Clitheroe Advertiser and Times, March. 21st, 1974 New district is largest in Lancashire


A MERGER OF PROUD TOWNS AND VILLAGES


THINK of the Ribble


Valley and you picture an area rich in outstand­ ing natural beauty, steeped in history and proud of its heritage of folklore and tradition. It, is an area with much


‘ }


local government is bound to play an ever-increasing part, due to the advent of a new form f administra­ tion from April 1st.


to offer both to thr casual visitor and to the Valley resident, so its future is inevitably a matter of con­ cern. It's a future


winch


been divide-t into districts, much smaller than counties, yet larger than the areas previously covered by the old councils. The Ribb’ : Valley district is the biggest in Lancashire,


The whole country has consisting of about 225


square miles or 143,000 acres. I t stretches from Mcllor in the south to Easington in the north, and f'-om Longridge and Chip­ ping in the west to Horton and Middop in the east.


Sm a lle s t


responsibility of a new dis­ trict council, whose members


Each district Is now the


were elected last June. In the case of the Ribble


Valley, tnc new district council


different councils which previously operated in the


replaces seven


area. These were Clitheroe Borough, Longridge Urban,


Clitheroe Rural and Vow- land Rural, together with a large portion of Blackburn Rural and parts of Preston Rural and Burnley Rural. A substantially rural area,


it contains many villages, hamlets and isolated farm houses — with only two towns, Clitheroe and Long­ ridge. Though tile largest of the new Lancashire dis­ tricts. the Ribble Valley can


a!~o claim to be the smal­ lest as far as population is concerned, with approxima­ tely 53,000 people. By c apavison with other parts of Lancashire, it is a


staggering proportion — in Blackpool. for instance,


there is a populatio i of 151,000 in 13 square miles. The whole of the district


is covered at a more paro­ chial level by parish coun­ cils and parish meetings.


local government is by no means a sudden .*.


since 1948. 1 Welcome from chairman 5


AFTER years of talking and, more recently, months of planning, the day is at hand when the Ribble Valley towns and villages officially Pin together.


Valley District Council it is my pleasure to welcome you


As chairman of the Ribble


all into the new family, and express the hope that the years ahead will establish vs as a flourishing, pros­ perous and important corner of the new Lancashire.


ago that the local public went to the ballot boxes to choose the men and women to serve them for the next three years.


It is less than 10 months


members, we have been getting to know one another


Since then, as council


and. indeed, finding out more about the towns and hamlets we are anxious to serve This spirit of co­ operation is of vital im­ portance and something we will foster.


has been to recruit an enthusiastic team of chief officers in whom we have


Not the least of our basks


COHN. FRED SINGLETON, chairman of the Ribble Valley Council.


tile greatest confidence. Working with them, your


councillors have done every­ thing possible to ensure a successful launching of the new authority. However, nobody is pre­


tending that there will not be teething troubles; it


could liardly be otherwise until such a complex opera­ tion.


spirit of co-operation, and encouragement from all who live in the district / am sure that our new big family can face the future with confidence.


But with an all round a s s i s t s :


various efforts in this t.irec- tion have been made by both major political parties


The reorganisation of for


for the reform is to relax central control from White­ hall and to make local government in general more comprehensible to the pub­


One of the basic reasons lic.


larger districts is the con­ sequent pooling of resources. Previously there were too


Another advantage of the


many very small authorities which were not able lo employ s. rfficient profes­ sional stair .J deal with the increasing complexities of local government. The law is constantly changing and putting new 'uties upon the local authorities.


W a te r


local government have come the reorganisation ol tlie water and river boards and the health services, though neith of these bodies are democratically elected or controlled as arc


Alongside the changes m


cover the area from Carlisle to the River Dee in Chester, faking control of all the sewerage functions as well.


the district councils. Regional water authorities


authority is responsible for tile hospitals and other aspects of '.he health ser­ vice, and its local committee will cover not just the Rib’-’ Valley, but Hyndburn and Blackburn as well.


The regional health


cant change will bo in the field of planning, which will now be in more direct control of the district coun­


Probably the only signifi­ cil.


Council are 38 members of all ages and all walks of life. They were elected to represent a particul r ward and lemain in office until the next election i 1916.


On the Ribble Valley


two distinct functions: to represt -t his constituency and to take up any matter relating to it with ‘he officers of 1 io council, and secondly, the even more important job of looking after the district as a whole. This means that while each is concerned directly with his own immediate area, he must sec it in perspective


A district councillor lias


against the needs o district as a whole. The work of the coiind is divided between various


committees, all of ' hold evening meetings, councillor is represented ® * least two comiWtlc“ '


usually according ' ’ ws own particular interests.


Over all is Ihc policy a"d


resources committee, atJ advisory body on B<ricral policy which controls m® whole resources ot * c authority and oversees the seven working committees- These are liaison, personnel, planning and transporta­ tion, recreation and leisure, housing, public works and health, finance and general purposes I t might be said that a


. district council is only as good as its electors, and a great deal depends on how the ordinary inhabitants of the Ribble Valley decide to use thefr council.


This is where the help


of a fully-qualified staff, headed by chief executive Mr Michael Jacksrr, comes in.


P olic ie s Commenting on the posi­


tive role of the oouncil, Mr Jackson says: "We have


got to make people aware of tile services the council can provide, and make it their decision at the end of the day. There is tremen­ dous scope for providing services if people want them, and a lot of govern­ ment assistance is available if the district council will go out to get if-"


it is impossible to u-:l what lies ahead or what


progress will be made ■ the next decade. Much depends on how energetic the council is in implemen­ ting its policies to improve the environment, increase recreation and leisure iacili- ties, and plan for the hiture of the Ribble ValHy as a whole—and every man, woman and child fiviai there.


Look for home


problems to be tackled by the new council is the ac­ quisition of premises where all departments can be


One of the first major


housed under one roof. The present system ob­


viously has its inconveni­ ences — the physical move­ ment of memoranda be­ tween the separate build­ ings is difficult, and over­ heads such as heating, light­ ing and cleaning are bound to be more expensive.


attending an office in per­ son will find the distance between offices an incon­ venience if they have to be referred to another depart­ ment perhaps three quarters of a mile away. Another less aPPa™nt but


Members of public


offices have been suggested, such as land behind the Borough Treasurer’s office in Church Street, or land at the bottom of Chester Avenue, formerly “ the rec.”


diiVcrent places at once. Various sites for district


convert an existing building, such as the Royal Grammar


Another possibility is to


School for Boys in York Street, if plans for the re­ organisation of education mean that it will eventually become obsolete.


If the district offices were housed in one building, pro­


vision could he made for a council members’ room, where all the cun*ent data ou council activities could


no less important disadvan­ tage is that proper welfare


facilities for the staff can­ not be provided in several


available to local organisa- tions.


offices are also in separate buildings—social services at Major House, in Church Street, and the education department in temporary accommodation at Rishton.


At present the county


ing becomes a reality, the present offices could still be put to good use. One sug­ gestion is to use Castle House in the future as an extension of the town’s museum, as an art centre, or as a community centre for the locality.


If and when a new build­


be available. All the district and county


offices together under one roof could include a council chamber, committee rooms, a Mayor's parlour and rooms


buildings which are being used by the planning de­ partment in Princess Avenue are easily transportable and could also be in great mand, perhaps as a village community centre or a sports pavilion.


The new prefabricated


NILE after mile of rolling hills, peaceful valleys and winding roads leading to tiny picturesque villages sums up the whole of the Ribble Valley. W/ia v the season, it offers breathtaking views like this one from Kemple Ena.


0£ the Ribble Valley district council are separa­ ted in offices in different parts of Clitheroe.


WHERE TO GO For the time being, the various departments


by one of the council’s chief officers, who can be contacted in the following places :


Each of the five departments is supervised Chief Administration Officer: Mr Jack Ruffley. Chief Executive: Mr Michael Jackson. • THE CASTLE


• MYTTON HOUSE, CHURCH STREET (former Borough Treasurer’s office)


Borough Treasurer: Mr Gordon Onslow. • 2 CHURCH BROW


(former clitheroe RDC office)


Chief Environmental Health Officer: Mr Peter Gladwin.


(new prefabricated building) • PRINCESS AVENUE


Chief Architect a n d P la n n in g Officer: Mr Charles Wilson.


• 32 PIMLICO ROAD


departments, a telephone information office has been set up.


Chief Technical Officer: Mr Dennis Black. In view of the widespread situation of the


(former Bowland RDC office) By ringing CLITHEROE 25111 all inquiries , . .


will be dealt with and the caller transferred to the appropriate department with as little delay as possible. Personal callers can also he directed to the appropriate office.


5


The Ribble Valley Authority


Your council from April 1st, 1974


THE AREA OF YOUR NEW AUTHORITY


e a s in c to n HOWLAND FOREST C1SBURN FOREST SLA1DBURN BOLTON-BY-BOWLAND HORTON NEWTON C R IN O IET O N SAW L EY


RIMINGTON MIDDOP


DOWNHAM chipping BASHALL EAVES CLITHEROE MEARLEY .


LONCRIDCE RIBCHESTER


k ALSTON


CHAIGLEY GRtAT MITTON PENDLETON SABDEN


WHALLEY BU .U NG T 0N .4 I READ


CLAYTON-LE-DALE WILP5HIREJ


BALPERSTONE I m e ilo r


GI5BURN PAYTHORNE


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