his quest to find Roman activity in the village will be a success and he thinks he may have already found a vital clue, which would prove a definite link with Warburton Roman fortlet. He has been studying aerial photographs of the central area of Lymm and has made an interesting discovery.
“Aerial photography is a great way to search for clues of the past use of the landscape and in particular I have been looking for any crop-marks or unusual features within the photographs and I think that I may have found one! An area of land close to the village centre has shown up a parch-mark caused by a hot dry spell of weather. Parch-marks reveal various probable archaeological features because the sun causes the grass to scorch quickly where an underlying feature such as stone or gravel may be present while the surrounding grass that is on fertile deeper soil remains lush. The contrast between the two different grasses becomes clear when viewed from above even though at ground level it may not be visible at all.
“What the photograph has revealed is very exciting, as it seems to show what is referred to in archaeological terms as ‘a playing card’ shape. This shape is often found to represent a Roman fort or similar and a classic feature that distinguishes this from something like a football pitch is that it always has rounded corners. If you look at the photograph it is clear to see that this is the case here.
“It is early days in this investigation but I will be visiting the area to look for further clues and it is perfectly feasible that a Roman military installation could have existed here and that the Warburton fortlet was a satellite installation built purely to control the crossing point of the river Mersey.”
More information on the archaeological work in the area can be obtained by visiting www.jamesbalme.co.uk
A little bit of village
history to disappear?
by staff reporter
A LITTLE bit of the history of Stockton Heath, near Warrington, is to disappear ? at least temporarily.
Historic machinery which has stood at the entrance to The Forge shopping precinct for more than 20 years is to make way for re-development of the shopping centre.
Although a number of ideas have been put forward for a new location ? including the banks of the Bridgewater Canal near Thorn Marine ? no final decision has yet been made.
The machinery ? a rolling mill, a cutter and a lathe ? was originally used by Caldwell?s, a locally owned family firm who operated from the site, manufacturing various types of tools, including those used to dig the Manchester Ship Canal when it was constructed between 1887 and 1894.
The Forge ? which takes its name from Caldwell?s old works ? was the first shopping centre built by the former Warrington New Town Development Corporation. It was opened in 1974 ? at a cost of ?134,000!
Shoppers take a last look at the old Forge machinery.
Motorway crash brings
traffic to standstill
by John Hendon
TRAFFIC ground to a virtual standstill in Warrington after a fatal crash on the M6 near the Lymm Interchange.
A heavy lorry travelling north careered off the carriageway, crashed through the central reservatio
n and was in collision with two cars travelling in the opposite direction.
One of the car drivers, a 51-year-old man from the Greater Manchester area, was killed and the other, and the lorry driver, were seriously injured and rushed to hospital.
An air ambulance was involved in the rescue operation.
The accident happened at about 10.20am yesterday and although the northbound carriageway of the motorway was re-opened fairly quickly, the southbound lanes were partially closed for several hours and were not fully open until 4pm. Traffic piled up on all routes through Warrington with reports of a journey from Culcheth to the town centre taking two hours and 15 minutes and another from Daresbury Laboratory to the town centre taking 40 minutes.
Police appealed for witnesses of the crash – in particular motorists who may have been travelling northwards at the time. Anyone who can help is asked to call police on 0845 4580000.
Health workers can win
awards for excellence
by staff reporter
NURSES, midwives and health visitors in Warrington are being invited to enter a bi-annual competition which rewards excellence in patient care.
The Foundation of Nursing Studies’ award programme produced two winners from Warrington last year ? both of who say the award boosted their confidence and was a highlight of their careers.
They were Scott Harrison, a Community Matron, and Liz Berry, a Senior Health Co-ordinator at the 5 Boroughs Partnership NHS Trust, who won an award for ?2,000 in recognition of their commitment to improve healthcare for people with learning disabilities.
As a result of them winning the Mallabar Award in recognition of their efforts to ensure that patients with learning disabilities are included in all primary care policies and practices, local and national screening programmes, health improvement initiatives and National Service Frameworks, the service moved from strength to strength.
They both also had the opportunity to publish papers and speak at conferences and their project now forming the basis of a Department of Health National Care Pathway.
Anyone interested in entering the award scheme can download an application pack from www.fons.org or call 020 7233 5750 to request a pack.
The closing date for applications is 5pm on September 15 2006. Following short listing, final judging will take place on January 30 next year. The awards will be presented at a central London venue.
Trees block
TV reception
by Lesley Wilkinson
TELEVISION reception for people in a Stockton Heath road is being affected by tall silver birch trees on the Mill Lane field.
Coun Tudor Pole told Stockton Heath Parish Council that residents in Burnside Avenue were affected.
“They have been told that if the trees get any taller, they may not be able to get a signal at all,” he said.
Clerk Peter Briggs said he would visit the residents to discuss the problem.
Lift rescue
FIRE crews were called out during the night to rescue two people trapped in a lift at Kingsway House, off Kingsway, Warrington.
The lift was stuck between floors at second floor level and the occupants were trapped for about 40 minutes.
Firefighters had to manually lower the lift to ground floor level before releasing the two people, who suffered no ill effects from the incident.
