Hale Park Rebuild Commences

It was announced at a recent Friends of Hale Park meeting, that the rebuilding and improvements to Hale Park are now due to start immanently, the first job and tasks are to cut down and fell, previously marked up trees in the parkland, these trees that have been marked up-have been inspected by a tree specialist! One of the major areas to be started, is the play area behind the Childe of Hale Pub-Bowling Green, this is expected to be completed first by the end of March 2009. The park as a whole, will be completed by July 2009.
Leaflets advising locals about the works in the park will be distributed soon and also placed in the shops in the village. Other areas to find out what is going on are the Friends Of Hale Park notice board by the park entrance on the right and also their website www.friendsofhalepark.org.uk

The Friends of Hale Park will keep Hale Village uptodate during the current rebuild of the park, if you have any concerns please contact the Chairman or Secretary of the group on 0151 425 2991.

Save Hale Village Hall

Hale Village Hall is in need of serious rebuilding, if nothing happens,, then Hale may not have a village Hall!? So many groups in the village use the hall each day, from the Coffee shop, Arts Class to Keep Fit. Without the hall, these groups would not exists and function. So many people from the village gain valuable comfort from the hall in many ways.

At a recent Village Hall Committee meeting, the Chairman, Mr Tony Collins explained how things are progressing. Several months ago, the roof on the village hall was completely refurbished, this was in-light of recommendations required to attract new and further funding. Without a secure roof,, no funding was being attracted! Mr Collins quoted a total sum of around £150.000 need to totally refurbish the hall, for which all of this money will or may come from future bids and grants to various funds, from such as the Area Panel, Lottery or WREN. Recently joined the village hall committee in their efforts to improve the hall,, is a guy called Chris from Halton Voluntary Action. Chris brought along a draft questionnaire he had made and presented it to the committee, all agreed it would serve the purpose of public consultation in the village once several items had been amended and the real draft drawn up for circulation.

Other areas of funding where to be identified, so that the committee can put forward bids for partucularly items of work needed to be done, or particular items need for the hall to function as a whole!
The meeting concluded on a positive note,, along with the committee, officially adopting Young-Chris from HVA to help them out

Landscaping Improvements By Ivy Farm Court

Some minor landscaping improvements are being made, to the area in front of Ivy Farm Court Shops by the landscaping team from Halton Borough Council. The shrubs and bushes that are along the rear garden walls of the Poco homes are being removed and the area is to be grassed for ease of future maintenance.

Villagers passing to and from the shops, will have noticed several Halton Borough Council workers removing bushes and leveling the ground. The ground where the bushes have been, next to the wall, will be re-seeded with grass.

Bizarre Inc

A rather bizarre Parish meeting unfolded on Monday night-17th November, where on the agenda, they got up to “Sub Committee Reports” (I thought, here we go, a bit like the feeling of anticipation just before you commit yourself for punishment on the Cork Screw ride at Alton Towers!?),were a melee of dialog from several Councilors came forth about the proposed Peace Tree. This meeting was so bizarre and off the wall,, Neil the Hippy,, out of the Young Ones couldn’t have dreamt it while high on drugs (allegedly).

Around 2 hours was spent on the subject of a “Peace Tree” proposed by the Carnival Committee, for locating on the village green in the center of the village.

At first,, Cllr Price was allowed to get a few things off her chest that had wound her up, at a previous meeting of the War Memorial Sub Committee- this was followed by Cllr Mitchell giving her account/report and recommendations as Chairperson of the War Memorial Sub Committee (from the War Memorial Sub Committee Meeting of 10th November).. During her report,, she seemed to be hung in suspended animation for some time regarding “invalid” content on the village website,, did she not read the disclaimer’s with the Peace Tree item, apparently not!? She claimed the poll about a Peace Tree on the village website was invalid (it was an experiment as stated in the disclaimer),, along with the comments on the village website blog coming from outsiders!? . Although the same issue was raised at a previous War Memorial Sub Committee meeting by a Hale British Legion member who wanted comments removed from the blog which were posted by people outside the village,, I got the feeling it was childishly being used as an excuse or indirect bullying, as the request was not directed at me personally at either meeting (for some odd reason), I gave no reply and left the comments on the blog in respect of each persons right for free-speech and free-thinking where-ever they are from! I also thought, that as it has been mentioned twice-once at each meeting,, I would not be bullied or “told what to do, by people who have lived in the village for 5 minutes and think they own it”( that’s an old yocal local village bylaw I thinks-so I decided to exercise it!?)

Following Cllr Mitchell, came Cllr Travaskis (now this guy was good, I’ll give him his due!?) who, without prior warning,, turned the meeting into a revealing situation regarding the alleged number of Hale British Legion members, on the Parish Council’s-War Memorial Sub Committee of which he is a member (I don’t think this lad is daft,, he has is eyes peeled and his ears open!?).

Cllr Travaskis (I noticed at this point however that he was so wound up and a bag of nerves,, his leg under the desk he was sitting at was up and down like the rods on the flying Scotsmans wheels),,, launched a well researched and prepared challenge on the Parish Council regarding the following subjects/items:

*Alleged webmail activity of people trying to get each other to vote “no” on the village website (evidence was produced of an email doing the rounds he had received and presented it to the Council)..

*Comments on the village website blog coming from outsiders giving their opinions..
*The chairman of the Hale Legion and some Hale Legion members allegedly may be outsiders,who giving their opinions at the recent Sub Committee meeting about the Peace Tree, when they don’t live in the village?…
*Village Greens and Common Land from DEFRA etc etc.
*Alleged string pulling and manipulation of his (and others) intelligence and characatchure by others!?

A number of other items where also brought up,, but due to the unforeseen melee that was unfolding,, I actually lost interest in writing things down and just listened with amusement as Cllr Travaskis went forth with his crusade..
It was interesting to learn that the Chairperson of Hale Legion isn’t from the village, (I actually thought he came from the Curlender Estate?),, yet members of the Legion objected to outsiders commenting on the village website. I then thought,, isn’t it nice that outsiders show an interest about what goes on in the village!?

This part of the meeting was so bizarre,, not even a mind bending drug could have made one hilunciate it (not that I take mind bending drugs that is).

I could hear Carol Parrys pen going ten to the dozen (as she was sat behind me – while I sweated it out next to the rather hot radiator on the front row), so at some stage, if she didn’t run out of ink and paper,, I may have to ask her what she got wrote down and compare notes, or ask which person who was there, has a good memory?

During this item on the agenda,, as described above,, the Chairperson of the Parish Council allowed members of the public to talk and give their views..

In the end,, although most people on the council were in favour of the Peace Tree, it was decided not to plant a root-ball tree type this year, however, it was suggested and decided,, to try a pot-bound version for an experiment, while investigations about the underground utilities and legal traffic issues are looked in to further!

As time was pressing on and Cllr Travaskis needed a drink (scotch I think), the rest of the meeting was swiftly completed by 10.30pm.

The next Parish meeting was announced as Monday 15th December at 7.30pm (can’t wait!?)

William
Website owner

Amended 19/11/08

War Memorial Sub Committee Meeting

At Octobers Parish Council Meeting Mr Platt, Chairman of Hale Carnival Committee,,  presented a proposal on behalf of the Carnival Committee, to site a “Peace Tree” on the village green were the War Memorial is.

Peace Tree Proposal

This lead, to a War Memorial Committee meeting being called to discuss and consider the proposal, the meeting was held on Monday 10th November at 7.30pm in the Childe of Hale Public House, upstairs in the meetings room!

Numerous villagers attended the meeting, including representatives such as Mr Peter Platt (Chairman of Hale Carnival Committee) and Mr Bill Sargent (Chairman of Hale British Legion), along with several other members of the Parish Council-including the Chairperson Mrs Alison Jones.

The meeting was chaired by Mrs Bernie Mitchell, the Chairperson of the War Memorial Sub Committee, accompanied by Mrs Marie Fisher and Mr Luke Trevaskis who are members of the sub committe and Hale Parish Council!

Mrs Mitchell opened the meeting and thanked everyone for attending, followed by reading out an apologie from Cllr Evelyn Hudson (member of the War Memorial Sub Committee),, who could not attend the meeting.  Mrs Mitchell and the sub committee members then each read out in turn, a pre-prepared statement of their views/opinions about the proposed Peace Tree, which included some historical fact (already presented at the previous Parish meeting by Mr Platt), along with numerous technicalities about the ground and utilities that “may” be in the the area or located in and around the green – it was unsure were these were located!  Also mentioned,, was the suggestion of potential damage to “any” underground utilities caused by rootball growth that “may” be sited in the immediate proximetry of the green.  Additional concern was given to the potential siting of a tree which may cause a visual hazard to traffic flow approaching the green (no reference was made however, to the two tall Cordiline Palms which had stood on the green for 4 years, obscuring Town Lane-looking East towards Ivy Farm from in front of the small iron gates on the Village Green).  The Memorial Committee suggested that further investigation regarding both these matters will be sought.   

The Chairman then invited those who wished to comment and express their views/opinions about the proposed Peace Tree to show their intent to do so.  Once those who wished to do so, had lodged their names, the Chair then invited each person in turn to speak. 

During this part of the meeting, both Mr Peter Platt representing Hale Carnival Committee as the proposer of the Peace Tree,, and Mr Bill Sargent representing Hale British Legion for the those who were against the Peace Tree, where invited to speak!  Members of the public who had lodged their names and indicated they also wished to speak,, where aloud to do so.

Near the end of the meeting, a brief and lively discussion took place of views, opinions and some historical facts/happenings that surround the Village Green over the last few decades, this discussion was dignified with everyone speaking clearly and orderly.

The outcome of the meeting or recommendations to be made, will be presented to the Parish Council by the War Memorial Sub Committee, at the next Hale Parish Council meeting, which will be on Monday November 17th in Hale Village Hall at 7.30pm.