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Clock repairs back on the timetable at school
Reporter: JANICE BARKER
Date online: 15 March 2010
Time has stood still at Werneth Primary School for three years — but a new campaign aims to get the prominent public clock going again.
The clock, on a famous campanile-style tower at the Victorian Coppice Street school, is a local landmark.
The school began life as a board school in the 1890s, and famous past pupils from the area include composer Sir William Walton, and opera singer Dame Eva Turner.
Now another of the school’s old boys, Kamran Ghafoor, is spearheading the campaign to get the repairs done.
Mr Ghafoor, recently named as Oldham’s Tory parliamentary candidate in Oldham West and Royton, is asking the council to help and is starting a petition.
He said: “I will also investigate other avenues such as lottery grants and community donations, so that the burden of cost does not fall fully on the Oldham taxpayer.”
Mr Ghafoor, who runs a local property and petrol station business, and also went to near-by St Augustine’s RC High School, said: “Our history is an integral part of our community and the clock tower has been a part of the Oldham skyline for over 100 years.”
Werneth Primary School head Sarah Holroyd added: “It would be lovely to have the clock working again. I know the school did get it working in the 1990s, but I don’t know who funded that, and it didn’t last very long.”
The petition can be seen online at www.kamranghafoor.com
Comments
Why not pay for repairs?. After all it is a local landmark and part of our history. I would gladly contribute as I grew up on Coppice Street and went to Werneth School. Money was spent on a useless water feature and light clock in the town centre. Did you object to those at the time?.
Curly K, the H2O water fetaure and the chimes outside the Up Steps and the clock in the pavement at Spindles were a scandalous waste of money. If individuals want to contribute to fixing this clock, good for them but it should not come from central budgets. This tower serves no purpose at all.
It used to do and will do once it`s fixed. It can be seen for miles. Surely, as it is attached to a School, wouldnt the maintainance be covered by the Education Dept?.
Have Your Say
Council tax payers shouldn't have to put a penny towards this. Are there no more important issues to be addressed in the constituency?
By ProDriver @ 15/03/2010 13:04:07