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Friday
6th September 2002>>>
Historic
building gets new lease of life:
One of Stoke-on-Trent's best-known but most dilapidated buildings should
soon get its long-sought restoration. An agreement is imminent to hand the
Bethesda Chapel in Hanley over to a national charity. It closed more than
ten years ago and is now in a bad state of repair but under an agreement
worked out over the past 18 months, the church will soon be taken over by
the Historic Chapels Trust, in what will be one of the biggest ventures
it has yet undertaken.
MP
wants email privacy at work:
A Staffordshire MP wants to introduce new laws to protect workers' e-mail
privacy at work. Michael Fabricant says employers shouldn't be able to snoop
on staff. The Lichfield MP, Chairman of the Commons Information Committee,
says more and more firms are checking on the e-mails sent by their staff.
He concedes employers need to be sure people are working during the hours
they're paid for, but insists that doesn't give them the right to snoop
on private e-mails.
See Full Story
Council
snubs Grade 1 listed mausoleum: Stoke-on-Trent
City Council is finally abandoning the idea of becoming the owner of the
city's only Grade One listed building. The council had considered taking
over the Sutherland Mausoleum at Trentham and offering people the chance
to have their ashes interred there - but it can't raise the £500,000
to cover the cost of the project. Now the council cabinet suggests the mausoleum
should be left in the ownership of the Church - but the council should give
£14,000 for urgent repairs.
Survey
indicates high stress levels: Long
hours and stress at work are still making a lot of people ill, according
to researchers at Keele University. An annual survey into the way people
cope with balancing work and the rest of their life begins again today.
Wendy Richards, who heads the research team , says the indications are that
most people aren't winning the battle with stress.
Appeal to save mental health charity:
An appeal has gone out to businesses to help save a
South Cheshire mental health charity threatened with closure. The South
Cheshire Community Council which has been going for over 11 years, offers
counselling and support to 250 people in the area. It says its funding has
dried up and it'll shut down next week unless more is found.
£750,000
refurbishment for day centre: A centre
in Newcastle-under-Lyme which provides training and care for people with
learning disabilities is to be officially opened today after a £750,000
refurbishment. The Cross Heath site of the Newcastle day service has been
modernised with more equipment and better access for people in wheelchairs.
Man
banned from pubs for 18 months:
A
man from Crewe has been jailed and banned from pubs in the area after headbutting
another man. Knutsford Crown Court heard how 41 year old Phillip Arrowsmith
attacked the man outside the Bank pub last November. He was cleared of second
charge of assault. He was sentenced to 8 months in prison and a further
8 months under supervision. He was also banned from visiting pubs in Crewe
and Nantwich until February 2004.
Beetle
damage leads to new £650,000 roof:
Repair work on a church in Stafford which has been infested with deathwatch
beetle has been scheduled to start next month. The roof of the Church of
St Mary the Virgin in Ingestre has had the infestation for the past two
years and it's severely damaged the roof. It's estimated it will cost more
than £650,000 to repair.
The
shows must go on: Performances at
an East Staffordshire arts centre will go on in the next few months - even
though it's been taken over by the receivers. The borough council has now
got the keys to the building and has said it'll allow productions to continue.
The decision to put the Brewhouse Arts Centre in Burton into administration
last month put in doubt the future of many amateur theatre productions.
But from the start, East Staffordshire Borough council - which owns the
building - has been determined to take over the running of the premises.
Thursday
5th September 2002>>>
Latest
on M6 motorway crash: The police
have spent most of the night clearing up the M6 motorway in North Staffordshire
after a crash which killed four people. It happened just before midday yesterday
between junctions 15 and 16, north of Keele services. A tyre blew on a truck
causing it to crash into the central reservation, hitting a van and two
other cars.
See more on this
story...
New medical school opens: The
first group of students arrive today for training at North Staffordshire's
new medical school. They'll be based at Keele University and receive practical
training at the North Staffordshire hospital. They'll gather work experience
with hospital consultants and community GPs before graduation in three years
time. Managers at the school say they're expecting up to 40% of its graduates
to stay in the area and it's hoped that eventually up to 130 doctors a year
will be produced by the school.
Whisky which could kill, found in Staffs - Full
Story
Mayor
pay talks end without agreement:
Talks aimed at deciding how much the new mayor of Stoke-on-Trent should
be paid have ended without agreement. An independent panel had suggested
a salary of almost £70,000 a year but councillors in the city have
said it should be less than half that because they say the job might not
be all that important. Another meeting takes place in two weeks time. Meanwhile,
councillors themselves have voted to increase their own allowances by 9%.
Work
on £1 million park begins:
More than a million pounds worth of renovation work is beginning this week
in Congleton Park. It's taken six years of campaigning by people in the
town to get the lottery funding needed to bring the park back to its former
glory. A new pavilion, playground and woodland walks are planned during
the 18 month renovation.
Traders
unhappy about car-parking charges:
Traders in Burslem say charging drivers to park will put them off using
the town. Stoke-on-Trent City Council is considering having meters in the
centre and says it'll prevent people from leaving their cars there all day
and so free up the spaces for potential shoppers. Some shopkeepers say it'll
damage trade and people will use the supermarkets to avoid paying for parking.
Crewe
fans unhappy with Derby prices: There's
been a call for Port Vale to cut its ticket prices for next week's local
Derby against Crewe. It follows complaints that the full matchday price
is putting fans off. Crewe supporters have been charged £17 for next
week's game. Port Vale football club says the price charged for visiting
fans is the same throughout the season.
Vicars
look to bowl over opposition: A team
of cricketing vicars from Cheshire go for glory this morning hoping to bat
their way to a national title. The Diocese of Chester team, captained by
a reverend from Sandbach, play London in the final of the Church Cup. They've
already seen off five teams to get this far.
Wednesday
4th September 2002>>>
Motorway
crash kills four, roads blocked for hours:
Four people died as a lorry careered out of control across the central reservation
of the M6 in North Staffordshire.
The motorway was immediately closed in both directions between junctions
15 and 16, causing miles-long traffic tailbacks.
The congestion spread onto surrounding roads with much of Stoke on trent
and Newcastle virtually gridlocked, for up to seven hours after the accident.
See Full Story
Four
die in Staffs M6 motorway crash
See Travel Updates
Arson suspected in Newcastle: A fire
at a derelict factory in Newcastle is being treated as suspicious. At its
height around thirty firefighters were tackling the blaze at the two-storey
Enderley Mills.
An ambulance was also sent, but a fire service spokesman said there were
no casualties.
Mayor
controversy: The head of the group
which will decide the powers of the new mayor of Stoke-on-Trent has resigned.
Labour's Mike Barnes, who's the chair of the local government group on Stoke-on-Trent
city council, has quit - after arguments about how many powers the mayor
should have.
He says he's under pressure from other councillors, who've handed a petition
to him demanding a limit on what the mayor can do.
Lifesavers
resign: The nine members of the Holmes
Chapel First Responder Volunteer Team have resigned en bloc, blaming Mersey
Regional Ambulance service for its lack of support.
The team feels the service has let them down by failing to provide the three
month refresher training it initially promised.
But the Ambulance service said in a statement that it refutes the claims
on a number of issues.
Unity
House to stay... sadly: Plans to
demolish Stoke-on-Trent's tallest building, Unity House, and put a supermarket
on the site have been abandoned.
Unity House has been derelict for nearly twenty years.
The developers St. Modwen had their first plans rejected. They then came
up with the idea of a three storey building incorporating a supermarket
together with flats and a casino.
But after six months of negotiations they've failed to reach any agreement
and now are working on a project to include a handful of smaller shops and
restaurants instead.
South
Cheshire park restoration: More than
a million pounds worth of renovation work is beginning this week in Congleton
Park.
It's taken six years of campaiging by people in the town to get the lottery
funding needed to bring the park back to its former glory. A new pavilion,
playground and woodland walks are planned during the 18 month renovation.
Tuesday
3rd September 2002>>>
Vetting
delays threaten school openings: It's
emerged that delays in vetting school staff could prevent more than two
hundred children in Cheshire even reaching their classes at the start of
the new term tomorrow. The failure of the Criminal Records Bureau to clear
drivers means some school buses may have to be cancelled. One hundred and
eighty six of the county's new teachers are also still to be checked. The
figure in Staffordshire, where schools return today, is more than two hundred.
Govt.
criticised over NI victims: The Government is facing
criticism for refusing to help fund a memorial to the victims of terrorism
in Northern Ireland at the National Arboretum in South Staffordshire. The
Director of the site in Alrewas, near Tamworth, says he's shocked the state
will donate a million pounds towards a memorial to those Britains who died
in the September the 11th attacks. An Ash Grove is being planted at the
arboretum in tribute to the 719 men and women who died serving their country
in Northern Ireland. But David Childs says there's a serious inconsistency
when the Government will help remember those who died in America but not
their own staff.
Hospital
keeps girl waiting for appointment: The family of an
eleven year old girl from Stoke-on-Trent say she's been told to wait a year
for a hospital appointment despite bowel problems which mean she can't sit
down. Amber Robertson, from Biddulph, fell ill eighteen months ago. The
North Staffordshire hospital admits there's a problem with its appointments
system.
Story update.... Amber can see a
consultant - now
Roadworks
bring town to a standstill: Traffic through a Staffordshire Moorlands
town is being brought to a standstill because of major road works. Gas company
Transco's carrying out pipe replacements along Leek's main road, Heywood
Street. Transco says the work won't be complete for another few weeks.
Tesco store
expansion unveiled: Thousands of shoppers in Staffordshire are to get
their first glimpse of plans which will create scores of new jobs. Tesco
is unveiling its plans to expand its store in Uttoxeter and create sixty
new jobs. The out of town development will also include a cinema, bowling
alley and DIY superstore.
Boat operator
blames waterways for losses: A
Staffordshire canal boat operator says problems with the waterways have
cost her a third of her business. Jackie Young's leisure narrowboat was
stranded when water began to leak from the canal at Froghall in the Staffordshire
Moorlands. The boat will now be tied up for winter three miles away at Cheddleton
after the final day of the tourist season.
Monday
2nd September 2002>>>
Football
'fans' sentenced after riots: Football fans have been fined and banned
- and one's been sent to jail - by magistrates in Stoke-on-Trent following
riots last June in the city centre after the England victory over Denmark
in the World Cup. A senior policeman said the sentences handed down gave
a clear message to what he calls the hooligan element in the city.
Postal ballot
for Mayoral election: The Government has given the go-ahead to plans
to elect Stoke-on-Trent's mayor using the postbox rather than the ballot
box. People will now send their votes in by post or drop them into three
designated centres across the city. The principle elections officer for
the city council, George Cooper, says postal voting tends to increase turnout
and he says security measures are being taken including the use of a bar
code on voting forms.
Firefighters
seek £8,000 pay claim: Firefighters
from across Staffordshire and Cheshire will be travelling to London today
to canvass support for their £8,000 a year pay claim. It would take
the annual salary of a firefighter to £30,000. In the capital, they'll
be lobbying the union's National Joint Council, which is meeting to consider
strike action in support of the claim.
Burton
College opens £7 million building: A new £7
million teaching block will open its doors to students of a East Staffordshire
college today. Burton College invested the money in a new three storey block
at its Lichfield Street campus which will house students on Art and Design,
Performing Arts and Management and Business Courses.
Police
warning of new bogus callers: Police are warning people
in Staffordshire not to give bank details out to strangers. It comes after
a 79 year old woman in Rugeley was targeted by cold callers, asking for
her details. She realised something was wrong and refused to give them.
Police say it seems to be part of an active scam in the county.
Rural
villagers get new bus service: Rural villagers
who have been isolated because of poor public transport are getting a new
bus service from today. Staffordshire County Council is starting a bus route
which will connect parts of the Moorlands to Leek. Residents from places
like Quarnford, Longnor and Warslow in the Staffordshire Moorlands will
be picked up at their door.
Sunday
1st September 2002>>>
Let
the festival preparations begin!: Organisers of the Burton Festival
have received a major boost with sponsorship from the company which bought
out the town's major brewer, Bass.
The American brewer Coors has announced its involvement in the event, which
almost folded a few years ago because of a lack of financial support.
Burton College
looking good: Students at Burton
College will see the benefit of the seven
million pound investment in new facilities from today.
The centrepiece of the development at the college's Lichfield Street campus
is a new three storey teaching block. It also includes a purpose built stage
and a drama and dance studio for Performing Arts students.
The new facilities will allow the college to offer a wider range of course
and cater for people from all sectors of the community.
Uttoxeter
heritage saved: Campaigners in East Staffordshire are
celebrating after winning their fight to restore two historic chapels.
The twin listed buildings at Uttoxeter cemetery have been derelict for fourteen
years.
The two chapels which were originally built to separate Protestants and
Catholics fell into disrepair in the late 1980s and have stood empty ever
since. Four years ago people living in the town decided to start fund raising
to try to have the twin buildings restored. A total cash sum of over a £143,000,
raised by local events, money from the lottery and the Staffordshire Environmental
fund means that work should begin later this month.
Saturday 31st August 2002>>>
Agricultural
show without cattle: A
Staffordshire agricultural show will go ahead today without any cattle for
the second year running. Organisers of the Ipstones show decided to rule
out cattle because of regulations still in place in the wake of the foot
and mouth crisis. Councillor Linda Malyon says they wanted to think about
helping the farmers.
Stafford seating: The MP for Stafford, David Kidney, is launching
a petition to get the owners of the Guildhall Centre to install seats. The
company says it will only consider the seating issue AFTER a planned redevelopment
of the precinct. However, the MP says it needs to be done sooner.
Pub sales increase:
An East Staffordshire based pub company says it's seen a three per-cent
increase in sales.
Punch Taverns which is based in Fradley near Burton says it's increased
profits by investing in the pubs it already owns. But at £2.05 each,
shares in the company are still worth less than their starting price of
£2.30 last spring.
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