NORTHWICH has welcomed a new bar onto the scene – and a long established nightspot has had a face lift.

JWs bar, in Castle Street, has been renamed and refurbished and will open on Saturday, July 12, as The Garage.

The bar is co-owned by Mark Hurley, Karen Burke, Paul Hurley and Gavin Meredith and they decided to rename the bar with its new title after discovering it was a garage in the 1900s.

Karen said: “JWs has had its day. People have memories of it, but those people don’t come in here anymore.

“We are taking the bar up market – making it modern and trendy to keep up with the other bars in the town.

“You’ve got Amber Lounge and Madisons who have got late licenses and are ultra modern. JWs was a couple of years ago, but it is now outdated so we need to keep up with them.”

The bar has had problems in securing a late licence because of its close proximity to a residential area.

Karen added: “We are in a residential area, so we are soundproofing the front and back door entrance to keep the sound down.”

A new arrival to the Northwich scene is the Barn, in Chester Road, Castle.

It has been opened by Stanislaw Pawelek with a Polish theme but Stan says it is open to everyone.

Read more at The Northwich Guardian.

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The future of Jodrell Bank, one of the world's leading radio astronomy centres, is secure according to the site's owner, Manchester University.

Jodrell's existence had been in doubt because of uncertainty over where money would come from to finish and run its key new project, the eMerlin network.

But the university says funding for the network, which ties together radio dishes across the UK, is now in place.

Jodrell has made many key discoveries and even tracked the Moon landings.

The observatory, famous for its giant Lovell antenna, has been caught up in the budgetary difficulties of the Science and Technology Facilities Council (STFC), which oversees UK physics and astronomy.

In seeking to close an £80m hole in its 2009-11 finances, the STFC questioned whether it would be possible to continue funding eMerlin, placing a huge question mark over the future of the project and the Cheshire centre which hosts it.

However, a review process run by the council underlined the scientific significance of eMerlin; and last week, the STFC indicated it would be making a contribution.

Read more at BBC News.

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Photographs from todays Carnival are now online in the Gallery - you can view them by clicking HERE.

A TRUE village tradition gave carnival-goers plenty to smile about in Davenham on Saturday.

Davenham Carnival made a welcome return this year and brightened up an otherwise dull and rainy day with a colourful procession, spectacular displays and a whole host of fun and games.

The event, which was first held in the village 42 years ago, took a break last year after the death of committee member Andy Reynolds.

And, despite the rain and cold, crowds turned out in surprising numbers for this year's event, dedicated to Andy's memory.


The day began with a parade around the village to Butcher's Stile field where this year's carnival queen, 14-year-old Megan Hodgson, was crowned by deputy town mayor Clr Helen Burder.

Clr Burder said: "I come from a small town environment and as far as I'm concerned these events really bring the community together - I don't think you can beat it."

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THE long-awaited regeneration of Northwich town centre is now closer than ever.

Vale Royal Borough Council and developers Wilson Bowden Developments have signed a development agreement formally tying the two parties together to deliver the 600,000 square foot redevelopment of the Barons Quay area of the town centre.

The scheme, which was on hold pending completion of the mine stabilisation project, will open up the River Weaver frontage and link into Leicester Street with a new retail area.

It includes plans for an 80,000 sq ft department store, a 90,000 sq ft food store, a multi-screen cinema, 40 retail units and restaurant space, with a total of £300million private sector investment expected to be attracted.

Andy Evans, head of economic and regeneration services for the council said: "The importance of this development agreement should not be underestimated.

"Northwich is embarking on a vast programme of redevelopment over the next 15 to 20 years, and the redevelopment of Barons Quay is at the forefront of this programme.

Read more at ThisIsCheshire.

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