S I T TI BI

COMITUM

SANCTA COMORS

Registered at the Post Office as a Newspaper Est. 1893

INCORPORATED WITH THE CONGLETON AND MACCLESFIELD MERCURY

THURSDAY, 18th FEBRUARY, 2010.

Price 55p

INSIDE: OUR COMPREHENSIVE PROPERTY GUIDE FEATURING LOCAL ESTATE AGENTS

Congleton shunned

Cannabis farm raid Readers' Views Pages 22-25 Page 56

Page 29

What’s on... What’s gone...

Pages 19-21

Frisbee worl record bid

Page 11

Poison pen letters taunt ‘Beartown’ brand leader By Chris Young

School enjoys a perfect vision of community life

The woman leading the “Beartown” campaign to rebrand Congleton has become the victim of a malicious letter writer.

Entrepreneur Dawn Gibbins received venomous letters at her business remises and the writer even tried to attack her via the “Chronicle”.

The evil-minded person forged stationery headed with Miss Gibbins’s “Barefoot Living” company livery and wrote a letter to this newspaper that appeared to have been signed by her.

Letters sent to Miss Gibbins’s flooring company, based at Bosley, made personal attacks on her character.

The letter to the “Chronicle”, dated 4th February, immediately raised our suspicion.

It was full of embarrassing self-praise, with “Ms Gibbins” claiming to be Congleton’s

“shining star, its guiding light” with a “heavenly vision” of how to make Congleton beautiful.

The letter writer also threatened to hack into her company’s database but Ms Gibbins said no such attempt had been made.

• —Turn to back page.

Firm quitting town after 25 years because there is no room to expand

Art attack! Andrea Georgiou had a brush with still life during community cohesion week at Smallwood School. Groups from throughout the neighbouring community descended on the rural primary school to present a series of hands-on workshops. For the full story and more pictures, turn to pages 12. (“Chronicle” photo. 711e/10).

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A firm is pulling out of Congleton as Radnor Park Industrial Estate no longer meets its needs.

PennWhite has been trading in the town for 25 years but will move to new premises at Middlewich in April, taking its 17 workers with it.

Its decision is being reported in the same week that concerns were raised about the threat of Congleton being bypassed in efforts to bring new companies to east Cheshire.

PennWhite owner John Whitehead said the company, specialising in the sale and development of silicone products, would begin the move in April to new premises at Midpoint, Aston Way, Middlewich.

He said the existing building just isn’t big enough adding: “There’s nothing suitable in Congleton. I’m sad to go, half the staff live in Congleton but they support the move. It’s a pity that Congleton didn’t develop Radnor Park — it was considered but they opted not to. It’s dilapidated and for us, we need a building twice the size and twice the height.”

In what could be another jobs blow workers at the Congleton branches of Ethel Austin and Au Naturale face redundancy.

The discount clothes shop on High Street and the Au Naturale homeware store on Congleton Retail Park, Barn Road, will close in four to six weeks if a buyer is not found for the sister companies, which have gone into administration.

No option The Congleton stores are two of 129 branches across the country that have failed to make enough money, leaving joint administrators MCR no option but to initiate closing down sales.

Geoff Bouchier, partner at MCR, said: “All stores are to enter into a sale campaign while we continue to seek a purchaser for the companies’ businesses.”

MCR have also confirmed that all unpaid wages owing at the date of the administration will be paid in full.

• —Turn to back page.

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