News page 2 of 2 See 'Archived news' for other past news items.

Funding of Tories by billionaire questioned.  (February, 2010)

Click    to an article in the Observer newspaper to find out why the Tories are starting to get nervous about the funding by a billionaire of thier election campaign. Mr 'Slick' Cameron's party for the rich is starting to look a little rattled. Click   to read another commentary on the issue.

Then there's another one in   to the Telegraph newspaper, highlighting how Mr Cameron's party for the rich is trying to gag the BBC, over the same billionaire's funding of the tories.

Upton Playbuilder Update (January, 2010.) (Scroll down to read)

Despite a tough budget situation, the Council remains committed to maintaining effective front line services and where possible investing in improvements across the borough.

As some people may be aware Hough Green has been included in the 2010/11 scheme for the Playbuilder Programme and so far £185,000 has been secured for the project. Cllr Phil Harris has been acting as the lead member in the ward for the project, along with the other ward councillors; Paul Nolan and Kevan Wainwright.

The Hough Green project is aimed at delivering physical play facilities for young children and teenagers. This will include a multi-use games area (MUGA) which will ensure older youths have somewhere to use in most weather conditions, rather than using the play areas intended for younger children.

Cllr Phil Harris said ''It's important that we tackle anti-social behaviour that is caused by some young people, but it's also important not to label all young people as out for trouble and to provide them with facilities to use.'' ' 'The new play facilities being proposed cover a range of age groups and we will be encouraging local residents to help with the design.''

The Upton Playbuilder project includes encouraging a partnership with other local agencies, like the Youth Service; Halton Housing Trust and community safety agencies. Cllr Phil Harris said '' It's important to work in partnership with other organisations who operate in the area.''. '' Halton Housing Trust's proposed Environmental Improvement Programme for instance, could carry out its work at the same time in the same area as the playbuilder project and thus minimise disruption to local residents.''

At the Area Forum meeting held at the Upton Community Centre on Monday 25th January, an update on the progress of recent public consultation was given and what the next steps were. The next phase of the project will be to carry out further consultations with regard to the most popular site identified in recent public consultation, and exploring further funding options. This will include young people and how local schools might be get involved. Once this has been done the wider community will be updated again.

The aim is to identify a site and have begun construction of the play facilities by the spring/summer of 2010. If you would like further information please get in touch with one of the Hough Green ward councillors.

Update on Rebuilding of All Saints (Upton) C of E Primary School. (January, 2010.)

The construction work at the school will commence during early February with a scheduled completion in mid-November.

As a governor of All Saints, Phil Harris recently attended a meeting of a sub-committee to discuss the latest arrangements. Further updates will be posted on here in due course. Parents are of course being kept directly updated through the school newsletter.

Recyclebank Scheme piloted in parts of Hough Green (November, 2009)

Following on from the recent expansion of kerbside recycling to more areas of Halton during the summer, the council is now piloting a rewards scheme for kerbside recycling in the blue bins.

From mid-October, parts of seven wards across Widnes & Runcorn have been offered a voluntary 'opt in' service, which rewards residents who choose to recycle, with vouchers that provide discounts and offers at shops and businesses or that can be donated to a charity.

The Hough Green ward includes areas trialing the scheme. Those homes involved are the first in the North of the UK to trial the scheme. A short video of how the scheme works is below.