FIFTY YEARS AGO THIS WEEK 16 - 22 DECEMBER 1974
This week's many stories include the Fleet Lane garage that disappeared while improvement work was taking place, Father Christmas takes to the St Helens' streets, St Helens Angling Association's campaign against plans for a leisure complex at Carr Mill Dam, the St Helens Library Service plans a new mobile library, the high levels of air pollution and St Helens Hospital's League of Friends opens their new shop.
The St Helens and District Round Table Christmas Show was the new name for what had become an annual tradition. It involved Father Christmas being taken around some of the town's streets doling out sweets to children and local communities participating in carol singing.
On the 16th the Round Table visited both the Islands Brow estate and Dentons Green. Then on the 18th it was turn of Eccleston, followed by Bleak Hill and Windle on the 19th. The Table were also making collections with the proceeds going towards food parcels for senior citizens.
In August a London-based company submitted an outline planning application to build a £1 million leisure complex on part of Carr Mill Dam. The application included plans for 150-bed hotel, conference centre, casino, club, cinema, swimming pool, sauna and a boating centre. It was the second large private scheme proposed for Carr Mill in three years with the first having fallen through despite receiving planning permission.
On the 18th the St Helens Angling Association held an emergency meeting to discuss the proposals and they decided to instigate a full-scale campaign of protest. Over the following few days thousands of Christmas shoppers in St Helens town centre would be asked to sign a petition and campaigners would also be going door-to-door on housing estates. The group said they saw the proposed development as a direct threat to the survival of their association and the freedom of the St Helens public.
At the meeting the association's former chairman, Derek Critchley, said: "This Council is one of the most backward in the country. Anglers have stood back for years and watched them walk all over us. The time has come when we should buck the system." And their assistant secretary, Frank Burgess, declared: "This is not just a fight for angling. It is a fight to keep open the dam for the people of St. Helens – schoolboys, pensioners and families."
The St Helens Trades Council had their support and was distributing 5,000 "Hands off the dam" car stickers. They had already collected over 1,000 signatures and were sending campaign posters to factories and clubs. However, the chairman of the company behind the project felt that there had been a lot of misunderstanding over their plans.
Joseph Fleming said: "We would improve banks and landscape it and improve the fishing. We are not trying to make a lot of money out of fishing and we have no intention of stopping it." And he stressed that there would be no interference with public access to the water.
What to do about Leathers Chemicals was certainly in a state of flux. Last week's Planning Committee meeting had decided not to close down the controversial sulphuric acid factory – but only by one vote. At the full council meeting on the 18th the councillors decided to veto that decision and order another planning meeting to consider the future of the Sutton plant. One reason was they felt there had been insufficient time to study a detailed and complicated report by council officers on the factory.
Also on the 18th the official opening of St Helens Hospital's new shop took place. The premises had been provided by the hospital's League of Friends and replaced the trolley service that they had started in 1959. The intention was that the current 30-strong volunteer trolley ladies would now run the shop.
Lord Pilkington was President of the League and he handed over a cheque for £1,750 to Frank Mellor, chairman of the St Helens and Knowsley Area Health Authority. £1,000 of the donation would go towards the cost of providing a four-channel radio service for patients using a bedside headset system.
On the 19th the Liverpool Echo described how a Liverpool University research student called Rod Bevan had reported high levels of sulphur dioxide in the atmosphere in what was described as the industrial centre of St Helens and parts of Prescot. The air pollution also extended to other parts of Merseyside, including Seaforth, Anfield, Tuebrook, Old Swan and the Dingle.
Mr Bevan had spent two years conducting a house-to-house search throughout St Helens, Liverpool, part of Wirral and Southport. A close examination of asbestos garage roofs and a study of sycamore leaves had enabled him to build up a map of pollution.
The St Helens Reporter described on the 20th how council officers were working on ideas to brighten up the town. They were proposing that St Helens be entered in next year's Britain In Bloom competition. Proposals being considered included tidying up the approaches to the town and writing to tenants to encourage them to clean up their gardens and to plant flowers. Firms would also be encouraged to do the same with judging set to take place in the Spring and Summer of 1975. The Reporter's headline to their article was "After A Better Blooming Image".
There had been a number of council modernisation schemes that had taken place in which the tenants had needed to move out while the work was done. When some returned they complained that the workmen had caused damage to their homes, with vandals having caused other problems. But when Leslie and Phyllis Thomason had moved back to their Fleet Lane home after its modernisation they found that their 16-foot long timber garage had disappeared. Fencing, paving stones and half their front garden had also gone.
Mrs Thomason told the Reporter: "Everything was intact when we left but when we returned we could hardly recognise the place. What was once a very nice garden is now an utter mess with all the workmen tramping around on it and at the side of the house is a long strip of concrete – the remnants of our garage." The latter had seemingly suffered a combination of vandalism and theft while the Thomasons had been away.
Some months ago the Council had agreed a policy for damage to vacant homes that were being improved. That was not to accept responsibility for what had occurred during their tenants' absences but to make a 50% "gratuitous" offer of payment for all losses and damage, with the tenant expected to claim the rest through any insurance that they might possess. And so that's what the Thomasons were told they could expect.
The Reporter also described how the St Helens Library Service planned to take to the road in 1975. Councillors had agreed on a plan to take books to readers but only in places where they might have difficulty getting to a library. And so they planned to buy a vehicle that would serve as a mobile library and carry 2,500 to 3,000 books.
It was intended to serve people living in places in Crank, Garswood and parts of Newton. Some places that had been part of the old Lancashire County Council – such as Bold, Clock Face and Rainford Junction – were still covered by a mobile service and would be integrated into the new arrangements.
In March when workmen had arrived in Harrison Street in Sutton to continue working on a sewer, they found their digger blocked off by a car. It had been deliberately parked at the spot to prevent the men from excavating a 20 ft deep trench. The protest was part of local people's campaign to stop the sewer from passing through their road because they believed the construction work was damaging their homes.
This week the Reporter described how the Harrison Street residents were still unhappy, claiming their houses were unstable because their road was sinking. They claimed walls were buckling, doors would not open or close, steps were coming away from walls and the pavement had shattered. The residents also said they dreaded rainy days because puddles on the uneven road surfaces and within potholes created drenching waterspouts when large vehicles passed through them.
"The road just floods," said resident John Jackson, "and the lorries and coaches shake the houses." In response the council claimed that the problems with the homes were caused by previous mining subsidence unrelated to the work on the sewer and that the standing water was through the present unevenness of the road. That, they said, would shortly be addressed.
Pictured in the Reporter were some members of Cowley Boys School who had raised more than £120 for Save the Children when the school held a two-hour concert at St Helens Town Hall.
In 1970 the Reporter launched their new column for kids, which dispensed with the uncle or auntie handle and targeted youngsters from 4 to 11. It was called 'The Snoopy Club' but had nothing to do with the pet beagle of Charlie Brown – instead Snoopy was a glove puppet penguin who could type! This week Snoopy wrote:
"Hello Children – At last Christmas has almost arrived! This year it seems to have arrived faster than ever before. I hope that you each get at least one of the presents which you specially hope for; but don't be too disappointed if you don't get everything. Have a very happy Christmas, and don't eat too much plum pudding! SNOOPY"
Snoopy was also offering three sets of Plasticraft as prizes in a competition, writing: "Plasticraft is a fasinating [sic], scientific hobby, using cold-setting liquid plastic to make a variety of jewellery, ornaments and other articles which will last for years. It is ideal for preserving treasured mementoes, as you con embed these in the clear plastic. If Mummy still has one of your baby teeth this could feature in the centre of a key-ring!"
At the ABC Savoy from the 21st and throughout most of Christmas week, Walt Disney's 'Robin Hood' was screened and the Capitol Cinema was showing 'Paint Your Wagon'. However, both cinemas would be closed on Christmas Eve and Christmas Day.
Christmas events seemed few and far between this year but on the 21st 600 people packed the Town Hall to hear and sing along to St Helens Choral Society's carol concert. The Reporter described the evening as "memorable and delightful" and the singing by the audience earned a round of applause from the choir itself. And Parr Darby and Joan Club's Christmas party was declared an outstanding success. A turkey tea was followed by a concert, which included a performance by the Cobblers Row folk group.
St Helens Reporter courtesy St Helens Archive Service at Eccleston Library
Next Week's stories will include the Eccleston girl who left home to find Gary Glitter, a dramatic drop in car sales leads to short time at Triplex, the Reporter's New Year's Day baby contest and why Tom O’Connor had been in Rainhill inspecting women's legs.
The St Helens and District Round Table Christmas Show was the new name for what had become an annual tradition. It involved Father Christmas being taken around some of the town's streets doling out sweets to children and local communities participating in carol singing.
On the 16th the Round Table visited both the Islands Brow estate and Dentons Green. Then on the 18th it was turn of Eccleston, followed by Bleak Hill and Windle on the 19th. The Table were also making collections with the proceeds going towards food parcels for senior citizens.
On the 18th the St Helens Angling Association held an emergency meeting to discuss the proposals and they decided to instigate a full-scale campaign of protest. Over the following few days thousands of Christmas shoppers in St Helens town centre would be asked to sign a petition and campaigners would also be going door-to-door on housing estates. The group said they saw the proposed development as a direct threat to the survival of their association and the freedom of the St Helens public.
At the meeting the association's former chairman, Derek Critchley, said: "This Council is one of the most backward in the country. Anglers have stood back for years and watched them walk all over us. The time has come when we should buck the system." And their assistant secretary, Frank Burgess, declared: "This is not just a fight for angling. It is a fight to keep open the dam for the people of St. Helens – schoolboys, pensioners and families."
The St Helens Trades Council had their support and was distributing 5,000 "Hands off the dam" car stickers. They had already collected over 1,000 signatures and were sending campaign posters to factories and clubs. However, the chairman of the company behind the project felt that there had been a lot of misunderstanding over their plans.
Joseph Fleming said: "We would improve banks and landscape it and improve the fishing. We are not trying to make a lot of money out of fishing and we have no intention of stopping it." And he stressed that there would be no interference with public access to the water.
What to do about Leathers Chemicals was certainly in a state of flux. Last week's Planning Committee meeting had decided not to close down the controversial sulphuric acid factory – but only by one vote. At the full council meeting on the 18th the councillors decided to veto that decision and order another planning meeting to consider the future of the Sutton plant. One reason was they felt there had been insufficient time to study a detailed and complicated report by council officers on the factory.
Also on the 18th the official opening of St Helens Hospital's new shop took place. The premises had been provided by the hospital's League of Friends and replaced the trolley service that they had started in 1959. The intention was that the current 30-strong volunteer trolley ladies would now run the shop.
Lord Pilkington was President of the League and he handed over a cheque for £1,750 to Frank Mellor, chairman of the St Helens and Knowsley Area Health Authority. £1,000 of the donation would go towards the cost of providing a four-channel radio service for patients using a bedside headset system.
On the 19th the Liverpool Echo described how a Liverpool University research student called Rod Bevan had reported high levels of sulphur dioxide in the atmosphere in what was described as the industrial centre of St Helens and parts of Prescot. The air pollution also extended to other parts of Merseyside, including Seaforth, Anfield, Tuebrook, Old Swan and the Dingle.
Mr Bevan had spent two years conducting a house-to-house search throughout St Helens, Liverpool, part of Wirral and Southport. A close examination of asbestos garage roofs and a study of sycamore leaves had enabled him to build up a map of pollution.
The St Helens Reporter described on the 20th how council officers were working on ideas to brighten up the town. They were proposing that St Helens be entered in next year's Britain In Bloom competition. Proposals being considered included tidying up the approaches to the town and writing to tenants to encourage them to clean up their gardens and to plant flowers. Firms would also be encouraged to do the same with judging set to take place in the Spring and Summer of 1975. The Reporter's headline to their article was "After A Better Blooming Image".
There had been a number of council modernisation schemes that had taken place in which the tenants had needed to move out while the work was done. When some returned they complained that the workmen had caused damage to their homes, with vandals having caused other problems. But when Leslie and Phyllis Thomason had moved back to their Fleet Lane home after its modernisation they found that their 16-foot long timber garage had disappeared. Fencing, paving stones and half their front garden had also gone.
Mrs Thomason told the Reporter: "Everything was intact when we left but when we returned we could hardly recognise the place. What was once a very nice garden is now an utter mess with all the workmen tramping around on it and at the side of the house is a long strip of concrete – the remnants of our garage." The latter had seemingly suffered a combination of vandalism and theft while the Thomasons had been away.
Some months ago the Council had agreed a policy for damage to vacant homes that were being improved. That was not to accept responsibility for what had occurred during their tenants' absences but to make a 50% "gratuitous" offer of payment for all losses and damage, with the tenant expected to claim the rest through any insurance that they might possess. And so that's what the Thomasons were told they could expect.
The Reporter also described how the St Helens Library Service planned to take to the road in 1975. Councillors had agreed on a plan to take books to readers but only in places where they might have difficulty getting to a library. And so they planned to buy a vehicle that would serve as a mobile library and carry 2,500 to 3,000 books.
It was intended to serve people living in places in Crank, Garswood and parts of Newton. Some places that had been part of the old Lancashire County Council – such as Bold, Clock Face and Rainford Junction – were still covered by a mobile service and would be integrated into the new arrangements.
In March when workmen had arrived in Harrison Street in Sutton to continue working on a sewer, they found their digger blocked off by a car. It had been deliberately parked at the spot to prevent the men from excavating a 20 ft deep trench. The protest was part of local people's campaign to stop the sewer from passing through their road because they believed the construction work was damaging their homes.
This week the Reporter described how the Harrison Street residents were still unhappy, claiming their houses were unstable because their road was sinking. They claimed walls were buckling, doors would not open or close, steps were coming away from walls and the pavement had shattered. The residents also said they dreaded rainy days because puddles on the uneven road surfaces and within potholes created drenching waterspouts when large vehicles passed through them.
"The road just floods," said resident John Jackson, "and the lorries and coaches shake the houses." In response the council claimed that the problems with the homes were caused by previous mining subsidence unrelated to the work on the sewer and that the standing water was through the present unevenness of the road. That, they said, would shortly be addressed.
Pictured in the Reporter were some members of Cowley Boys School who had raised more than £120 for Save the Children when the school held a two-hour concert at St Helens Town Hall.
In 1970 the Reporter launched their new column for kids, which dispensed with the uncle or auntie handle and targeted youngsters from 4 to 11. It was called 'The Snoopy Club' but had nothing to do with the pet beagle of Charlie Brown – instead Snoopy was a glove puppet penguin who could type! This week Snoopy wrote:
"Hello Children – At last Christmas has almost arrived! This year it seems to have arrived faster than ever before. I hope that you each get at least one of the presents which you specially hope for; but don't be too disappointed if you don't get everything. Have a very happy Christmas, and don't eat too much plum pudding! SNOOPY"
Snoopy was also offering three sets of Plasticraft as prizes in a competition, writing: "Plasticraft is a fasinating [sic], scientific hobby, using cold-setting liquid plastic to make a variety of jewellery, ornaments and other articles which will last for years. It is ideal for preserving treasured mementoes, as you con embed these in the clear plastic. If Mummy still has one of your baby teeth this could feature in the centre of a key-ring!"
At the ABC Savoy from the 21st and throughout most of Christmas week, Walt Disney's 'Robin Hood' was screened and the Capitol Cinema was showing 'Paint Your Wagon'. However, both cinemas would be closed on Christmas Eve and Christmas Day.
Christmas events seemed few and far between this year but on the 21st 600 people packed the Town Hall to hear and sing along to St Helens Choral Society's carol concert. The Reporter described the evening as "memorable and delightful" and the singing by the audience earned a round of applause from the choir itself. And Parr Darby and Joan Club's Christmas party was declared an outstanding success. A turkey tea was followed by a concert, which included a performance by the Cobblers Row folk group.
St Helens Reporter courtesy St Helens Archive Service at Eccleston Library
Next Week's stories will include the Eccleston girl who left home to find Gary Glitter, a dramatic drop in car sales leads to short time at Triplex, the Reporter's New Year's Day baby contest and why Tom O’Connor had been in Rainhill inspecting women's legs.
This week's many stories include the Fleet Lane garage that disappeared while improvement work was taking place, Father Christmas takes to the St Helens' streets, St Helens Angling Association's campaign against plans for a leisure complex at Carr Mill Dam, the St Helens Library Service plans a new mobile library, the high levels of air pollution and St Helens Hospital's League of Friends opens their new shop.
The St Helens and District Round Table Christmas Show was the new name for what had become an annual tradition.
It involved Father Christmas being taken around some of the town's streets doling out sweets to children and local communities participating in carol singing.
On the 16th the Round Table visited both the Islands Brow estate and Dentons Green.
Then on the 18th it was turn of Eccleston, followed by Bleak Hill and Windle on the 19th.
The Table were also making collections with the proceeds going towards food parcels for senior citizens.
In August a London-based company submitted an outline planning application to build a £1 million leisure complex on part of Carr Mill Dam.
The application included plans for 150-bed hotel, conference centre, casino, club, cinema, swimming pool, sauna and a boating centre.
It was the second large private scheme proposed for Carr Mill in three years with the first having fallen through despite receiving planning permission.
On the 18th the St Helens Angling Association held an emergency meeting to discuss the proposals and they decided to instigate a full-scale campaign of protest.
Over the following few days thousands of Christmas shoppers in St Helens town centre would be asked to sign a petition and campaigners would also be going door-to-door on housing estates.
The group said they saw the proposed development as a direct threat to the survival of their association and the freedom of the St Helens public.
At the meeting the association's former chairman, Derek Critchley, said: "This Council is one of the most backward in the country. Anglers have stood back for years and watched them walk all over us. The time has come when we should buck the system."
And their assistant secretary, Frank Burgess, declared: "This is not just a fight for angling. It is a fight to keep open the dam for the people of St. Helens – schoolboys, pensioners and families."
The St Helens Trades Council had their support and was distributing 5,000 "Hands off the dam" car stickers.
They had already collected over 1,000 signatures and were sending campaign posters to factories and clubs.
However, the chairman of the company behind the project felt that there had been a lot of misunderstanding over their plans.
Joseph Fleming said: "We would improve banks and landscape it and improve the fishing. We are not trying to make a lot of money out of fishing and we have no intention of stopping it."
And he stressed that there would be no interference with public access to the water.
What to do about Leathers Chemicals was certainly in a state of flux.
Last week's Planning Committee meeting had decided not to close down the controversial sulphuric acid factory – but only by one vote.
At the full council meeting on the 18th the councillors decided to veto that decision and order another planning meeting to consider the future of the Sutton plant.
One reason was they felt there had been insufficient time to study a detailed and complicated report by council officers on the factory.
Also on the 18th the official opening of St Helens Hospital's new shop took place.
The premises had been provided by the hospital's League of Friends and replaced the trolley service that they had started in 1959.
The intention was that the current 30-strong volunteer trolley ladies would now run the shop.
Lord Pilkington was President of the League and he handed over a cheque for £1,750 to Frank Mellor, chairman of the St Helens and Knowsley Area Health Authority.
£1,000 of the donation would go towards the cost of providing a four-channel radio service for patients using a bedside headset system.
On the 19th the Liverpool Echo described how a Liverpool University research student called Rod Bevan had reported high levels of sulphur dioxide in the atmosphere in what was described as the industrial centre of St Helens and parts of Prescot.
The air pollution also extended to other parts of Merseyside, including Seaforth, Anfield, Tuebrook, Old Swan and the Dingle.
Mr Bevan had spent two years conducting a house-to-house search throughout St Helens, Liverpool, part of Wirral and Southport.
A close examination of asbestos garage roofs and a study of sycamore leaves had enabled him to build up a map of pollution.
The St Helens Reporter described on the 20th how council officers were working on ideas to brighten up the town.
They were proposing that St Helens be entered in next year's Britain In Bloom competition.
Proposals being considered included tidying up the approaches to the town and writing to tenants to encourage them to clean up their gardens and to plant flowers.
Firms would also be encouraged to do the same with judging set to take place in the Spring and Summer of 1975.
The Reporter's headline to their article was "After A Better Blooming Image".
There had been a number of council modernisation schemes that had taken place in which the tenants had needed to move out while the work was done.
When some returned they complained that the workmen had caused damage to their homes, with vandals having caused other problems.
But when Leslie and Phyllis Thomason had moved back to their Fleet Lane home after its modernisation they found that their 16-foot long timber garage had disappeared. Fencing, paving stones and half their front garden had also gone.
Mrs Thomason told the Reporter: "Everything was intact when we left but when we returned we could hardly recognise the place.
"What was once a very nice garden is now an utter mess with all the workmen tramping around on it and at the side of the house is a long strip of concrete – the remnants of our garage."
The latter had seemingly suffered a combination of vandalism and theft while the Thomasons had been away.
Some months ago the Council had agreed a policy for damage to vacant homes that were being improved.
That was not to accept responsibility for what had occurred during their tenants' absences but to make a 50% "gratuitous" offer of payment for all losses and damage, with the tenant expected to claim the rest through any insurance that they might possess.
And so that's what the Thomasons were told they could expect.
The Reporter also described how the St Helens Library Service planned to take to the road in 1975.
Councillors had agreed on a plan to take books to readers but only in places where they might have difficulty getting to a library.
And so they planned to buy a vehicle that would serve as a mobile library and carry 2,500 to 3,000 books.
It was intended to serve people living in places in Crank, Garswood and parts of Newton.
Some places that had been part of the old Lancashire County Council – such as Bold, Clock Face and Rainford Junction – were still covered by a mobile service and would be integrated into the new arrangements.
In March when workmen had arrived in Harrison Street in Sutton to continue working on a sewer, they found their digger blocked off by a car.
It had been deliberately parked at the spot to prevent the men from excavating a 20 ft deep trench.
The protest was part of local people's campaign to stop the sewer from passing through their road because they believed the construction work was damaging their homes.
This week the Reporter described how the Harrison Street residents were still unhappy, claiming their houses were unstable because their road was sinking.
They claimed walls were buckling, doors would not open or close, steps were coming away from walls and the pavement had shattered.
The residents also said they dreaded rainy days because puddles on the uneven road surfaces and within potholes created drenching waterspouts when large vehicles passed through them.
"The road just floods," said resident John Jackson, "and the lorries and coaches shake the houses."
In response the council claimed that the problems with the homes were caused by previous mining subsidence unrelated to the work on the sewer and that the standing water was through the present unevenness of the road. That, they said, would shortly be addressed.
Pictured in the Reporter were some members of Cowley Boys School who had raised more than £120 for Save the Children when the school held a two-hour concert at St Helens Town Hall.
In 1970 the Reporter launched their new column for kids, which dispensed with the uncle or auntie handle and targeted youngsters from 4 to 11.
It was called 'The Snoopy Club' but had nothing to do with the pet beagle of Charlie Brown – instead Snoopy was a glove puppet penguin who could type! This week Snoopy wrote:
"Hello Children – At last Christmas has almost arrived! This year it seems to have arrived faster than ever before.
"I hope that you each get at least one of the presents which you specially hope for; but don't be too disappointed if you don't get everything. Have a very happy Christmas, and don't eat too much plum pudding! SNOOPY"
Snoopy was also offering three sets of Plasticraft as prizes in a competition, writing:
"Plasticraft is a fasinating [sic], scientific hobby, using cold-setting liquid plastic to make a variety of jewellery, ornaments and other articles which will last for years.
"It is ideal for preserving treasured mementoes, as you con embed these in the clear plastic. If Mummy still has one of your baby teeth this could feature in the centre of a key-ring!"
At the ABC Savoy from the 21st and throughout most of Christmas week, Walt Disney's 'Robin Hood' was screened and the Capitol Cinema was showing 'Paint Your Wagon'.
However, both cinemas would be closed on Christmas Eve and Christmas Day.
Christmas events seemed few and far between this year but on the 21st 600 people packed the Town Hall to hear and sing along to St Helens Choral Society's carol concert.
The Reporter described the evening as "memorable and delightful" and the singing by the audience earned a round of applause from the choir itself.
And Parr Darby and Joan Club's Christmas party was declared an outstanding success. A turkey tea was followed by a concert, which included a performance by the Cobblers Row folk group.
St Helens Reporter courtesy St Helens Archive Service at Eccleston Library
Next Week's stories will include the Eccleston girl who left home to find Gary Glitter, a dramatic drop in car sales leads to short time at Triplex, the Reporter's New Year's Day baby contest and why Tom O’Connor was in Rainhill inspecting women's legs.
The St Helens and District Round Table Christmas Show was the new name for what had become an annual tradition.
It involved Father Christmas being taken around some of the town's streets doling out sweets to children and local communities participating in carol singing.
On the 16th the Round Table visited both the Islands Brow estate and Dentons Green.
Then on the 18th it was turn of Eccleston, followed by Bleak Hill and Windle on the 19th.
The Table were also making collections with the proceeds going towards food parcels for senior citizens.
The application included plans for 150-bed hotel, conference centre, casino, club, cinema, swimming pool, sauna and a boating centre.
It was the second large private scheme proposed for Carr Mill in three years with the first having fallen through despite receiving planning permission.
On the 18th the St Helens Angling Association held an emergency meeting to discuss the proposals and they decided to instigate a full-scale campaign of protest.
Over the following few days thousands of Christmas shoppers in St Helens town centre would be asked to sign a petition and campaigners would also be going door-to-door on housing estates.
The group said they saw the proposed development as a direct threat to the survival of their association and the freedom of the St Helens public.
At the meeting the association's former chairman, Derek Critchley, said: "This Council is one of the most backward in the country. Anglers have stood back for years and watched them walk all over us. The time has come when we should buck the system."
And their assistant secretary, Frank Burgess, declared: "This is not just a fight for angling. It is a fight to keep open the dam for the people of St. Helens – schoolboys, pensioners and families."
The St Helens Trades Council had their support and was distributing 5,000 "Hands off the dam" car stickers.
They had already collected over 1,000 signatures and were sending campaign posters to factories and clubs.
However, the chairman of the company behind the project felt that there had been a lot of misunderstanding over their plans.
Joseph Fleming said: "We would improve banks and landscape it and improve the fishing. We are not trying to make a lot of money out of fishing and we have no intention of stopping it."
And he stressed that there would be no interference with public access to the water.
What to do about Leathers Chemicals was certainly in a state of flux.
Last week's Planning Committee meeting had decided not to close down the controversial sulphuric acid factory – but only by one vote.
At the full council meeting on the 18th the councillors decided to veto that decision and order another planning meeting to consider the future of the Sutton plant.
One reason was they felt there had been insufficient time to study a detailed and complicated report by council officers on the factory.
Also on the 18th the official opening of St Helens Hospital's new shop took place.
The premises had been provided by the hospital's League of Friends and replaced the trolley service that they had started in 1959.
The intention was that the current 30-strong volunteer trolley ladies would now run the shop.
Lord Pilkington was President of the League and he handed over a cheque for £1,750 to Frank Mellor, chairman of the St Helens and Knowsley Area Health Authority.
£1,000 of the donation would go towards the cost of providing a four-channel radio service for patients using a bedside headset system.
On the 19th the Liverpool Echo described how a Liverpool University research student called Rod Bevan had reported high levels of sulphur dioxide in the atmosphere in what was described as the industrial centre of St Helens and parts of Prescot.
The air pollution also extended to other parts of Merseyside, including Seaforth, Anfield, Tuebrook, Old Swan and the Dingle.
Mr Bevan had spent two years conducting a house-to-house search throughout St Helens, Liverpool, part of Wirral and Southport.
A close examination of asbestos garage roofs and a study of sycamore leaves had enabled him to build up a map of pollution.
The St Helens Reporter described on the 20th how council officers were working on ideas to brighten up the town.
They were proposing that St Helens be entered in next year's Britain In Bloom competition.
Proposals being considered included tidying up the approaches to the town and writing to tenants to encourage them to clean up their gardens and to plant flowers.
Firms would also be encouraged to do the same with judging set to take place in the Spring and Summer of 1975.
The Reporter's headline to their article was "After A Better Blooming Image".
There had been a number of council modernisation schemes that had taken place in which the tenants had needed to move out while the work was done.
When some returned they complained that the workmen had caused damage to their homes, with vandals having caused other problems.
But when Leslie and Phyllis Thomason had moved back to their Fleet Lane home after its modernisation they found that their 16-foot long timber garage had disappeared. Fencing, paving stones and half their front garden had also gone.
Mrs Thomason told the Reporter: "Everything was intact when we left but when we returned we could hardly recognise the place.
"What was once a very nice garden is now an utter mess with all the workmen tramping around on it and at the side of the house is a long strip of concrete – the remnants of our garage."
The latter had seemingly suffered a combination of vandalism and theft while the Thomasons had been away.
Some months ago the Council had agreed a policy for damage to vacant homes that were being improved.
That was not to accept responsibility for what had occurred during their tenants' absences but to make a 50% "gratuitous" offer of payment for all losses and damage, with the tenant expected to claim the rest through any insurance that they might possess.
And so that's what the Thomasons were told they could expect.
The Reporter also described how the St Helens Library Service planned to take to the road in 1975.
Councillors had agreed on a plan to take books to readers but only in places where they might have difficulty getting to a library.
And so they planned to buy a vehicle that would serve as a mobile library and carry 2,500 to 3,000 books.
It was intended to serve people living in places in Crank, Garswood and parts of Newton.
Some places that had been part of the old Lancashire County Council – such as Bold, Clock Face and Rainford Junction – were still covered by a mobile service and would be integrated into the new arrangements.
In March when workmen had arrived in Harrison Street in Sutton to continue working on a sewer, they found their digger blocked off by a car.
It had been deliberately parked at the spot to prevent the men from excavating a 20 ft deep trench.
The protest was part of local people's campaign to stop the sewer from passing through their road because they believed the construction work was damaging their homes.
This week the Reporter described how the Harrison Street residents were still unhappy, claiming their houses were unstable because their road was sinking.
They claimed walls were buckling, doors would not open or close, steps were coming away from walls and the pavement had shattered.
The residents also said they dreaded rainy days because puddles on the uneven road surfaces and within potholes created drenching waterspouts when large vehicles passed through them.
"The road just floods," said resident John Jackson, "and the lorries and coaches shake the houses."
In response the council claimed that the problems with the homes were caused by previous mining subsidence unrelated to the work on the sewer and that the standing water was through the present unevenness of the road. That, they said, would shortly be addressed.
Pictured in the Reporter were some members of Cowley Boys School who had raised more than £120 for Save the Children when the school held a two-hour concert at St Helens Town Hall.
In 1970 the Reporter launched their new column for kids, which dispensed with the uncle or auntie handle and targeted youngsters from 4 to 11.
It was called 'The Snoopy Club' but had nothing to do with the pet beagle of Charlie Brown – instead Snoopy was a glove puppet penguin who could type! This week Snoopy wrote:
"Hello Children – At last Christmas has almost arrived! This year it seems to have arrived faster than ever before.
"I hope that you each get at least one of the presents which you specially hope for; but don't be too disappointed if you don't get everything. Have a very happy Christmas, and don't eat too much plum pudding! SNOOPY"
Snoopy was also offering three sets of Plasticraft as prizes in a competition, writing:
"Plasticraft is a fasinating [sic], scientific hobby, using cold-setting liquid plastic to make a variety of jewellery, ornaments and other articles which will last for years.
"It is ideal for preserving treasured mementoes, as you con embed these in the clear plastic. If Mummy still has one of your baby teeth this could feature in the centre of a key-ring!"
However, both cinemas would be closed on Christmas Eve and Christmas Day.
Christmas events seemed few and far between this year but on the 21st 600 people packed the Town Hall to hear and sing along to St Helens Choral Society's carol concert.
The Reporter described the evening as "memorable and delightful" and the singing by the audience earned a round of applause from the choir itself.
And Parr Darby and Joan Club's Christmas party was declared an outstanding success. A turkey tea was followed by a concert, which included a performance by the Cobblers Row folk group.
St Helens Reporter courtesy St Helens Archive Service at Eccleston Library
Next Week's stories will include the Eccleston girl who left home to find Gary Glitter, a dramatic drop in car sales leads to short time at Triplex, the Reporter's New Year's Day baby contest and why Tom O’Connor was in Rainhill inspecting women's legs.