Happy New Year

Happy New Year but you will have to wait an extra second this year as time is being suspended for 1 second at midnight so the earth can sync with the atomic clocks as the earth is off by 1 second.

New years eve and as you can see in the picture Crewe is frozen with frost for the last few nights and freezing cold winds. More cold weather is on its way and temperatures down to -4 can be expected the only good thing is we get extra money in our pension if its cold for more than a week.


The only good news is that a Petrol price war means petrol is at its lowest price for a long time New Years Eve and it was down to 82.9p at Morrisons and Tesco cutting prices at any moment Diesel was down to 94.9p.

Lets hope 2009 is a better year for us all but I fear it may only bring more misery in job losses before it gets better. Check back for the latest news on this site

Fathers For Justice Strike In Crewe

Father 4 Justice have been out and about in Crewe writing slogans all over town including Hightown, Derby st and near Morrisons it not clear if they are from
http://news.realfathersforjustice.org/
or from
http://www.fathers-4-justice.org/f4j/

But lets remember their plight at this time of year as a father who went through it years ago I can appreciate how they feel.

Mothers Have A Great Christmas, Yet Thousands Of Families Lives Are Destroyed

For some families, Christmas will be a devastating time, due to archaic UK laws, failing judges and because inadequate court systems fail to uphold the basic human right of children being able to spend adequate time with both their natural parents.

Children’s rights, as well as fathers rights are a very important issue and organisations such as The Real Fathers For Justice http://www.realfathersforjustice.org are leading the way to try and make a difference for the sake of our children.

Despite numerous studies and surveys illustrating the benefits of a child having access to both parents, many men in the UK still have to battle through courts just to see their sons or daughters

This poses a serious welfare issue for the children concerned.

Some men have fought for nine years or more, yet still their court orders are not upheld, allowing the mother to ruin the lives of these innocent children. This is a clear indication that something is wrong with the UK family court systems.

Can you imagine how degrading it must be to have to seek a court’s permission just to see your own children?

There is an indication that things may be changing, an example is the recent speech by Jack Straw which is available at: >This website< but even so, there is a long way to go before fathers are treated as equal parents.

When we finally put our children’s rights first, things should change for the better, but until then, thousands of passionate fathers will have to battle for our children to grow up in a fairer and more humane society.

Light Pollution What You Can Do

For more details on what can be done see Enviromental Protection

We have recently had a problem with light pollution from the Mother and Baby Unit in Oxford St Crewe. As you can see in the picture they have external lights on all night. The lights are less than 30ft from people’s bedrooms and these lights make it imposable for people sleeping in the back to get any sleep as it’s like having the sun shining in the window all night. The owners of the site Dane Housing of Conglton were asked to turn of some of the lights but they didn’t comply.
Eventually we contacted Environmental Health who got the light turned off as its now against the law. When the centre was built in 2003 the light law wasn’t in force but now they would never get planning permission to put up these lights. Apart from the nuisance they are wasting energy when we are all trying to save the planet.
Dealing with artificial light nuisance
What is light nuisance?
The Clean Neighbourhoods and Environment Act 2005 amended the Environmental Protection Act 1990 to bring artificial light from premises under the statutory nuisance regime as of 6 April 2006.
What to do if you are suffering from artificial light nuisance from premises
If you are concerned about light nuisance coming from a neighbour’s garden, a local business or manufacturer, often the best way to deal with the problem is to go straight to the source.
Consider talking to the person or company responsible for the light nuisance and point out the problem. You may find that they are unaware that they are causing a disturbance. Remember we may all be guilty of creating a nuisance from light nuisance at some time without knowing it. The problem is not always one of inconsiderate behaviour.
Mediation could be the answer
If the direct approach does not work you may want to consider mediation. An independent third party will listen to the views of both parties and can help you to reach an agreement or compromise. You can obtain details about the location of services in your area from Mediation UK on 0117 9046661.
Taking formal action
When informal action is not possible or fails, you can resolve the problem by taking formal action. The most common route involves complaining to your local authority about the light problem. Local authorities have a duty to investigate complaints. Under sections 79 to 81 of the Environmental Protection Act 1990 local authorities have a duty to deal with light nuisance from premises which they consider to be a statutory nuisance.
Who do I complain to?
If you want to make a complaint about light nuisance you should contact your local authority, usually the Environmental Health Department. The number will be in your local telephone directory.
If they visit or witness the light problem and are satisfied that a statutory nuisance exists or is likely to occur or recur, they must take action. If the light nuisance is intermittent, they may ask you to keep details of the problem in the form of a diary.
Sometimes they may measure the light as part of their investigation into a complaint. There is no set level at which artificial light from premises becomes a statutory nuisance.
Serving an abatement notice

If the local authority is satisfied that artificial light from premises amounts to a statutory nuisance they must serve an abatement notice. This may require the activity causing the nuisance to stop altogether, or that good practice is adopted to prevent a nuisance. A notice must be served on the person responsible for the light nuisance or, in certain circumstances, the owner or occupier of the premises. A person on whom an abatement notice has been served has the right of appeal within twenty-one days of it being served. Industrial, trade and business premises, as well as relevant sports premises, may use as a defence upon appeal or against prosecution the proof that ‘best practicable means’ were used to prevent or counteract the effects of a nuisance.
Failure to comply with an abatement notice
If a person on whom an abatement notice has been served fails, without reasonable cause, to comply, s/he will have committed an offence. For offences relating to domestic premises, the magistrates’ court may impose a fine of up to £5,000 with a further fine of up to £500 for each day on which the offence continues after conviction. When the nuisance arises on industrial, trade or business premises, the maximum fine is £20,000.

Doom and Groom in Crewe

Photos Tile Shop and Buildbase Underwood Lane


New Year is nearly here and all that is on the horizon for Crewe is doom and gloom. In the last few weeks we have seen job losses at the Post Office and Tax office. The Tile shop near the Tax office is all so closed down as has Buildbase in Underwood lane and of coarse Woolworths in Nantwich closed today after 70 years. Music, games and DVD retailer Zavvi - formerly known as Virgin Megastore is also in trouble and closing soon. With so many shops standing empty in Crewe Town it gives the impression of a ghost town about to happen.

Modus is set to sell its 50% stake in five developments owned by the joint venture: Trinity Walk in Wakefield; Friars Walk Centre in Newport, Wales; Delamere Place in Crewe; West Orchards in Coventry; and Birchwood in Warrington. Delamere Place in Crewe could start in 2010, said Flood, adding that ‘we are reviewing all the costs’.

The down turn didn’t stop people flocking to the sales I was around town on Boxing day and the retail park was packed with no room to park as people flocked to get the bargains Zavvi had queues four deep and you couldn’t move inside. People must be having a last minute buying spree. All you can see around the town was SALE signs.
Lets hope that Crewe’s fortunes pick up in the new years and we get new employment opportunities in the near future. Happy New Year to all our readers

BMX Track closed for 5 weeks

The BMX track is closed from 8th December for about 5 weeks. They are redoing some of the ramps and hills and putting in a lot more hardcore. Because of the size of some of the hills they are having problems keeping the track in good condition as it get eroded and its not help by the rain and kids who ride motor bikes and anything else on it. There isn’t a lot of expertise out there for building BMX tracks so it’s a suck it and see. Some of the more aggressive curves have been tarmaced as you can see in the photos. Lets hope this solves the problems they should cover it all in tarmac so it could be used by skaters as well.

Its Xmas In Crewe

A trip around the town shows Xmas has come to Crewe. I ran into Santa who had his sleigh brought over by the Round Table but he hadnt done the coarse on how to safely balance children on his leg so he couldn't pick the up it ELF and Safety rules.



Around the corner in the Market center there was a very large Scotsman with his bag pipes running about try to stop people finding out what he had on under his kilt.



Outside Abbey the Salvation Army were giving us all a tune after a hectic week giving out food parcels to the poor and people on the dole





Finally outside Asda we had the Coop Band playing us a tune so crewe is full of Xmas entertainment and is advertising on the Radio of more things to come

Floods

With much of the country suffering floods Crewe seems to have got off pretty light. The Valley Brook was bursting its banks and the bridge was virtually under water. Many walk ways were flooded I noticed Middlwich st by the Railway had its own rivers flowing.
Many areas like the Derby Docks were sodden after the long spells of rain lets hope the rain stops before we suffer like some towns

West Street Crime and improvments

West St has seen several robberies in the last couple of weeks with the hairdressers, paper shop and the off licence all being raided and staff threatened. The shops have taken action by increasing security of their shops to prevent further attacks but the new sentencing rules out this week wont help.
The new rules basically say anyone caught shop lifting should only face a fine and if they threaten staff they may also get Community Service. This is not a deterrent and it makes it a worth while risk to attack shops if you know you wont go to prison.
West St is also going to get a £400,000 make over with new lights pavements security and parking.
A council spokesman said: “The main benefits of the project are expected to be stability for current traders, the attraction of new independent traders and an increase in the number of people shopping locally.
“The street has seen a decline in the overall number of retail units as changes in people’s shopping patterns and competition from supermarkets and other larger shops have taken their toll on independent traders.
“West Street has a long and proud history and represents a key part of the heritage of Crewe as an industrial town.
Sadly West St is no longer a busy area at one time you had no need to go into town as everything you needed was in the street we had petshops, food stores, Partons and everything you could need. Lets hope this will soon be the case again as it’s the main area for people of the west end so it has a large catchment area.

Are you ready for Digital TV?

There was help on the square on Saturday for the TV digital switch over. For the Granada region this will happen next November when first BBC will go off the air followed by other stations. You can get digital TV now on Freeview, Freesat or Sky and if you can get any of these now you will have no problem in the next year. It will help in this area as we have bad Channel 5 reception around Crewe. This is due to it being given a frequency out side the range of aerials for this area as it was introduced a lot latter than the other services and there was no room left for it within our range.
The signals for Freeview are being transmitted at only 20% of the power which we will get when its turned over fully. So if you can get it now but the picture isn’t 100% don’t worry as it should be fine next year.
To get digital you will need either Sky TV, a Freeview Box for your current TV, get anew Tv with Freeview built in. Get Freesat a satalite TV which is free of charge once you have bought the box there is no charge for the service. You can get some programs via the Internet but this is not a viable option at the present time as most ISP’s have a download limit but this may change with the advent of ADSL+2 with higher speeds of 24 Meg.
Check her for more details

The Mercian Regiment (Cheshires)

The Mercian Regiment (Cheshires) marched around the town on Saturday to cheers and applause as they received the freedom of the borough from the Mayor. It was a very cold and foggy day but still the crowds turned out to see this historic occasion. Out MP Edward Timpson was also present to the march past and attended the celebration at the Municipal Buildings.
The 1st Battalion of the 22nd Cheshire Regiment became the 1st Battalion of the Mercian Regiment (Cheshire) in August last year.
The Battalion has recently returned from an overseas pan-Commonwealth exercise in New Zealand and will shortly deploy to the Falkland Islands.
This will see the soldiers spending at least six weeks exercising in some of the world’s most arduous terrain.
They are to open a recruiting office at the old Lunacy at Sarahs shop next to the bank.

Bike on the pavement the silent killers

The pictures shows a Autumn view of Victoria Ave with wonderful colours but the scene is marred by the bike on the pavement. The road is clear hardly a car in site yet the bikes still use the pavement. They are a absolute menace and the Chronicle has had a few letters published on complaints about bikes.

Its not just kids who do it but everyone now seems to think the can ride on the pavement most don’t care about people walking and zoom along at top speed and if the bash into you with straight handle bars that’s your ribs gone. The Police ride past and pay not attention if they see people on the pavement. It’s a menace for everyone but old people, disabled and young children are particularly at risk. I have been attacked when a pair of bikes bashed into me and the other day I saw an old man have to cover his body with a bag to prevent being hurt by a girl on a bike. All he got was a mouthful of abuse.
There is one idiot that goes across Derby Docks on an electric bike at full speed 25mph+ right past a young child’s play area and when dogs chase him he wonders why. It only take a toddler to step out from the play area or a mother with a baby and someone will die.
Its time the Police and Council took some action on this matter as it goes on all over the town but like everything else they will wait until someone is killed before anything is done.

Queens Park Update

The Queens park is slowly making progress but at what cost? You can see in the before and after shots of the park that the Island that has stood for many years as a haven for wild life has now been stripped of all the bushes leaving a solitary tree in the middle.

The banks of the lake are slowly being rebuilt but for many who love days out at the park in the summer its not fast enough. 90% of the park is still fenced off and you cant use it. At the present rate we still wont be able to get in next year and it will take a very long time for the park to be back to its former glory. For the shrubs to regrow could take another 5-10 years.

Wulver to waste more money on Derby Docks

The Derby Docks estate, which has suffered from persistent problems with fly tipping and littering, is to benefit from new secure recycling and rubbish collection points, new fencing and pathways, tree planting and public seating areas. The work will transform the area. The area will get £130,000 to do all this with.


Local residents told us that they wanted things to change. This project will make that change, by creating places where tenants can walk, sit and chat. The move has been warmly welcomed by local people, and we're looking forward to seeing the plans brought to life."

This is what Wulvern Housing say on the matter but resident have a different view. For the past 6 year residents have been trying to get rid of the benches and trees planted on the Docks in the past as they have caused terrible problems from vandalism to drinking and drug taking.

Wulvern have not met with residents they may have asked their own tenants but have not consulted the wider area which will be effected by these bright ideas. As I am the chairman of the local residents I know we haven’t been asked and it directly effects us.

You can see from post on this site and on www.crewetown.co.uk that all they are doing is creating even more problems for the area in the belief that they are doing good. The seats have been the main problem for years as the yobs and kids flock to the seats and collect there up to 40 at a time.

This has the effect of stopping people crossing the Dock for fear of being attacked. Several petitions have been signed to get the seats removed as residents were not consulted in the first place.

The bushes have had to be cut down recently as they were used by youths to hide the fact they were having drunken under age parties in them as the were then hidden from the Police. Again on this site we have reported how they made the area a no go area, and wrecked the play area and lighting.

We agree that all these things would be lovely in the right area and the yobs shouldn’t win and stop us enjoying these things. But the reality is the yobs are winning and these facilities will be abused and draw in even more drunks until the Police and others take some action on these trouble makers and stop wasting money on these silly schemes which if you look historically at the area you find they are a total waste of money

New Car Boot

A new weekly car boot starting this Sunday 16th November on the lorry park behind Scope House on Weston Lane. Its been a bit of a campaign to get it going since the Vagrants stopped in October, which included emailing all 56 borough councillors & Edward Timpson, asking them to put the word out to whoever might have a suitable site.

8.00 - 1.00pm Cars £6 Vans £10 Trailers +£6

Remembrance Day

Remembrance Day was well attended this year at the site of the War memorial which you will remember was moved from the its location to the new square see War memorial.

It was nice to see a lot of young people turning out for this event as this is the 90th year so it’s a special occasion.

The mayor and councilors were there to lay poppies as is normal on these occasions along with all local groups like Sea Cadets Air, Training Corp, British Legion and many more.

Let us remember all those who have died for our town in the 2 mins silence on Wednesday 11th of the 11th month.

Xmas starts in crewe Town

The Xmas festivities kicked off on the square with a market on the square and a free ice rink. The market with many foreign stalls was there over the weekend to add variety to out normal market. Displayed at the market were arm trucks from the modelling club and as you can see in the photo they are not toy trucks but the real thing. They were there to support the British legion with it poppy day appeal. More activities are planned for the town centre so pop down and see whats on offer

Danger of Electrocution at BMX Track

I witnessed to day a real danger of electrocution at the skate park. The BMX club along with the council are running a live domestic cable all the way from the trailer to the start gate of the BMX track. Health and Safety can get silly at times but this a real danger. It was a wet day which made it more dangerous as the area was wet so any problems with the cable and there could be a leakage into the wet area.
There should be a trip at the end so if there is a problem it will cut off before anyone is killed. Secondly the cable to be used must be tested by an electrician and be certified as safe. Thirdly you cant have a live cable trailed over a public path were its not only a trip hazard but a real danger as if you do trip you could pull on the cable and expose the plug to surrounding metal.
Fourthly if you are going to trail this cable in public it must be armoured and protected. I witnessed the staff plugging in all sort of odds and sods of wire not I feel sure tested and to make things worse it connected to equipment that touches the metal rail which means any faults and the rail becomes live.
What made the matter worse was the staff attitude I asked about the cable and told is was caring air which clearly wasn’t truth they then back tracked and claimed the council had risk assessed the cable and the situation. I feel that would be a lie or they should go back and do the assessment again. The council staff then threatened me for taking pictures but as I had taken none of any children that didn’t work.

Crewe & Nantwich Swimming Success

Crewe & Nantwich Swimming Success



The final presentation of swimming awards as Crewe & Nantwich Borough Council took place in the Council Chamber at Crewe’s Municipal Buildings on Wednesday 22nd October. The ceremony celebrated the achievements of 45 swimmers from the Council’s Learn to Swim Scheme which is operated in conjunction with the Amateur Swimming Association’s National Plan for the Teaching of Swimming

The Mayor of Crewe & Nantwich, Cllr. Brian Silvester, who presented the swimmers with their awards on the night, along with Mayoress Ms Sheila Davies, said, “I was delighted to make this second presentation of the year to swimmers from our very successful Learn to Swim Scheme. We have seen a good number of sporting achievements from this area over the past few months and with continued dedication to sport we can hope to see some of these swimmers competing at a much higher level in the future. The theme of the Mayoral year is Lifelong Learning. There cannot be anything more worthwhile and rewarding than learning to swim.”

Cllr. Bill McGinnis, Leisure Portfolio Holder, added, “Crewe & Nantwich has a leisure service provision that local people can be very proud of with so many recent successes including the Quest awards and the achievements of these young swimmers today. Now that these swimmers have completed the scheme, I would urge the children and parents to continue with their swimming development by supporting our local aquatics clubs operating at both Crewe and Nantwich swimming pools.”

Crewe and Nantwich Borough Council currently has around 1500 people registered for swimming lessons from the age of 6 months with Parent & Tot sessions, through to adults. For more information on swimming tuition in the Borough, contact Leisure Operations on 01270 537090 or leisure.services@crewe-nantwich.gov.uk

Yobs Wreck Derby Docks Play Area

Yobs struck again over the weekend and wreck the play area on the Derby Dock.

They systematically stripped up the safety surface and through it all over the Derby Docks. This is the regular gang that now makes the Docks a no go area many old people as they are frightened of these gangs. It’s a never ending stream of yobs a gang starts gathering and causing trouble they grow up and move on and as soon as they are gone the next generation moves in.

The problem is they wreck the play area of young children who can now not use the swings as there is no safety surface and it will cost a lot of money to replace it all. This is about the fourth time this has been wrecked. The thing is we are paying for this in our taxes and council tax.

If you are a parent and live near by do you know what your child is doing tonight?

SLB Cars Ltd Camm St Crewe Guilty of selling a dangerous car

SLB Cars Ltd Today Wednesday 15th October 2008 pleaded guilty to selling a car unfit for the road and in a dangerous condition at Crewe Magistrates court. Court heard how SLB Cars Ltd had sold a Blue Saxo VTR in May for £1300 and had agreed to service the car and carry out minor repairs. The car had been bought from and advert on their website.

The car was returned to SLB on many occasion for the repairs to be completed but after they had 21 days to repair the central locking and failed it wasn’t taken back again as every time the tried to fix it they broke something else.
The car was MOTed early after fears about its safety and when it was found to be a dangerous car by the MOT inspector Trading Standards were called and they got an expert Ian d Lee consulting to look at the car. The report read out in court indicated the car was excessively corroded in vital part of the suspension and braking making the car a death trap and this was long standing rust. He believed the steering and braking would be greatly effected by this. The fuel filter was loose which made a fire highly likely. He concluded the car was dangerous and past repair and in the event of an accident the car would fall apart.
SLB then blatantly lied in court saying the car had been placed on the forecourt and wasn’t for sale as it had not passed their inspection. You will see above in bold that it had been advertised on their website for 3 weeks so that was a lie. They then came on with a sob story of how their car sales had dropped a director had resigned and several staff have left and they are poor.
They were fined £2000 and £1000 cost and pleaded they could only afford £400 per month by direct debit. They were asked if the car could be now destroyed but they objected to this. The only reason we can think of is that they want it back to try and resell it to some other mug who want know its done 190000 miles as it only says 88000 on the clock. If they were so concerned and taking into account the expert who said it was past repair they would be happy to scrap it.

What they didn’t mention in court was that SLB refused to do anything about the car when they were asked after the MOT in fact they told me to F off. They didn’t mention the car was sold with 88,000 mile son the clock when it had done 117,000 miles in 2005’s MOT. The fact that the lights front and rear were illegal wasn’t mentioned and one would expect any reasonable car dealer to know the lights were illegal.
If they had settled then it would have only cost them repair to the car or a replacement. Now its cost them over £5,000 and loads of bad publicity which they deserve for there customer service. At no point did they offer to reimburse for the car or even say sorry its lucky we paid with a credit card as under the Consumer Credit Act you can claim your money back off the card company worth remembering.

Dont Mess with the Market Manger

Saturday 11October and gunfight on the square (well sort of)
I was sitting on the square and watched as the man from the bouncy castle unlocked the council mains supply and gave an extension to the Sky TV man demonstrating Sky in the back of his van. He had been using a generator up until this point. The man ran the cable 30 ft or so to his van across the square were people walk. We have had trouble with this before.
I went to speak to the man and as I did an old lady tripped over the cable. I explained to the man that you cant use Council electric unless its wired by a Council electrician, you cant run live cables across were people walk it must be armoured cable to do that and thirdly someone is going to break there neck on it. His comment amounted to go away in short sharp jerky movements. I explained I would report this to the Town Centre manager before someone was hurt to which he repeated his previous statement.
I hot footed it around to the market and saw the Market Manger who said the Town centre Manger was off and he would deal with it an ensure it didn’t happen again. He strapped on his guns (well got his camera anyway) and stormed of immediately to the square. He of coarse found the cable plugged in and took pictures of the offending cable and immediately unplugged the cable from the van so the mans TV and DVD died, he then removed it from the mains and locked the cabinet.
The Sky man went mad and started shouting but is was all to no avail he was told off good and proper. Its good to see that some members of the council can act quickly and decisively when the occasion warrants it.

The final score was Market manager 1 Sky Tv 0

Samuel St play area is getting a major revamp with all new equipment. It includes so new climbing frames like those used to train mountaineers be it on a smaller scale. It should be open in the not to distant future and it’s hoped it wont be plagued by yobs like the Derby Docks. While these playground are great for younger kids nothing is ever provided for 16+ yrs old kids which is were the problems arise. As the 16yrs have nothing they end up taking over the young kids play areas and stopping kids getting on to the play area. Derby Docks play area is always full of 16yrs old drinking and causing problems

West St closed by Fire

Today at 10:30 Friday 10/10/08 lots of sirens were heard down West St and a Police car was blocking West St at Ford Lane another at Underwood Lane and one at Goddard St. two fire engines were fighting a blaze at a house in West St near to Oxford St. As there are a few house in the terraced block other family were evacuated as smoke poured out down the lofts of the other house. The house next door had its door smashed in presumably by Fire crews to prevent the fire spreading.
The Police at the scene didn’t know yet how the fire started but were concerned as not long ago shots had been fired in Oxford St believed to be revenge attacks by drug dealers from Liverpool.

Yobs strike a light on Derby Docks

Once again the yobs are ruling the Derby Docks in the past few weeks street lights have been broke by yobs who find it fun to shake the lights until they pop. The next step is to bend the lights over and wreck them. This leaves smashed light across the main route for school kids going to school. The problem being with the lights broke there is often exposed live wires just right for some child to be killed.
This week they wreck a light on Tuesday which was reported to the council who came out and fixed it less than 24 hours later and it was down again that’s 4 lights smashed in as many weeks.
A new gang has formed on the kids play area and their greatest joy is to shout abuse at old age pensioners crossing the Docks. These can range from just shouting to threatening action like riding bikes very close at high speed to pensioners or throwing bricks. One pensioner of 73 years old told me how he cant go across the Docks any more which is a problem as is house backs onto the Docks.
Still the area is littered with beer cans and despite it being a no drinking zone people just walk about ignoring the rules. I watch the Police standing outside a house they had just raided and 3 lads came and stood next to them leaning on a lamp post which had the no drinking notice on it drinking beer from cans and the Police ignored it.
There is also an idiot on an electric bike who speed down the path on the Derby Docks right past the child play area he has been told several times how dangerous his action are but chooses to ignore the advice he has nearly hit to old people already and its just a matter of time before he hurt someone

600 jobs to go at Focus

It was announced today that Focus DIY are to loose 600 jobs. Focus main office is in Crewe and also the supper store on the retail park. The store actually gain ground on other stores last year but they are still shedding 600 jobs from a distribution centre and head office. This is said to be a streamlining exercise to ensure company growth.

For Crewe it’s a major set back after the Post Office trying to close the sorting office. Before long Crewe will be a ghost town with no employment. We believe the Post Office are rethinking the closure so lets hope there is better news soon

Help needed Urgently

The Hope House (Children's Hospice) Shop in Market St

I went to the shop to see what had happened and saw how the yobs had broken in over a wall covered in razor wire and smashed doors to get into the out building. They came down an alley next to Carters the jewellers and used dustbins to gain entry. Strangely the Police haven't bothered to tell Carters about the break in at the rear of their shop. The stock that is left will have to be thrown away as there is no way of knowing what the yobs have done to it. A computer is missing and one has to ask how can anyone walk about Crewe a night with a computer in the town centre and not be seen somewhere on CCTV?
The break in have happened on more than one occasion and help is needed to secure the premises and carry out repairs

The lowest form of crime when toe rags do things like this

I am writing this on behalf of Diane Banton.
Hope House (Children's Hospice) Charity Shop in Crewe is one of Diane's companies and someone has broken in, trashed the shop and stolen all the items they have put aside for their Xmas Display.They will have to pay to have the damage rectified and replace most of the stock. They have asked if anyone can help with books, toys, sparkly dresses or any donations, no matter how small.
Please contact Diane Banton direct if you can help.
Thank you
Celia

Please either drop it into the shop, or contact Celia or Di Banton on 01270 251493






Floral Display outside the Library Sept 08

Bounce Castle but are your children safe?

Bounce Castle but are your children safe?

Watching the Castle being put up on a Saturday morning on Crewe Square a group of people watching wondered if the people looking after these young children had been CRB checked. Criminal Record Bureau check checks if people working with young children have a criminal record and more importantly if they are Paedophiles. The purpose of coarse is to ensure the safety of our children. We asked the council about checks and this is the reply.

From: Elaine Dodd
Sent: 18 September 2008 10:53
To: Cllr Brian Silvester
Subject: RE: bouncy castles
Hello Mr Mayor,
With regards to checks on Inflatable’s and other Rides hired in or provided…
We do ensure providers have adequate Public Liability Insurance up to the value of £1mill.
Also, Guidelines regarding Inflatable’s, including bouncy castles, as recommended by the Health and Safety Exec (Information Sheet No 7) are adhered to. In summary this provides guidance for those involved with design, manufacture, importation, supply, inspection and safe use of inflatable devices.
A CRB check is not required. Owners would in most cases differ from the actual Operator – who could be casual staffing. Staff are mainly concerned with the safety and use issues and not in direct dialog with a young person, as say an entertainer would be.
With regards to Entertainers in town these are all CRB check as are the staffs who supervise the Town Centre activities.
I hope this helps to clarify the situation for you.
Please let me know if any further information is required.

Regards,
Elaine Dodd
Crewe & Nantwich Town Centres Manager
Tel. 01270 537559
Fax. 01270 537806

So they are not check and from the letter may be casual staff that no one has checked. This is an ideal target for Paedophiles as these people have direct contact with very young children in as much as they can touch them, talk to them and comfort them if they are hurt. Also for a Paedophiles its an ideal situation watching young children tumble down a Castle. It also suggests being casual that they will not be First Aid trained so in the event of an accident there is no first aid.
The company running this castle may be very respectable but have no knowledge of if there casual workers are Paedophiles. I fits a respectable company I feel sure they would welcome CRB checks on all there operators as this gives the company a new selling point that all personnel are CRB check and could increase there turnover. From parents point of view they would expect that these people looking after their children to have been checked by the council to ensure children’s safety.

The Piano Men – The Music of Barry Manilow & Billy Joel

The Piano Men – The Music of Barry Manilow & Billy Joel



Vaughan Kennedy & Andy Mudd are The Piano Men, join them as they take you on a nostalgic
journey through the songbooks of two of the most recognisable names in music history.
Barry Manilow & Billy Joel combined have sold more than 200million records worldwide.

These Grammy Award winning artistes are inductees of the illustrious Songwriters Hall of Fame. With songs including the up tempo ‘My Life’ and ‘It’s a Miracle’ to the powerful serenity of ‘Mandy’ and ‘Just The Way You Are’. These standards and many more instantly recognisable hits feature in this fantastic two hour show. When the curtain rises the audience are greeted with the spectacle of two grand pianos and a host of fabulous musicians.

The vocal and musical talents of both Vaughan and Andy become evident as hit after hit are delivered in style. All these elements combined with special effects and a hint of Manilow and Joel magic will make this a night to remember.

NANTWICH CIVIC HALL
SATURDAY 1st NOVEMBER 2008 - 7:45pm
TICKETS £12.50 (£11.50 Concessions)
BOX OFFICE TELEPHONE 01270 - 628633

BOOK EARLY TO AVOID DISSPOINTMENT

Crewe Photographic Society

Crewe Library was the venue for Crewe Photographic Society open day with displays of photos both digital and analogue. There was a competition to enter but the main point of interest was the Help Desk were people could come along and get help with anything to do with photos and cameras.

You can get more detials about the Crewe Photographic Society visit their website

Skate Park Councils reply

Councils reply to my post It seem they dont know what their own sign says it clear says bladers and skaterboards as you can see in the picture

I have investigated with our Electrical department that we do have use of an audio system linked to the CCTV cameras at the facility. Like all CCTV systems a single facility is not constantly being monitored by a member of staff. Brett Hall the department head assures me that the facility is being used when required and on a number of occasions police have been directed to the area to deal with Anti Social behaviour issues by the CCTV operator.

Having also raised this issue with Margaret Howell, the Community Wardens will focus on the area; this will include a daily visit over the next few weeks. I will also ask the Wardens to watch over the area during the school holidays. Margaret pointed out that the Wardens would have difficulty enforcing any ruling as there are no bi-laws to control and support the operation.

Yesterday I spoke with 5 BMX riders who were using the Skate Park together with Skateboarders, I asked if there had been any incidents with the mix of bikes and boards and they clearly stated that the locals seemed to get on and new each other, however when youngsters from out of the area visit this may be the time when problems have arisen.

With an open site, supervision is difficult, additional signage will not carry any more enforcement. All our facilities within the Borough are purpose designed to accommodate both skate boarders and bmx bikes. As you are aware all the new facilities at Tipkinder are well used and we should encourage youngsters off the street to use these purposeful and safe facilities. I will continue to monitor the situation and encourage the Cheshire Ghost Riders BMX Club to watch over the facility during there weekly training sessions.

Thank you,

Andrew Latham

Outdoor Events Manager

Crewe and Nantwich Borough Council

Pyms Lane Depot

Crewe

CW1 3PJ

Tel: 01270 537846 MOB: 07834342979

Skate Park Danger

I was sorry to hear in the Chronicle that someone had been injured on the BMX track and I hope they are getting better. There has been a lot of activity down at the park as a result of the Olympics and school holidays.

It does come back to my concerns over the Skate park we raised a few weeks ago in that all the BMX riders are taking over the skate park so skaters cant use it any more so we are now seeing them back around the town.

The injury is a wake up call and action must be taken. BMX is done a soil covered in gravel and as such not so hard a fall as concrete. BMX’s are using the skate park even though it states its for skate boards and roller blades only. The skate park is solid concrete with metal grind rails all around the park. While is can be dangerous for skaters they are restricted by there equipment to 15 mph.

On the other hand kids on a bmx can reach 40 miles per hour and jumping out of the ramp over 10 feet. If they fall from that height or hit any one with steal stunt pegs on the out come is going to be horrific. Falling on gravel is bad enough as was seen in the Olympics onto solid concrete with sharp metal edges is potentially fatal. We are talking about children as young 10 on these bikes with no experience or training or any safety gear.

I feel sure Shanaze Read would be the first to encourage children to do sport but would back a call for safety gear and training before doing these stunts.

The council has the technology at the park to talk to BMX ers and get them off the skate park. They must take action to ban bikes from the skate park with clear signs and enforce the rules. The bmx club should also advise their members to keep off the skate park. If they fail to do this I feel its only a matter of time before we have to read the sad news in the paper or serious injury at the park or worse.

On a lighter note the council should consider carefully naming the park Shanaze Read as its leads to comments like I am going to ride Shanaze Read and a few others I wont mention

SLB Cars Ltd

S L B Cars Ltd

Camm Street
Crewe, Cheshire
CW2 7DN, United Kingdom

SLB Cars Ltd sold a death trap which is in such an unfit state its not safe to be on the road and could have killed someone!! This is the opinion of the MOT examiner after testing the car.

slbcars@yahoo.com

Update 28/8/08

Trading Standards have now got a court date of October 15th and are taking SLB Cars to court on criminal charges. In the mean time SLB tried to pull a fast one demanding the car back from us. Trading Standards hold the log book so we wouldn't let them have it. Trading Standards having heard that are worried that they may try to resell the car so are seeking a destruction order on the car to stop them doing anything with it



Trading Standards are now taking the car in to confirm the MOT examiners report by their own expert. If he agrees then its highly like SLB Cars will face criminal charges for selling a car in such a dangerous state. SLB made little comment today they tried to wriggle out of it by saying it wasnt taken back to them to fix the Locks as if it was they would have checked it over. Clearly this wont wash as they had already sold the car a month earlier in the dangerous state

The second MOT examiner said I have never seen a car in such a dangerous condition its a miracle no one has been killed this rot has not happened recently but it has been there for over a year. SLB Cars must have know they were selling a death trap.

A third MOT examiner said the rot was on critical part of the car and as such would effect the steering and the handling of the car which makes it a lethal car. The rear pin bearing was in a very bad state and the wheel could seize or worse at any moment. Even the lights were illegal both front and rear lights had the wrong bulbs or no reflectors on them. I have never seen a more dangerous car for a long time its like a shed on wheels and the danger is it could fail on the motorway and cause a massive multi car pile up.

The rust and other faults are long standing and have not appeared in a couple of months so the car was both illegal and a death trap when sold by SLB Cars Ltd. He was shocked to find so many dangerous and illegal part on the car and would expect any retailer to spot these faults before the sold it. Some are very clear like illegal lights and the CAT removed. You can click on the full MOT report below to see just how dangerous this car is. Do you really want to buy a car from this garage if so we recommend you get a AA report or a MOT to see if its safe to drive.

When Trading Standards got involved they found that over 40,000 mile had gone missing from the car as in 2005 the car was MOTed and showed a mileage of 117,000 but when bought it only had 82,000 on the clock so were have the rest of the miles gone?

I bought a Citroen Saxo vtr from SLB Cars Ltd Camm St Crewe CW2 7DN on 1/03/08 a cost of £1300 which was paid for by a trade in of £400 and credit card. The salesman agreed to give the car a service fix the Arial and fix the door locks as the central locking wasn’t working and the boot was locked and couldn’t be opened. He put this in writing on the sales receipt.


I picked the car up 5days later and none of the jobs had been done I expected it to all be fixed and ready to go. I took it in the next day and they had it all afternoon. They fixed the Arial and the radio but could not fix the central locking even after fitting a new unit to the drivers door. If you put the key in the near side door the car tried to lock but after fitting the part it was dead. They left the car with no inside lights and clock not working as they had blown the main F8 fuse.


I took it back on Wednesday and they had it all day Wednesday and Thursday when I got it back the radio didn’t work the alarm was left dangling so the passenger caught it with their feet. The central locking and the boot still hadn’t been fixed. This means the car isn’t fit for its purpose as I can not go shopping as I cant open the boot, in the event of a flat tyre I cant change it as the tools are in the boot. When they open the boot trying to fix it there was a very thick red exposed wire flapping about which I believe could be live and therefore a fire risk. The service still hasn’t been done

Wednesday the 19th and the car was once again taken in for 8 days every day I ring up and they say it will be done soon ring back later. When I ring back later they say they have just gone to the scrap yard to get some bits for it the implications being that the parts are from scrap cars and therefore not new parts. I don't expect my car to be repaired with old bits from a scrap yard which may break at any moment. I bought the car in good faith with a guarantee and would expect any part that are needed to be brand new car part bought from a scrap yard are form scrap cars and as such the parts may only last a few weeks or could go on for years. They said the problem has been that the first mechanic had blown all the door activators and also the main central locking unit. What is most frustrating is ringing up sometimes 4 time a day only to be told it will be done tomorrow, the idea of customer service is you ring the customer and keep them updated not for the customer to waste money ringing you.

They did lend us a 4*4 to use but as my son or wife found it to big to drive it was useless the fact that the tax disc was 12 months out of date and therefore breaking the law failing to display a road fund licence. The mechanic told us he hadn't been working on it all the time as he had been doing other jobs MORE IMPORTANT THAN OURS so over the days he may only have worked on it for an hour a day leaving us without a car. Having Arthritis this means I have been unable to get out and do things like shopping.

So the big day arrived after not seeing the car for 8 days it was finally fixed so I went to collect it. The first thing I noticed was a strange smell like polish, I thought they must of cleaned it for me but as there was muck everywhere that wasn't it. I then noticed the lights hanging down from the roof which had not been put back. A short drive and I noticed there was no sound from the rear speakers and the fancy break light strip wasn't working either. I reached home and got out to check the speakers in the boot before I got to open the boot the central locking slammed shut leaving me locked out with the engine still running and the keys in the car. We had to call out an expert to get us back in the car.

Having got the car open we then looked in the boot and was shocked to find it covered in blood, had it been used to carry a dead body? We soon realized the blood was pouring from my wife's hand as a result of cutting it badly on glass that was everywhere. Things now made sense as the expert pointed out the rear window had been replaced due to it being smashed and the smell was sealer used to put the window in. SLB Cars hadn't told us they had smashed the window and they hadn't bothered to clean up the broken glass which was everywhere. The rear brake lights wires were totally missing so we could see why it didn't work, it had worked fine when it went in. The speakers wires were floating about and had been disconnected for some reason. We closed the boot and locked it with the key only to find it didn't lock it took ten mins of locking and unlocking in order to get it to work. If you unlock the car boot the central locking doesn't unlock any other door. Having had it in the garage for so long we cant understand why the garage wouldn't check that every door operates the central locking correctly. The jack which was supposed to be in the boot is missing so if we get a flat tyre we are stuffed.



We rang SLB Cars and asked to speak to someone in charge and told them what had happened they said they would investigate and get back to us in an hour, needless to say we are still waiting. Since we have bough the car the garage have had it longer than we had they have had it for over 10 1/2 days during that time we have been paying insurance on the car and not being able to use it. When we did have the car it wasn't fit for its purpose as we couldn't go shopping in it as the boot didn't open. Our 1 month warranty is now nearly up and we have not had time to try the car properly yet. We have a car with what may be old dodgy parts in it from a scrap yard with a rear window which isn't properly sealed no rear brake light and a boot that locks sometimes the rear window wiper doesn't clean anything and is useless. As my son and myself use it for work to carry £10,00 of computer equipment about to customers sites locking of the boot is essential for the insurance.

What we would expect a reasonable deal to now do.

As every time it goes into their own garage they take weeks to fix it and break more things than they fix. We would expect them to pay for a main dealer to fix the car to Citroens standards and replace the parts from the scrap yard with new ones after all when we bought it the boot and passenger central locking worked and it WAS THEIR MECHANIC WHO BLEW THE PARTS so we shouldn't have to pay for their mistakes. We would expect the alarm to be ripped out and replaced with a new one that work 100%. We would expect a courtesy car similar to ours while this is done and to satisfy us that the car is now safe a full 12 months MOT and compensation for lose of the car while we have had it in their garage. The other alternative is to refund some of our money so we can take it to another garage to get it repaired.

We pass no comment on SLB cars we have presented our readers with the facts only and its up to the reader to decided if this is the sort of garage they want to buy a car from. We have reported SLB Cars to Trading Standards and various consumer help lines and are waiting for developments. Let us have your comments or tell us your experiences with this company.



We spoke to the company who say its their policy to replace car repairs with part from the scrap yard as they are replacing old part on a second hand car with OLD PARTS customers should be aware of this if they take their cars in under guarantee. A new part would be guaranteed but a part from a scrap yard wouldn't be guaranteed safe. SLB claim there is a 3 month guarantee on part from the scrap yard were as a OEM part may have 12 months, They offered to repair the car but as they have had it over 18 days and not managed to be able to repair it the credit card company said its reasonable to now insist on an independent garage to do the repairs. As the car was bought via credit card they are now taking out a dispute with them. SLB claim there isnt a fault with central locking and the alarm locking you out with the engine running its a anti hijack device and they say Audi and BMW have this same feature. We spoke to a Audi employ who had work for them for many years and they say this is rubbish no Audi will lock the doors if the engine is running and leave you locked out. They did have that fault on one car and the customer was given a brand new car and the faulty one was sent to Germany for testing. We spoke to alarm specialist who are VSIB registered and they both say the central locking is fault and the alarm wants ripping out and a new one fitting the possible cause is the unit may have been damage when they blew the CLU as its connected to the alarm. These people are specialist and Home Office approved installers they estimate the cost to be £300.

We have had problems with the fuse blowing which has been traced to SLB Cars leaving bare wires when they smashed the rear window and pulled out the working brake light. The result is when the bare wire from the break light touched earth and you put your foot on the brake it shorted straight to earth. We have found that the alarm doesn't work any more since they messed with the central locking which will effect our insurance.

SLB cars did offer to take the car in and fix it again but as every time it goes in it comes out with something else broke we declined Visa believe under the circumstances that and independent garage should carry out any repair work as SLB have had over 18 days to fix the problem and clearly shown they cant fix it. We are waiting for them to supply us with a new brake light for the one they smashed.

Update

When we bought the car we specifically asked would it pass the MOT with the noisy exhaust on it SLB answered yes, we asked had it been modified and they said no. We now find the car has been decated so it wont pass its MOT and the insurance is invalid because its been modified. Decating gives an extra 10 BHP