Midcheshire Independent Issue 171

NOVEMBER 2024 4 MANCHESTER Air- port has reached a major milestone by recording 30 million passengers in a year – putting it alongside some of the biggest airports in the world. It puts Manchester in the so-called “30 Million Club” – along- side major interna- tional airports like La Guardia, in New York, Melbourne Airport, in Australia, Hamad International Airport, in Doha, and Sabia Gokcen International Airport, in Istanbul. Manchester boasts the most extensive route network of any UK airport outside London, with more than 200 destinations served – including several added in the last year such as Shanghai, Las Vegas and Casablanca. These new routes have proved popular, THE Northwich owner of a joinery company who took up front pay- ments as deposits for work he then did not do has been sentenced to 18 months in prison. A total of £19,525 was taken from six complainants for work which included bespoke furniture, a timber framed conservatory, a new staircase and a kitchen refit. Phillip John David Burton-Fox, 39, who lives in Northwich, was prosecuted by Cheshire West and Chester Council, charged with fraudulent trading con- trary to section 993 of the Companies Act 2006. Appearing at Chester Crown Court, he was given an 18-month custodial sentence of which he must serve half. Typically, after the defendant received a 50 per cent deposit, the com- plainants would hear little, if anything, from him. Messages and telephone calls from the complainants would go unanswered. The matter came to the attention of Cheshire West Trading Standards in January 2022 after a complain- ant sought advice from the Citizen’s Advice Service. Trading Standards were notified of the complaint and a subsequent search on the Citizen’s Advice database found further complainants who had all suf- fered the same fate, of paying for work that was never done. Judge Patrick Thompson said Fox was ‘completely heartless and selfish’, adding what he did was ‘cruel, leaving his victims hanging’. Speaking after the court case, Christine Warner, the council’s cabi- net member for homes, planning and safer communities, said: “Our Trading Standards Officers work hard to pro- tect residents in Cheshire West and Chester from this type of fraudulent business activity. “Rogue traders like this face custo- dial sentences and hefty fines or com- pensation orders. Please report anyone you think may be a ‘cowboy’ trades- person, so they can be swiftly brought to justice.” THE man tasked with preparing North- ern for autumn says the train operator is ready to tackle the “big problem” of fallen leaves on the line. In his 10th autumn with the company, seasonal performance improvement manager Rob Cummings has worked hard to mini- mise disruption for cus- tomers and ensure they can reach their destina- tions safely. He said: “Leaves on the line is a serious safety and performance issue for the railway. You have a steel wheel on a steel rail and anything that causes low adhesion can be a big problem.” Known as the black ice of the railways, the leaves are compressed in wet weather and they form a thin, slippery layer on the rail which can cause trains to slide. Drivers must pull away more slowly and brake earlier for stations and signals to make sure they stop in time. This can lead to longer jour- ney times and delays. Nor thern, which operates services across Cheshire and Greater Manchster, has spent nine months prepar- ing for the autumn and completed the roll-out of additional equipment on its fleet of trains in the summer. Northern works closely with Network Rail, which runs railhead treatment trains along the lines six days a week to blast leaf mulch off the tracks and apply a gel – containing a mix of sand and steel grains – to help services run smoothly. CHESHIREPolice has revealed plans to sell-off three former stations in a move that will save the force more than £100,000 a year in costs. The force has launched a consultation in relation to the proposed sales and says that all the money saved as a result will be reinvested into front-line policing. In a statement Cheshire Police said: “The proposals come as part of the force’s current estates strategy, which aims to ensure that Cheshire has fit-for-pur- pose facilities which are required to deliver effective operational policing.” The three buildings the force is proposing to sell are on Queen Street, Middlewich, Collingham Way in Winsford and Dane Bank Road in Lymm. A force spokesperson said: “The buildings have no public helpdesks and are not used as working stations, meaning that the proposals will not have any impact on local policing. “Officers will continue to host their community meetings at the local bases in the three towns.” It is estimated that that the proposals will save approximately £109,000 a year in maintenance and utilities costs. The spokesperson said: “I would like to reassure residents that these proposals will have no impact on day-to-day policing in our local communities. “Over the past 30 years, the way that we police has changed greatly, and the buildings we are looking to sell are no longer fit for purpose. “None of the buildings are currently used as working stations, meaning that their sale will have no impact on response times for officers attending incidents. “The buildings do not have public helpdesks, and whileWinsford andMiddlewich do have contact points outside the premises, these are used very rarely, with most residents now preferring to report incidents online or via telephone. “We believe that the sale of the three buildings will save over £100,000 per year, which I am sure the majority of residents will agree will be better spent on front-line policing.” A chapter lasting 50 years WINSFORD Library has marked its 50th birth- day with a celebration event a look back at its own story and a series of activities. The library first opened to the public in August 1974, with the official opening ceremony tak- ing place on October 30. To celebrate the mile- stone, the library held a celebratory coffee morning on that date with guests able to play their part in marking the anniversary. Activities on the day included a special collec- tion of photographs and other materials show- casing the history of the library and the story of its construction, pro- vided with permission of Cheshire Archives and Local Studies. Younger visitors were encouraged to decorate their own library key and design a book bag and everyone was able to share their stories from the library and add to a book of memories. Flashback: Winsford Library in the 1970s (Photo credit: Cheshire Archives and Local Studies) Jail for rogue trader Leaf it to Rob Prepared: Rob Cummings The train operator has also fitted its trains with the latest technology to minimise disruption. Rob said: “Winter and summer are a bit unpre- dictable in the UK but you know that for two months of the year – in October and November – autumn will bring fallen leaves. “There have been some improvements over the years and we’ve got better at dealing with fallen leaves, especially since we introduced our new fleet of trains with modern technology that helps reduce the impact of low adhesion. “But I’ve not been in this position before where we have new equipment and technol- ogy that can be used across the network.” Northern is the second largest train operator in the UK, with 2,500 ser- vices a day to more than 500 stations across the North of England. FLYING HIGH! Police look to sell former stations Airport joins 30 million club Milestone: Airport numbers are on the rise helping the airport reach the passenger milestone. More than 30.1 mil- lion people flew into or out of Manchester between the end of Sep- tember 2023 and the end of September this year. The airport set records in each individ- ual month Managing director Chris Woodroofe said: “We’re proud to connect the North to the world – whether that’s for hol- idays, to see family and friends or for business. “Breaking through the 30m passenger barrier tells us we are giving people across the region great access to the places they want to travel to. It cements our position as the UK’s global gateway in the North – the biggest airport outside London – and means we are rubbing shoulders with some of the best-known airports across Europe and the world.” He added: “Hitting this milestone comes at a really exciting time, with our transformation programme set to be fully complete next year. “It means we’ll be wel- coming passengers to an airport that rivals any in major capitals around Europe in its all-around look and feel, service, facilities and the desti- nations it serves. “ I ’m p r oud o f eve r y t h i ng we ’ ve achieved in the last 12 months. We’ve had our busiest year yet but at the same time over 98 per cent of our passengers waited less than 15 minutes to get to security.”