Telford Journal

50 new jobs as Dunelm moves

Phil Gillam — Thu, 10 May 2012 13:21:40 +0000

NATIONAL TEXTILE business Dunelm Mill this week announced 50 new jobs for Telford after store bosses revealed they were moving out of Wellington.
(more…)

Crowds at fundraiser could mean venue change

Phil Gillam — Thu, 10 May 2012 13:19:56 +0000

A Wellington pub may have to change the venue for its annual fundraiser after 2,000 people turned up to make this year’s event a huge success.
Edward Lowe, landlord of the Plough Inn, said £12,500 had been raised so far for Help for Heroes but he hopes the total will hit £14,000 by the time all the sponsorship money has been collected.
It is the third year that the pub has organised the fundraiser to help wounded soldiers.
Mr Lowe said with so many people going along this time they may have to find another, bigger venue next year.
He said: “We are shattered, but will now start planning next year’s event as it takes about 12 months.”
The fun got under way at 7am on Sunday when more than 40 people headed up The Wrekin.
And one of the highlights was a visit by Corporal Ricky Furgusson, who received the military cross.
Mr Lowe said: “It was an amazing day. I am very happy with how it went. I could not have wished for better.
“RMP Security and Trevor Mead have been absolutely fantastic throughout. They supplied staff on the day, ran a disco roadshow, made popcorn and supplied a bouncy castle.”

Ambulance stations to be sold off as part of shake-up

Phil Gillam — Thu, 10 May 2012 13:18:39 +0000

Two ambulance stations in Shropshire are to be sold off as part of a shake-up of the service costing £7 million.
(more…)

Bucks captain one of six let go

Phil Gillam — Thu, 10 May 2012 13:16:41 +0000

AFC TELFORD United have started the re-building job for next season with boss Andy Sinton releasing six players including captain Shane Killock.
(more…)

Crash driver’s rescue thanks

Phil Gillam — Thu, 03 May 2012 15:09:16 +0000

The driver of a car which overturned in a terrifying accident on the M54 this week has thanked the people who came to his rescue.
Telford man Robert Powell, 56, said he thought he was going to die when his car hit a puddle and aquaplaned across all three lanes of the motorway before skidding up the embankment and flipping over.
“The car hit a puddle in the fast lane and just aquaplaned,” he said. “You think you’ re doing to die.
“Afterwards the first thing you think is ‘am I whole, am I intact?’. You check your legs are still there and working, and your arms and your neck and back.
“Your next reaction is ‘is the car going to catch fire?’ because I was stuck.”
Mr Powell, from Gough Close, Priorslee, said he doesn’t remember much of what happened next, but one clear memory is of a man who came and talked to him while he was waiting for the emergency services to arrive.
“Someone from the general public had stopped and came and opened the passenger door and talked to me and asked how I was and just chatted until the ambulance arrived,” he said.
“He was in his 30s or early 40s I think, but when you’re upside down it’s difficult to tell. I think he said he was an off-duty nurse. He’d seen the accident and stopped to help.
“I think he was so brave really. I’m so grateful that he took the time to stop. He didn’t know what he was going to find. If you look at the photos of the car it’s horrendous. He couldn’t have known what he was going to see so I think he was extremely brave.
“I would like to thank him and I called the Highways Agency to see if they could give me his name, but they couldn’t because of data protection.
“I just want to thank him and hope that other people would do the same in a similar situation.”
Mr Powell and his wife Celia, 47, are now looking for a new car, and Mr Powell said he already has an idea what he would like.
“I’ve got two black eyes and a bruised nose and extremely bad bruising but I’m so glad to be alive,” he said.
“It’s because the new cars are so safe now.”
“The old car was a Ford Fiesta, just three years old. I’m certainly thinking about getting another one.”

Plans to close nursery scrapped after outcry

Phil Gillam — Thu, 03 May 2012 15:07:52 +0000

Controversial plans to close a nursery in Telford have been scrapped following a huge public outcry.
Telford & Wrekin Council had proposed to shut the Carpenter Family Centre, in Overdale, but it will now continue to care for youngsters aged under two.
A Telford & Wrekin Council spokesman, said: “Since considering the original proposals and listening to the parents we have decided that we will continue to provide 0-2 children care provision at the Carpenter Centre – this will not be moving to Newdale and will secure an extra three posts.
“As a co-operative council we believe that all consultation findings should help to form our decisions.
“The original proposal was altered to take on board the feedback from parents who are affected.
“They said that it was good news that their views had been listened to and acted on and hoped that the new childcare provision would flourish and be flexible enough to cater for any increase in demand for childcare places in the future.
“The parents also asked that consideration be given to risk assessing any changes in traffic flow and parking around the Carpenter Centre and school sites.”
The council carried out a 90-day consultation and parents had been so concerned about the loss of nursery provision for children under two that they launched a petition, gathering about 200 signatures.
Parents had rallied against the proposed closure saying that there was a lack of high quality, affordable childcare in the area.
They claimed the proposals would impact on part-time working mothers, forcing them to reconsider if they could afford to work.
Jason Dudley, of Buildwas, speaking of behalf of the parents, said: “The parents I spoke to have expressed that the reason they chose this service was its high quality childcare and affordability in comparison to private day nurseries.
“Parents have told me that closure of this service would impact on their ability to continue working.
“There was therefore a real concern about the lack of choice regarding childcare provision.”

Emergency shelter opening for homeless

Phil Gillam — Thu, 03 May 2012 15:06:28 +0000

A new emergency night shelter is being opened to combat the increasing number of people sleeping rough in Telford.
The number of homeless people in the borough soared by 55 per cent last year, according to the organisers of the Salvation Army KiP (Kip-in-Place) Project, based in Wellington. And the figures have continued to rise during the first three months of 2012.
But project workers are now able to refer people aged 26-65 to The Night Inn – emergency accommodation run by local community enterprise Maninplace.
The Night Inn is able to offer six beds, but there are now hopes that more funding will come in to allow it to provide accommodation for more people.
Alan Olver, from Maninplace, said: ”Having delivered the severe weather provision for rough sleepers in Telford & Wrekin for five years, during some of the coldest nights of the year, we were conscious of the ongoing need for nightly emergency accommodation.
“We have opened the Night Inn for the older age group and are aware of the lack of provision for young homeless people with the closure of Wesley House in Oakengates, but there is a commitment from partner organisations to work to see a provision brought into being for young people.”
Steve Watkins, lead worker at the KiP project, said: “The numbers of people coming through our door declaring themselves as homeless continued to rise through January, February and March.
“In total we had 61 individuals register for homelessness, asking for help in finding accommodation. That is 11 more than the same period a year ago.”
Of the people who asked the project for help in the first three months of the year, almost 45 per cent were sleeping rough and couldn’t find anywhere under a roof.

Bucks’ away army deserved more

Phil Gillam — Thu, 03 May 2012 15:02:19 +0000

AFC Telford United can boast the 10th highest travelling fanbase and ninth overall in the Blue Square Premier – despite operating on one of the lowest budgets in the league.
But the 76 hardy souls who made the 450-mile round trip to watch the season’s curtain call at Gateshead might as well have stayed at home.
It would have saved them time, money and effort – and the final of those three is the least you should expect from the players you have travelled to watch.
On Saturday there just was not enough of that on show from Andy Sinton’s men.
Only Chris Sharp, Jon Brown and Ryan Young came out with pass marks and the Bucks would have lost by more than 3-0 had it not been for Young’s heroics.
The goalkeeper was called into action as early as the sixth minute, when he made a fantastic save low down to his right to claw Paul Turnbull’s shot onto the post.
It took another half-hour before the hosts threatened again but Sharp showed great desire to charge back and make a challenge for the Bucks, as Josh Gillies looked to pull the trigger.
Soon after, Ryan Brooke and Gateshead’s top scorer Jon Shaw were both booked for an off-the-ball confrontation.
But it was the hosts’ other striker, Liam Hatch, who was causing all of the problems and he put the home side in front less than two minutes into the second-half.
Gateshead left-back Sam Rents was given the freedom of the right flank before laying the ball off to Shaw, who lofted a cross in that Hatch nodded past Young with with ease from seven yards out.
Suddenly, Ian Bogie’s side seemed to have the bit between their teeth and Hatch turned provider for the hosts’ second five minutes later.
The bulky striker effortlessly peeled away from Chris Blackburn and Dan Preston and cushioned down Rents’ cross for Gillies to sweep home.
Sinton threw on Kyle Perry and Steve Jones in an attempt to change the game, but it was still Gateshead who looked the more threatening of the two sides and they made the game safe with 20 minutes remaining.
It was a calamity of errors at the back as Blackburn volleyed the ball into Preston, knocking him flat onto the ground.
That left the already under-pressure Bucks defence a man short and Hatch, once mor,e rose highest to cushion another header down into the path of the on-rushing Kris Gate, who lashed it home to make it 3-0.
It was no more than the hosts deserve, and Sinton now has a lot of thinking to do as he plots how to reshape his squad this summer.
On the evidence of this game, it is going to be a long, hard summer for the Bucks boss.

Thousands to join Queen’s big party

Phil Gillam — Fri, 27 Apr 2012 11:13:19 +0000

THOUSANDS of Telford people, including hundreds of children, will be joining the Queen at the county’s massive summer celebration of the Diamond Jubilee.
(more…)

Early bird price cut to thank football fans

Phil Gillam — Fri, 27 Apr 2012 11:12:18 +0000

AFC Telford United has launched a cut-price ‘early bird’ season ticket offer as a thank you to fans who roared them to safety.
(more…)