Hall dig to be marked

THE fruitful excavations at the old Royton Hall could be forever preserved in a unique footprint, now that the history society has secured its first slice of funding.

The society uncovered a wealth of history in the heart of Royton after it organised three separate digs over three years.

The site has since been covered over, but the society now wants a lasting record of what it found.

Under the plans, which would cost £10,000, an information point would fill visitors in on the information unearthed during the digs and a new footpath and avenue of lime trees would lead them to the main site.

The committee has now set the team off with a £3,000 grant towards its target and the society will now look to other funding sources, like the Lottery.

Mike Higgins, chairman of the Royton Lives Through The Ages project, said: “The digs proved hugely popular, with lots of volunteers getting involved and lots of people visiting the site.”

A HOST of worthy causes have benefited from grants from the Area Committee.

The Royton Bowling Pavilion in Royton Park has been awarded £425 to revamp its kitchen, and the Heyside Junior Football Club has been granted £2,250.

The battling 3rd Royton Scouts need £150,000 to replace the crumbling hut in Old Edge Lane, and they have been given a gentle push with a £800 grant.

But a decision on whether to give £600 to the Friday night football club, which meets at the kickpitch in Royton and Crompton School, was deferred until June.

For the children

CHILDREN’S services in Royton will receive a boost, with plans to open a satellite centre in Firbank Primary School.

The district was already been given a centre in Blackshaw Lane, as part of a national initiative to deliver a children’s centre for every community by 2010. But plans are afoot to extend it with an extra provision in Firbank School, which should be in place by March 2011.

The centres provide a focal point from where children’s services are organised, with the staff regularly liaising with the PCT, social services and other concerned bodies.

COUNCILLORS are holding their breath and hoping for the best as the council’s chief executive promises to pick through the wreckage of the Royton Assembly Hall.

Residents complained about the continued problems at the site and Councillor Steve Bashforth assured them that he had taken his concerns to the council’s top man and was awaiting his response.

He said: “It’s an absolutely disgraceful mess and an eyesore, but we’re limited in what we can do because it’s not council land.

“I have had a meeting with Charlie Parker and sent him a number of e-mails about the assembly hall and he hasn’t come back to me with anything concrete yet, but he has assures me that he’s working on it and is close to a solution.”

REPORTING concerns to the police just got a whole lot easier for Roytoners now that the neighbourhood policing team have started a Thursday surgery at the Holy Trinity Church, off Chapel Street from 10am until noon.

A COMMUNITY stalwart, who taught at Crompton House School for three decades, has been welcomed as a new co-optee on the new Royton area committee.

Mari Wiswell, who has recently moved to Royton’s Thorp Estate, is also a Shaw Parish Councillor and is particularly keen to get involved in youth and disability issues.