A SQUARE deal, a road to salvation (for motorists) and a rail scheme threatening to hit the buffers.

Believe me, some towns would kill for the challenges Warrington is currently facing as it completes a half-century of breakneck change.

But the stories behind the redevelopment of Harrison Square, the Centre Link relief road and tangled saga of Warrington West railway station provide a telling snapshot of how easy, or otherwise, the transformation process can be.

In a crafty piece of populism, with housing landlords expecting to reap the rewards of inflation-level increases plus half-a-per-cent, the Government decides to slash the requirement by one per cent for the next four years.

This triggers a hasty piece of redrafting by Helena Housing for its Harrison Square scheme, converting a chunk of its £90 million loan with WBC into ready cash so the centre of Dallam still gets a makeover.

And with a parcel of land being declared surplus to requirements by Dallam Primary School, the scope could increase from 27 to 34 homes, and retail aspect, it appears.

Then of far wider significance, WBC is also shelling out to purchase land off Chester Road, to the north of Gainsborough Road, to kickstart the Centre Link road.

Drivers can only pray to whichever deity they choose that the bypass route to Slutchers Lane will ease the horror of Bridge Foot and Brian Bevan Island at rush hour.

But again, in deference to those involved, it’s a straightforward decision which, if swiftly implemented, should see progress on the affair.

Only when our aspirations move from road to rail do matters, pun intended, go a little off track.

I’ll leave aside any underlying reservations Podium may harbour regarding the station for Chapelford. Whether necessary or not, it was always a central plank of the urban village masterplan.

But now another £1.8 million is being found to engage construction giants Balfour Beatty to tell the Powers That Be in Sankey Street that the Warrington West rail hub can do exactly what it says on the tin.

Maybe because I’m slipping a little, there’s some little sympathy in this swish corner of (the new) Guardian Towers for our civil servants, and not-so-civil councillors, involved in this epic.

No fewer than eight stages, each more painful than the last, has to be endured to promote any rail scheme, from a new station to 100 yards of track. Just check out the Network Rail handbook.

But if the surveyors find a patch of quicksand or an abandoned mineshaft on the site of Warrington West station, at this late point in the proceedings, perhaps it might be best to chuck the blueprints down there and move on.

  •  For the past week I’ve been kicking myself, despite penning reminders every so often, that I missed the chance to pay respects to Warrington RLFC’s fallen of the First World War at the appropriate juncture.

And in fairness it was the stalwarts of the Warrington Rugby League Legends Facebook group who provided the proverbial kick in the pants to mention it this time around.

If you’ve not already, I’d highly recommended flipping back to last week’s paper, or going online, to read my colleague Mike Parson’s account of early Wire hero George Thomas, a forward who enlisted with the South Lancs Regiment and perished on the third day of the Battle of at the Somme.

Thomas is joined by no fewer than nine others with primrose and blue affiliations, who made the ultimate sacrifice for King and Country.

The bravery of others, like Sgt-Major James Tilley, a Challenge Cup winning full-back who earned the Distinguished Conduct Medal, is detailed underneath the South Stand.

Research by the continually-impressive Wire 2 Wolves initiative, from the club’s community foundation, is another valuable resource for those interested in finding out more.