FIFTY YEARS AGO THIS WEEK (13th - 19th MARCH 1973)
This week's many stories include the proposal to shut down Leathers Chemicals in Sutton, Saints' players social club snub, the high rate of sickness amongst St Helens binmen, it's a man's world in the Reporter and the end of the line for the historic Clock Face railway bridge.
We begin with an animal cruelty case in which St Helens magistrates heard how an RSPCA inspector had been forced to pass food through the letterbox of a Clock Face house in order to feed a dog. The owners of the animal pleaded guilty to abandoning it in circumstances likely to cause unnecessary suffering. However, they explained that they had gone away for five days but had left what they considered to be sufficient food behind. Both were fined £5 and banned from keeping a dog for five years.
It was a much harder job, of course, being a bin man in the days before wheelie bins and automated emptying. And so it's hardly surprising that levels of absenteeism and sickness were high. On the 14th Cleansing Superintendent Len Cundy told the council's Works Committee that 25 of his department's 94 dustmen were presently off work. "There just doesn't seem to be any let-up to it at the moment", Mr Cundy said. However, he dismissed as "nonsense" complaints from some Nutgrove residents that they had only had their bins emptied twice since Christmas. But he admitted that the town's 17 collecting teams were a total of 21 "emptying days" behind schedule. Refuse vehicles breaking down had caused further delays.
The hospital ancillary workers dispute was continuing and on the 16th twelve wards at Whiston Hospital had to be closed – as were three wards at St Helens Hospital – because of a laundry workers strike.
The Reporter's lead story on the 16th was that Cllr. John Potter would attempt to close down Leathers Chemicals at the next full meeting of the council. The sulphuric acid plant in Lancots Lane had become notorious for its gas leaks and last week a woman had to be treated in hospital after a bad discharge of fumes. The council had originally granted planning permission for the building of the works on the understanding that pollution from the adjacent British Sidac plant would be reduced.
And although many people had called for Leathers to be closed, that would mean many jobs being lost. It was also claimed that the council would have to pay the firm heavy compensation. However, Cllr. Potter told the Reporter that he did not believe that would be the case: "We've got powers to order it to be closed and there have been a lot of statements made. Now I'm demanding action. I shall argue that it should not cost us anything in the way of compensation because we were misled when planning application was granted. Pollution has increased."
Separately, the council's Planning Committee had earlier in the week served an Enforcement Notice on Leathers after last week's incident. However, its chairman, Ald. Harold Rimmer, admitted that the powers of the order were limited: "All the Enforcement Notice can do is give them six weeks to get it put right." Consequently, Leathers had temporarily closed down while changes were made.
In another hard-hitting front-page editorial, the Reporter backed John Potter in his campaign to close Leathers, writing: "The facts are simple, if you cut through the red tape. People living in densely-populated Sutton and Parr are constantly at risk because the sulphuric acid plant apparently cannot be made 100 per cent safe. The Planning Committee decision on Tuesday to give Leathers six weeks to put matters right is another example of too little, too late.
"Wake up councillors and aldermen! Be fair to the people who elected you to power, who put their trust in you. The plant is a menace, in the literal sense of the word. So close it. Let's not wait until some child or bronchitis pensioner dies from a lungful of deadly gas. Let's not wait until innocent passers-by are dissolved after a tanker accident in Marshalls Cross Road. And don't let us count the cost in money terms. Pay Leathers whatever compensation is necessary and count, instead, the human benefits."
The Reporter described how Saints players were complaining about not being invited to the official opening of the new social club at their Knowsley Road ground. The event would be taking place on March 31st with Lord Pilkington opening the new facility that had cost £100,000 – around £1½ million in today's money. Two hundred local dignitaries, including the Mayor, and rugby league officials would be attending – but the players themselves had not been invited.
Forward John Mantle explained how he had tried to obtain six tickets before Christmas for himself, his wife and family. He said he had expected to have to pay but was told there was no room, telling the Reporter: "Directors were coming in and asking for 20 tickets – and I bet we'll never see half of those people at the club again." Another member of the team said: "It's absolutely incredible that [Saints] players should be invited free to the opening of Warrington's new club, and we're not even invited to the opening of our own." The club responded that the team captain and his wife had been invited but they had been unable to include other players because of limited space.
The Reporter also described how the 19th century railway bridge in Clock Face Road would soon be demolished. The bridge had been built in the 1830s and only had one lane controlled by traffic signals. St Helens Corporation had decided to spend about £120,000 on replacing the bridge with a modern structure that would accommodate two through traffic lanes, along with an additional lane for traffic that turned left into Gartons Lane. Work would start in June and would be expected to take nine months to complete.
"It's A Man's World" was the headline to a Reporter advertising feature on DIY and cars. The advertisers included: Laithwaite & Son, College Street ("Flags in standard sizes and colours, fencing materials, garden gates, etc."); Haydock Tyre & Battery Service, Clipsley Lane, Haydock ("Beat V.A.T. Buy now and save on tyres, brake relines, batteries, wheel alignment and balancing"); Jack Case Ltd, Ram Pit Yard, Haydock ("Plant hire specialists") and S. H. Bush, Knowley Road ("Builders' merchants").
On the motoring side Forward Autos of Gaskell Street were offering "the fabulous" Fiat 127 "voted car of the year in 1972" from £910. And GBE of Knowsley Road was selling the Vauxhall Transcontinental ES Model, a car featuring the latest gadget: "Electric Screenwash – Cleans screen instantly, automatically, at the touch of a button", which was priced from £1,365.77. I wonder what the 77p was for!
"The Price of Strikes – 216 Homes" was the headline to an article in the Reporter describing the effect of industrial action on council house building in the town. St Helens Corporation had set a target of 381 houses to be completed during the financial year 1972 to ‘73. But so far only 165 homes had been finished. And the Borough Engineer had told the council’s Housing Committee that unless the current gas dispute was quickly settled, no more homes would be ready for occupation by their deadline of March 31st. Mr James added that the building strike in 1972 had been a bad blow to their house-building programme.
Cllr. Charles Martin claimed at the meeting that immediate remedial work was required on 128 houses on the new Beth Avenue estate in Sutton (as depicted in the Reporter above). He explained that the roofs in the unusually designed homes were so steep that the gutters could not cope with the water that ran off them in wet weather. Cllr. Martin said:
"Water is running down and there is mildew forming on the walls, particularly on gable-end houses. If nothing is done this will eventually come through and these houses will cause us a lot of maintenance problems." Later Councillor Martin explained that 600 homes would eventually be built on the site and he felt it was important to do something about the problem now while only 128 needed repairs. The Borough Engineer said he would investigate the issue.
It was reported on the 17th that thieves had overnight entered the Fine Fare Supermarket in Warrington Road in Rainhill and stolen a safe containing £330. And finally, on the following day there was a change of programme at the town's two cinemas. The Capitol began a week's screening of 'Carry On Abroad' and the ABC Savoy started showing Charles Bronson and Burt Reynolds in 'The Mechanic'.
St Helens Reporter courtesy St Helens Archive Service at Eccleston Library
Next week's stories will include the orgy of window smashing in Peter Street, the Rainford milkman's daffodil give-away, JJB Sports comes to Sutton, there's a tragic accident in Ashcroft Street and Stuart Hall judges a beauty contest.
We begin with an animal cruelty case in which St Helens magistrates heard how an RSPCA inspector had been forced to pass food through the letterbox of a Clock Face house in order to feed a dog. The owners of the animal pleaded guilty to abandoning it in circumstances likely to cause unnecessary suffering. However, they explained that they had gone away for five days but had left what they considered to be sufficient food behind. Both were fined £5 and banned from keeping a dog for five years.
It was a much harder job, of course, being a bin man in the days before wheelie bins and automated emptying. And so it's hardly surprising that levels of absenteeism and sickness were high. On the 14th Cleansing Superintendent Len Cundy told the council's Works Committee that 25 of his department's 94 dustmen were presently off work. "There just doesn't seem to be any let-up to it at the moment", Mr Cundy said. However, he dismissed as "nonsense" complaints from some Nutgrove residents that they had only had their bins emptied twice since Christmas. But he admitted that the town's 17 collecting teams were a total of 21 "emptying days" behind schedule. Refuse vehicles breaking down had caused further delays.
The hospital ancillary workers dispute was continuing and on the 16th twelve wards at Whiston Hospital had to be closed – as were three wards at St Helens Hospital – because of a laundry workers strike.
The Reporter's lead story on the 16th was that Cllr. John Potter would attempt to close down Leathers Chemicals at the next full meeting of the council. The sulphuric acid plant in Lancots Lane had become notorious for its gas leaks and last week a woman had to be treated in hospital after a bad discharge of fumes. The council had originally granted planning permission for the building of the works on the understanding that pollution from the adjacent British Sidac plant would be reduced.
And although many people had called for Leathers to be closed, that would mean many jobs being lost. It was also claimed that the council would have to pay the firm heavy compensation. However, Cllr. Potter told the Reporter that he did not believe that would be the case: "We've got powers to order it to be closed and there have been a lot of statements made. Now I'm demanding action. I shall argue that it should not cost us anything in the way of compensation because we were misled when planning application was granted. Pollution has increased."
Separately, the council's Planning Committee had earlier in the week served an Enforcement Notice on Leathers after last week's incident. However, its chairman, Ald. Harold Rimmer, admitted that the powers of the order were limited: "All the Enforcement Notice can do is give them six weeks to get it put right." Consequently, Leathers had temporarily closed down while changes were made.
In another hard-hitting front-page editorial, the Reporter backed John Potter in his campaign to close Leathers, writing: "The facts are simple, if you cut through the red tape. People living in densely-populated Sutton and Parr are constantly at risk because the sulphuric acid plant apparently cannot be made 100 per cent safe. The Planning Committee decision on Tuesday to give Leathers six weeks to put matters right is another example of too little, too late.
"Wake up councillors and aldermen! Be fair to the people who elected you to power, who put their trust in you. The plant is a menace, in the literal sense of the word. So close it. Let's not wait until some child or bronchitis pensioner dies from a lungful of deadly gas. Let's not wait until innocent passers-by are dissolved after a tanker accident in Marshalls Cross Road. And don't let us count the cost in money terms. Pay Leathers whatever compensation is necessary and count, instead, the human benefits."
The Reporter described how Saints players were complaining about not being invited to the official opening of the new social club at their Knowsley Road ground. The event would be taking place on March 31st with Lord Pilkington opening the new facility that had cost £100,000 – around £1½ million in today's money. Two hundred local dignitaries, including the Mayor, and rugby league officials would be attending – but the players themselves had not been invited.
Forward John Mantle explained how he had tried to obtain six tickets before Christmas for himself, his wife and family. He said he had expected to have to pay but was told there was no room, telling the Reporter: "Directors were coming in and asking for 20 tickets – and I bet we'll never see half of those people at the club again." Another member of the team said: "It's absolutely incredible that [Saints] players should be invited free to the opening of Warrington's new club, and we're not even invited to the opening of our own." The club responded that the team captain and his wife had been invited but they had been unable to include other players because of limited space.
The Reporter also described how the 19th century railway bridge in Clock Face Road would soon be demolished. The bridge had been built in the 1830s and only had one lane controlled by traffic signals. St Helens Corporation had decided to spend about £120,000 on replacing the bridge with a modern structure that would accommodate two through traffic lanes, along with an additional lane for traffic that turned left into Gartons Lane. Work would start in June and would be expected to take nine months to complete.
"It's A Man's World" was the headline to a Reporter advertising feature on DIY and cars. The advertisers included: Laithwaite & Son, College Street ("Flags in standard sizes and colours, fencing materials, garden gates, etc."); Haydock Tyre & Battery Service, Clipsley Lane, Haydock ("Beat V.A.T. Buy now and save on tyres, brake relines, batteries, wheel alignment and balancing"); Jack Case Ltd, Ram Pit Yard, Haydock ("Plant hire specialists") and S. H. Bush, Knowley Road ("Builders' merchants").
On the motoring side Forward Autos of Gaskell Street were offering "the fabulous" Fiat 127 "voted car of the year in 1972" from £910. And GBE of Knowsley Road was selling the Vauxhall Transcontinental ES Model, a car featuring the latest gadget: "Electric Screenwash – Cleans screen instantly, automatically, at the touch of a button", which was priced from £1,365.77. I wonder what the 77p was for!
"The Price of Strikes – 216 Homes" was the headline to an article in the Reporter describing the effect of industrial action on council house building in the town. St Helens Corporation had set a target of 381 houses to be completed during the financial year 1972 to ‘73. But so far only 165 homes had been finished. And the Borough Engineer had told the council’s Housing Committee that unless the current gas dispute was quickly settled, no more homes would be ready for occupation by their deadline of March 31st. Mr James added that the building strike in 1972 had been a bad blow to their house-building programme.
"Water is running down and there is mildew forming on the walls, particularly on gable-end houses. If nothing is done this will eventually come through and these houses will cause us a lot of maintenance problems." Later Councillor Martin explained that 600 homes would eventually be built on the site and he felt it was important to do something about the problem now while only 128 needed repairs. The Borough Engineer said he would investigate the issue.
It was reported on the 17th that thieves had overnight entered the Fine Fare Supermarket in Warrington Road in Rainhill and stolen a safe containing £330. And finally, on the following day there was a change of programme at the town's two cinemas. The Capitol began a week's screening of 'Carry On Abroad' and the ABC Savoy started showing Charles Bronson and Burt Reynolds in 'The Mechanic'.
St Helens Reporter courtesy St Helens Archive Service at Eccleston Library
Next week's stories will include the orgy of window smashing in Peter Street, the Rainford milkman's daffodil give-away, JJB Sports comes to Sutton, there's a tragic accident in Ashcroft Street and Stuart Hall judges a beauty contest.
This week's many stories include the proposal to shut down Leathers Chemicals in Sutton, Saints' players social club snub, the high rate of sickness amongst St Helens binmen, it's a man's world in the Reporter and the end of the line for the historic Clock Face railway bridge.
We begin with an animal cruelty case in which St Helens magistrates heard how an RSPCA inspector had been forced to pass food through the letterbox of a Clock Face house in order to feed a dog.
The owners of the animal pleaded guilty to abandoning it in circumstances likely to cause unnecessary suffering.
However, they explained that they had gone away for five days but had left what they considered to be sufficient food behind. Both were fined £5 and banned from keeping a dog for five years.
It was a much harder job, of course, being a bin man in the days before wheelie bins and automated emptying. And so it's hardly surprising that levels of absenteeism and sickness were high.
On the 14th Cleansing Superintendent Len Cundy told the council's Works Committee that 25 of his department's 94 dustmen were presently off work.
"There just doesn't seem to be any let-up to it at the moment", Mr Cundy said.
However, he dismissed as "nonsense" complaints from some Nutgrove residents that they had only had their bins emptied twice since Christmas.
But he admitted that the town's 17 collecting teams were a total of 21 "emptying days" behind schedule. Refuse vehicles breaking down had caused further delays.
The hospital ancillary workers dispute was continuing and on the 16th twelve wards at Whiston Hospital had to be closed – as were three wards at St Helens Hospital – because of a laundry workers strike.
The Reporter's lead story on the 16th was that Cllr. John Potter would attempt to close down Leathers Chemicals at the next full meeting of the council.
The sulphuric acid plant in Lancots Lane had become notorious for its gas leaks and last week a woman had to be treated in hospital after a bad discharge of fumes.
The council had originally granted planning permission for the building of the works on the understanding that pollution from the adjacent British Sidac plant would be reduced.
And although many people had called for Leathers to be closed, that would mean many jobs being lost. It was also claimed that the council would have to pay the firm heavy compensation.
However, Cllr. Potter told the Reporter that he did not believe that would be the case:
"We've got powers to order it to be closed and there have been a lot of statements made. Now I'm demanding action.
"I shall argue that it should not cost us anything in the way of compensation because we were misled when planning application was granted. Pollution has increased."
Separately, the council's Planning Committee had earlier in the week served an Enforcement Notice on Leathers after last week's incident.
However, its chairman, Ald. Harold Rimmer, admitted that the powers of the order were limited:
"All the Enforcement Notice can do is give them six weeks to get it put right." Consequently, Leathers had temporarily closed down while changes were made.
In another hard-hitting front-page editorial, the Reporter backed John Potter in his campaign to close Leathers, writing:
"The facts are simple, if you cut through the red tape. People living in densely-populated Sutton and Parr are constantly at risk because the sulphuric acid plant apparently cannot be made 100 per cent safe. The Planning Committee decision on Tuesday to give Leathers six weeks to put matters right is another example of too little, too late.
"Wake up councillors and aldermen! Be fair to the people who elected you to power, who put their trust in you. The plant is a menace, in the literal sense of the word. So close it.
"Let's not wait until some child or bronchitis pensioner dies from a lungful of deadly gas. Let's not wait until innocent passers-by are dissolved after a tanker accident in Marshalls Cross Road.
"And don't let us count the cost in money terms. Pay Leathers whatever compensation is necessary and count, instead, the human benefits."
The Reporter described how Saints players were complaining about not being invited to the official opening of the new social club at their Knowsley Road ground.
The event would be taking place on March 31st with Lord Pilkington opening the new facility that had cost £100,000 – around £1½ million in today's money.
Two hundred local dignitaries, including the Mayor, and rugby league officials would be attending – but the players themselves had not been invited.
Forward John Mantle explained how he had tried to obtain six tickets before Christmas for himself, his wife and family.
He said he had expected to have to pay but was told there was no room, telling the Reporter:
"Directors were coming in and asking for 20 tickets – and I bet we'll never see half of those people at the club again."
Another member of the team said: "It's absolutely incredible that [Saints] players should be invited free to the opening of Warrington's new club, and we're not even invited to the opening of our own."
The club responded that the team captain and his wife had been invited but they had been unable to include other players because of limited space.
The Reporter also described how the 19th century railway bridge in Clock Face Road would soon be demolished.
The bridge had been built in the 1830s and only had one lane controlled by traffic signals.
St Helens Corporation had decided to spend about £120,000 on replacing the bridge with a modern structure that would accommodate two through traffic lanes, along with an additional lane for traffic that turned left into Gartons Lane.
Work would start in June and would be expected to take nine months to complete.
"It's A Man's World" was the headline to a Reporter advertising feature on DIY and cars. The advertisers included:
Laithwaite & Son, College Street ("Flags in standard sizes and colours, fencing materials, garden gates, etc."); Haydock Tyre & Battery Service, Clipsley Lane, Haydock ("Beat V.A.T. Buy now and save on tyres, brake relines, batteries, wheel alignment and balancing"); Jack Case Ltd, Ram Pit Yard, Haydock ("Plant hire specialists") and S. H. Bush, Knowley Road ("Builders' merchants").
On the motoring side Forward Autos of Gaskell Street were offering "the fabulous" Fiat 127 "voted car of the year in 1972" from £910.
And GBE of Knowsley Road was selling the Vauxhall Transcontinental ES Model, a car featuring the latest gadget: "Electric Screenwash – Cleans screen instantly, automatically, at the touch of a button", which was priced from £1,365.77. I wonder what the 77p was for!
"The Price of Strikes – 216 Homes" was the headline to an article in the Reporter describing the effect of industrial action on council house building in the town.
St Helens Corporation had set a target of 381 houses to be completed during the financial year 1972 to ‘73. But so far only 165 homes had been finished.
And the Borough Engineer had told the council’s Housing Committee that unless the current gas dispute was quickly settled, no more homes would be ready for occupation by their deadline of March 31st.
Mr James added that the building strike in 1972 had been a bad blow to their house-building programme.
Cllr. Charles Martin claimed at the meeting that immediate remedial work was required on 128 houses on the new Beth Avenue estate in Sutton (as depicted in the Reporter above).
He explained that the roofs in the unusually designed homes were so steep that the gutters could not cope with the water that ran off them in wet weather. Cllr. Martin said:
"Water is running down and there is mildew forming on the walls, particularly on gable-end houses.
"If nothing is done this will eventually come through and these houses will cause us a lot of maintenance problems."
Later Councillor Martin explained that 600 homes would eventually be built on the site and he felt it was important to do something about the problem now while only 128 needed repairs. The Borough Engineer said he would investigate the issue.
It was reported on the 17th that thieves had overnight entered the Fine Fare Supermarket in Warrington Road in Rainhill and stolen a safe containing £330.
And finally, on the following day there was a change of programme at the town's two cinemas. The Capitol began a week's screening of 'Carry On Abroad' and the ABC Savoy started showing Charles Bronson and Burt Reynolds in 'The Mechanic'.
St Helens Reporter courtesy St Helens Archive Service at Eccleston Library
Next week's stories will include the orgy of window smashing in Peter Street, the Rainford milkman's daffodil give-away, JJB Sports comes to Sutton, there's a tragic accident in Ashcroft Street and Stuart Hall judges a beauty contest.
We begin with an animal cruelty case in which St Helens magistrates heard how an RSPCA inspector had been forced to pass food through the letterbox of a Clock Face house in order to feed a dog.
The owners of the animal pleaded guilty to abandoning it in circumstances likely to cause unnecessary suffering.
However, they explained that they had gone away for five days but had left what they considered to be sufficient food behind. Both were fined £5 and banned from keeping a dog for five years.
It was a much harder job, of course, being a bin man in the days before wheelie bins and automated emptying. And so it's hardly surprising that levels of absenteeism and sickness were high.
On the 14th Cleansing Superintendent Len Cundy told the council's Works Committee that 25 of his department's 94 dustmen were presently off work.
"There just doesn't seem to be any let-up to it at the moment", Mr Cundy said.
However, he dismissed as "nonsense" complaints from some Nutgrove residents that they had only had their bins emptied twice since Christmas.
But he admitted that the town's 17 collecting teams were a total of 21 "emptying days" behind schedule. Refuse vehicles breaking down had caused further delays.
The hospital ancillary workers dispute was continuing and on the 16th twelve wards at Whiston Hospital had to be closed – as were three wards at St Helens Hospital – because of a laundry workers strike.
The Reporter's lead story on the 16th was that Cllr. John Potter would attempt to close down Leathers Chemicals at the next full meeting of the council.
The sulphuric acid plant in Lancots Lane had become notorious for its gas leaks and last week a woman had to be treated in hospital after a bad discharge of fumes.
The council had originally granted planning permission for the building of the works on the understanding that pollution from the adjacent British Sidac plant would be reduced.
And although many people had called for Leathers to be closed, that would mean many jobs being lost. It was also claimed that the council would have to pay the firm heavy compensation.
However, Cllr. Potter told the Reporter that he did not believe that would be the case:
"We've got powers to order it to be closed and there have been a lot of statements made. Now I'm demanding action.
"I shall argue that it should not cost us anything in the way of compensation because we were misled when planning application was granted. Pollution has increased."
Separately, the council's Planning Committee had earlier in the week served an Enforcement Notice on Leathers after last week's incident.
However, its chairman, Ald. Harold Rimmer, admitted that the powers of the order were limited:
"All the Enforcement Notice can do is give them six weeks to get it put right." Consequently, Leathers had temporarily closed down while changes were made.
In another hard-hitting front-page editorial, the Reporter backed John Potter in his campaign to close Leathers, writing:
"The facts are simple, if you cut through the red tape. People living in densely-populated Sutton and Parr are constantly at risk because the sulphuric acid plant apparently cannot be made 100 per cent safe. The Planning Committee decision on Tuesday to give Leathers six weeks to put matters right is another example of too little, too late.
"Wake up councillors and aldermen! Be fair to the people who elected you to power, who put their trust in you. The plant is a menace, in the literal sense of the word. So close it.
"Let's not wait until some child or bronchitis pensioner dies from a lungful of deadly gas. Let's not wait until innocent passers-by are dissolved after a tanker accident in Marshalls Cross Road.
"And don't let us count the cost in money terms. Pay Leathers whatever compensation is necessary and count, instead, the human benefits."
The Reporter described how Saints players were complaining about not being invited to the official opening of the new social club at their Knowsley Road ground.
The event would be taking place on March 31st with Lord Pilkington opening the new facility that had cost £100,000 – around £1½ million in today's money.
Two hundred local dignitaries, including the Mayor, and rugby league officials would be attending – but the players themselves had not been invited.
Forward John Mantle explained how he had tried to obtain six tickets before Christmas for himself, his wife and family.
He said he had expected to have to pay but was told there was no room, telling the Reporter:
"Directors were coming in and asking for 20 tickets – and I bet we'll never see half of those people at the club again."
Another member of the team said: "It's absolutely incredible that [Saints] players should be invited free to the opening of Warrington's new club, and we're not even invited to the opening of our own."
The club responded that the team captain and his wife had been invited but they had been unable to include other players because of limited space.
The Reporter also described how the 19th century railway bridge in Clock Face Road would soon be demolished.
The bridge had been built in the 1830s and only had one lane controlled by traffic signals.
St Helens Corporation had decided to spend about £120,000 on replacing the bridge with a modern structure that would accommodate two through traffic lanes, along with an additional lane for traffic that turned left into Gartons Lane.
Work would start in June and would be expected to take nine months to complete.
"It's A Man's World" was the headline to a Reporter advertising feature on DIY and cars. The advertisers included:
Laithwaite & Son, College Street ("Flags in standard sizes and colours, fencing materials, garden gates, etc."); Haydock Tyre & Battery Service, Clipsley Lane, Haydock ("Beat V.A.T. Buy now and save on tyres, brake relines, batteries, wheel alignment and balancing"); Jack Case Ltd, Ram Pit Yard, Haydock ("Plant hire specialists") and S. H. Bush, Knowley Road ("Builders' merchants").
On the motoring side Forward Autos of Gaskell Street were offering "the fabulous" Fiat 127 "voted car of the year in 1972" from £910.
And GBE of Knowsley Road was selling the Vauxhall Transcontinental ES Model, a car featuring the latest gadget: "Electric Screenwash – Cleans screen instantly, automatically, at the touch of a button", which was priced from £1,365.77. I wonder what the 77p was for!
"The Price of Strikes – 216 Homes" was the headline to an article in the Reporter describing the effect of industrial action on council house building in the town.
St Helens Corporation had set a target of 381 houses to be completed during the financial year 1972 to ‘73. But so far only 165 homes had been finished.
And the Borough Engineer had told the council’s Housing Committee that unless the current gas dispute was quickly settled, no more homes would be ready for occupation by their deadline of March 31st.
Mr James added that the building strike in 1972 had been a bad blow to their house-building programme.
He explained that the roofs in the unusually designed homes were so steep that the gutters could not cope with the water that ran off them in wet weather. Cllr. Martin said:
"Water is running down and there is mildew forming on the walls, particularly on gable-end houses.
"If nothing is done this will eventually come through and these houses will cause us a lot of maintenance problems."
Later Councillor Martin explained that 600 homes would eventually be built on the site and he felt it was important to do something about the problem now while only 128 needed repairs. The Borough Engineer said he would investigate the issue.
It was reported on the 17th that thieves had overnight entered the Fine Fare Supermarket in Warrington Road in Rainhill and stolen a safe containing £330.
And finally, on the following day there was a change of programme at the town's two cinemas. The Capitol began a week's screening of 'Carry On Abroad' and the ABC Savoy started showing Charles Bronson and Burt Reynolds in 'The Mechanic'.
St Helens Reporter courtesy St Helens Archive Service at Eccleston Library
Next week's stories will include the orgy of window smashing in Peter Street, the Rainford milkman's daffodil give-away, JJB Sports comes to Sutton, there's a tragic accident in Ashcroft Street and Stuart Hall judges a beauty contest.