After 313 years, “Old
Lady” moves into town
by David Skentelbery
THE “Old Lady” of Threadneedle Street has moved into Warrington!
More correctly, the North West agency office of The Bank of England has opened at Birchwood.
Until now, the Bank’s regional office has operated from two premises, one in Manchester, the other in Liverpool. But in the interests of economy and efficiency it was decided to concentrate activities on one premises and Warrington – with its central location and handy motorway links – was chosen.
Regional agent John Young said: “It makes good sense to have the office in Warrington.
“We don’t actually do any banking from the agency office and, in fact, we spend more time out of the office.
“Our move doesn’t mean we will be paying any less attention to Manchester or Liverpool. We visit about 1,000 businesses across the region every year, picking up their views on the local economy to help build up a picture of the whole of the UK economy for the Bank’s Monetary Policy Committee.”
The Bank of England has 12 agency offices across the country and the North West office has a staff of five.
Since its foundation, in 1694, it has been the Government’s banker and since the late 18th century it has been banker to the banking system more generally – the bankers’ bank.
Its roles and function have evolved and changed over the years but it has two core purposes – monetary stability and financial stability.
The Bank has had a monopoly on the issue of banknotes in England and Wales since the early 20th century – but it is only since 1997 that it has had statutory responsibility for setting the UK’s official interest rate.
Community garden centre
in the heart of town
by Lesley Wilkinson
A NEW community garden centre in the heart of Warrington attracted scores of people when it was officially opened by the Mayor, Coun Celia Jordan.
The centre, a subsidiary of the Walton Lea Project, is at Warrington Business Park, Long Lane.
It is open to the public on weekdays from 9.30 to 3.30pm and plans to hold courses for the community on topics such as gardening, floristry, card making and managing allotments.
The centre will also provide education and training for people including those with learning or physical disabilities and mental health issues.
Project co-ordinator Kathryn Jones was previously a tutor in horticulture and floristry at Warrington Collegiate.
The project sells shrubs, hanging baskets and flowers. Plans are for workers to make wooden planters and bird boxes, which will also be sold.
Future plans include a themed garden including recycled materials such as scrap equipment, plastic bottles and old computers. Pupils from Boteler High School will be assisting.
Kathryn said: “We want to involve the whole community in the centre and workshops, and also provide training for our workers.”
Anyone interested in further details about workshops and the project should ring Kathryn on 01925 632847.
Kitchen wrecked by
extractor fan blaze
by David Skentelbery
A KITCHEN was wrecked by fire as a result of a faulty extractor fan.
The blaze was at a house in Warwick Avenue, Bewsey Warrington.
The occupier had gone out leaving the fan on but a fault led to it overheating and starting a serious fire.
Firefighters wearing breathing appratus tackled the blaze but the kitchen and its contents were almost completely destroyed and there was serious smoke damage throughout the rest of the house.
A Fire Services spokesman said the lesson to be learned from the incident was that electrical appliances hould not be left on while unattended.
Wherever possible they should be unplugged as well as switched off.
Soccer pitches plan
for green belt farmland
by John Hendon
A PLAN to convert farmland into junior soccer pitches is being opposed by nearby residents and the parish council at Croft, near Warrington.
The 6.5 hectares site would provide seven pitches and five portable cabins for use as changing rooms, showers, kitchen, toilet and storage for Culcheth Athletic Junior Football Club which is shortly to lose its current pitches at Culcheth High School when a multi-million ? re-development of the school takes place.
Croft Parish Council is objecting because the development would not be appropriate within the Green Belt and would result in traffic congestion on Warrington Road, Croft, which is already a busy route.
Five nearby residents oppose the plan on the grounds of noise, traffic problems and loss of farm land. They say there is no need for sports pitches because there are few young people in the area.
But more than 160 other people have signed a petition supporting the scheme.
Planning officers say the buildings and 85-space car park would detract from the open character of the green belt.
However, re-development of the school site will result in the loss of existing sporting facilities in an area already short of playing field space.
Although the pitches will, when in full use, have an adverse affect on the Green Belt, there will be positive community benefits.
Council seeks more
help over “portrait”
by James Parr
WARRINGTON Borough Council is asking for more help from residents to establish a ?portrait? of the Borough having already made changes following early suggestions.
Town residents have already suggested changes like making the borough portrait more prominent on the council website and making it easier to download.
The council and the Local Strategic Partnership are now four weeks into the opening round of consultation that will result in the adoption of important plans that will shape Warrington during the coming years.
Information about the portrait is available from the Council’s website, or for none Internet users, information can obtained from the Town Hall, any of the borough’s libraries or by contact 01925 442 839.
Mersey Forest wins
top regeneration award
by David Skentelbery
THE Mersey Forest ? a partnership between Warrington, eight other local councils, the Forestry Commission and other organisations, has won a top environmental regeneration award.
Its work, across 465 square miles of Merseyside and North Cheshire, earned it the Brian Redhead Award for environmental sustainability and corporate social responsibility at the North of England Business Excellence Awards.
A team of independent assessors placed the Forest under a ?business microscope? through a rigorous evaluation programme spanning several months.
The assessors’ reported: ?The Mersey Forest concept is visionary, the approach measured, the deployment effective and the results self evident.? Paul Nolan, director of the Mersey Forest, said: ?We are really pleased the hard work of The Mersey Forest team has been recognised by the Business Excellence Awards.
?It is vital that we are able to demonstrate that good business practice sits comfortably with delivering environmental regeneration.? The Mersey Forest is the largest of England?s 12 community forests.
Since the initiative was launched in the early 1990s, it has seen 10 million trees planted and nearly 4,000 hectares of new habitat created.
Its headquarters are at Risley Moss, Birchwood, Warrington.
Woman hid drugs
in her underwear
by James Parr
A WOMAN tried to smuggle drugs into prison by concealing them in her underwear, Warrington Crown Court was told.
But she was spotted when she tried to pass them across a table to her brother, who was an inmate at Risley Prison, the court heard.
Bernice Hogan, 31, admitted taking cannabis and steroids into the prison and was jailed for six months.
Joanne Parsons, prosecuting, said Hogan, from Romney Street, Salford, was arrested after trying to pass bags containing the drugs to her brot
her.
Hogan had gone to visit her brother when she attempted to pass the bags of drugs over the table to him.
John Kennerly, defending, said the woman?s brother had written to her to warn her about the arrival of a package, which she was to deliver to him.
The person who delivered the package, threatened her and put her under substantial pressure to deliver the drugs. She had even expressed her concerns moments before attempting to hand them over.
Judge Stephen Clarke told her: “These type of drugs cause problems with discipline in prisons and therefore I cannot suspend your sentence.”
[ 09.11.2007, 09:33: Message edited by: James P ]
