Cllr Jon Goldfinch on a bench installed by W4w at the top of Shallcross Incline
WHALEY BRIDGE’s ‘Mr 4wards’, local councilor and busy computer businessman, Jon Goldfinch, has stepped sideways on the community action group which was set up while he was chair of the town council nearly two years ago.
The action group – called Whaley4wards to sound like forwards as well as including all areas of the town – has 12 members, some from the council and others from the community. Their aim: to activate ‘short term achievable goals’ which regenerate and improve facilities in the four wards of Whaley Bridge.
Successes so far include:
– the painting of the pavilion by Stockport College students at the sports centre
– the redesign of the entrance to Whaley Bridge station
– the waymarking of the new greeenway, the Shallcross Trail, along with an interpretation board and three new seats
– repairs to street furniture
-numerous litter picks
– and the planting of Diamond Jubilee commemorative trees at the start of the greenway.
Acting group chair Cllr Anne Winter thanked Jon for his enthusiasm, inspiration and direction, adding: “We are delighted he intends to remain active from the other end of the table!”
Jon, who also helps maintain the Whaley Bridge website whaleybridge.com, is cofounder of a semiconductor company based in Congleton which aims to replace the quartz crystal, used in pretty much every piece of electronic equipment on the planet, with an electronic replacement. The quartz crystal is used to maintain time in an electronic system and mechanically oscillates in a vacuum in a large metal package outside the main electronic chips. If this function can be achieved electronically, which is what Jon’s company is trying to do, then the electronic oscillator can be moved inside the main electronic chips which saves space and cost. “Unfortunately, we are rather busy at the moment” says Jon, “and I’ve had to take the decision to cut down on some things to concentrate on the work. I’m extremely proud of what the group has achieved so far and intend to continue attending W4w to help with the projects, but I needed to step aside from the more involved role as Chair. My sincere thanks go to Anne Winter, who, as Vice Chair of the group, has kindly agreed to take over the role as Chair in the interim. We are really lucky to have so many enthusiastic and committed members in W4w already and hope that others will be encouraged to join and bring in new ideas and inspiration. The more ideas and bodies the better!”.
The Whaley4wards group meets regularly to monitor, progress, review and plan projects and actions. This summer will see the arrival of a restored, classic “Gilbert Scott” red phone box, which will become a community information point near the train station.
More can be found about the work of the group on the whaleybridge.com website. New members from the community are encouraged to join at any time. Next meeting will be Wednesday 3 April, 7.30pm at the Mechanics’ Institute.