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Clitheroe 422324 (Editorial), 422323 (Advertising), Burnley 422331 (Classified)


Council ordered to pay residents £3,028 over gas bottling plant complaint


THE Local Government Ombudsman has ordered Ribble Valley Borough Council to pay £3,028 to the residents of Simonstone after investigating a com­ plaint over the way the authority dealt with a con­


troversial gas bottling plant. The controversy surrounding


Acewell Units, which traded at Woodfield Poultry Farm, Whins Lane, has been ongoing since 1995. In her report, Ombuds­ man Mrs Patricia Thomas has found "maladministration caus­ ing injustice" against the bor­


ough council. Ih the report, the complainant,


on behalf of local residents, claimed that Ribble Valley Bor­ ough Council failed to take action over an unauthorised use of land close to their homes and misled residents as to the legal status of the land. He said that residents had, as a result, incurred the expense of a plan­ ning consultant in order to ensure th a t appropriate action was


local resident wrote to the bor­ ough council in February, 1995, to ask whether the owner had


The problem first arose when a planning permission to bottle gas


.on the site, which had been used primarily as a chicken farm for many years. The council stated that a Certificate of Lawfulness existed for this use, but it was later discovered that no such cer­ tificate had been issued. Confusion had occurred as the


apologised for the incorrect advice regarding the existence of


the certificate. During this time the owner of


site had been under the control of Burnley Borough Council until April, 1987, when it transferred to the Ribble Valley, along with responsibility for the enforce­ ment of planning legislation. Research was then carried out


by a planning consultant on behalf of local residents, from which two issues arose.


ered th a t Burnley Borough Council had liotified Ribble Val­ ley Borough Council of the use of the site for gas bottling in 1986 - a t a time when they could not have taken any action. The sec­ ond point was that Ribble Valley Borough Council had received an application for hazardous sub­ stances consent for the gas bot­ tling in 1994, but had incorrectly processed it as an application for planning permission. . As a result, a meeting was held


Initially, the residents discov­ (


Acewell Units, Mr Oak, stated that the site had been used for gas bottling since 1976. In Mrs Thomas's report, a senior plan­ ning officer stated th a t he thought "it was likely no action was taken because the site had apparently been used for this purpose for 10 years. This meant that the site could benefit from an established use and therefore no enforcement action would be


possible". Ribble Valley Borough Coun­ ,


cil stated that the matter was not brought to its attention by Burn­ ley Borough Council as a matter


requiring action. Writing on behalf of the


Simonstone residents, the plan­ ning consultant said that there was "substantial evidence to show that the bottling plant had not operated on the site continu­ ously for the past 10 years . Mr Oak applied for a certificate of lawfulness on August 2nd. Ribble Valley Borough Coun­


between residents and the coun­ cil in July, 1995, when officials


Youth workers explain plans to


parish council TWO Ribble Valley youth workers attended the December meeting of Sabden Parish Council and described their work in the area, particularly in Sabden. Mrs Noreen Boyle and


Mr John Kirkham pre­


sented a slide show and answered questions on th e ir work and fu tu re


plans. They were thanked by the chairman, Coun.


Frank Goss. Other matters discussed


to hear that a request for a stre e t light outside St Mary's RC School had been.agreed_to.and that the, new village handymanhad started work and already undertaken a number of jobs. These include repair­ ing steps from the footpath to the Lower Holme, clear­ ing the rose garden and sur­ veying the footpaths. More good news was


included work to be carried out on the footpath and kerbing near the bowling green. Members were pleased


that Ribble Valley Borough Council has agreed to pay all future election expenses of parish councils. The council is to arrange


for potholes near the post office and health centre to


Flats targets


INTRUDERS entered two flats a t Well Court, Clitheroe and took a ring, gold watch and other jew­ ellery worth some £1,500 from one of the flats and a £50 watch from a second


home. Police are investigating. Chemists' rota


TONIGHT and tomorrow: Boots the Chemist, 15/19 Castle Street, will be open


until 6-30 p.m. Peter Buckley Ltd, 4


Railway View Road: Sun­ day, noon to 1 p.m., Mon­ day to Thursday until 6-30 p.m.


be filled in, but is not accepting responsibility for the area, as its ownership is currently being looked into. Councillors are taking action because they are concerned for the safety of residents in the meantime. The council is to ask to


the Department of Environ­ ment. He dropped his appeal after the council gave permission for a residential development on the site. The council amended the


advice in early 1995 were not quicker or more effective as a result of the consultant’s contri­ bution. In her conclusion, Mrs


enforcement notice so that the use of the site for bottling gas would cease in August, 1997, and has since been assisting Mr Oak in his efforts to relocate his gas bottling business. The complainant believed that


the council's initial errors in the way it dealt with the bottling plant led residents to lose faith in its ability to take effective action against Mr Oak, causing them uncertainty and worry. He sug­ gested, therefore, that the coun­ cil should pay the residents' costs of employing the planning con­ sultant, which came to £3,028. Ribble Valley Borough Coun­


Thomas stated: "The residents argue reasonably that the council should have checked the informa­ tion supplied by Burnley Bor­ ough Council when the area transferred to its control." She continued: "Although it is not clear whether the result of such a check would have resulted in enforcement action, given the previous history of the site, the council's failure to conduct such a check was maladministration." Mrs Thomas credited the


cil refused the application in November, 1995, and an enforce­ ment notice was is served on Mr Oak, who promptly appealed to


cil has accepted th a t errors occurred in its advice to the resi­ dents about the site but, accord­ ing to the report, "it considers that its apology and its subse­ quent efforts to end the use of the site for bottling are sufficient to remedy those errors". The council stated that it'did


not consider that the residents needed to employ a consultant, as its actions following the wrong


council for acting promptly once the need for a certificate of law­ fulness was identified, but she said, "I am persuaded that, fol­ lowing the council's other errors, residents had a legitimate con­ cern that effective action would not be forthcoming and I consid­ er that they acted reasonably in employing a planning consul­


tant."-. As a result of the report, Rib-


ble Valley Borough Council will now have to consider Mrs Thomas's findings and inform her of the action it plans to take.


THE recent competition for Advertiser and Times readers to win tickets to see "Joseph and the Amazing Technicolour Dreamcoat" met with a huge response. Winners of a pair of tick­


An amazing response


Clitheroe Advertiser & Times, December 18th, 1997 15


FREE LAW CLINIC BIB


Birchall Blackburn Solicitors


ets, plus free T-shirts, CDs and hats, were: Miss Jessi­ ca Osborn, The Old Chapel Cottage, Sawley; Mrs M.F. Smith, Littlemoor Road, Clitheroe: and Mrs Judith Smith, Whalley Road, Clitheroe. Congratulations to all


the winners.


For advice on marriage, housing, debts, wills, injury or any other problems, contact


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be included in Ribble Val­ ley Council's "dog watch" scheme in which areas are targeted for six to eight weeks to try to resolve the dog fouling problem. Councillors are appeal­


01282 774124 2 3 '


receive a Christmas visit from the Mayor of the


ing to villagers to use the, recycling bins on the car park more, or the facility may be withdrawn. Four villagers are to


Ribble Valley. A meeting of the coun­


cil's sub-committee was arranged for Thursday,


December 18th, and the next full council meeting is on January 6th.


Methodist milestone is marked


TWO centuries of -Methodist church worship in West Brad­ ford have been joyfully cele­


brated . A farm was used before the first


church was built in 1797. I t was replaced by the present building 93


years ago. Saturday afternoon's historical


exhibition caused a lot of interest, and was followed by a tea and enter­ tainment. On Sunday, a former minister, the


Rev. Bill Knowles, was greeted on his return to the area by the superinten­ dent minister, the Rev. Michael


Fielding. Mr Knowles led a walk from the former church site to the present one


Father Christmas pays a


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to °0


and conducted the celebration service which followed. The Mayor of the Ribble Valley,


Coun. Mrs Jenny Grimes, was one of the visitors on Saturday. She was greeted by lay worker Mr Tim Perkins, and is seen with Mrs Dorothy Bullen looking at a relic of the original church pulpit. (CAT 14981).


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FATHER CHRISTMAS interrupted his busy schedule to visit youngsters at Whalley's annu­


al Christmas fair. The event, organised by Whalley Parish Church, took


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place at Whalley CE Primary School and raised £1,000. A spokesperson for the school said: "The event was quite a success and we are very grateful to the church for donating half of the proceeds to us." Ribble Valley Mayor Coun. Jenny Grimes officially opened the event, which was attended by many mem­


bers of the local community. A whole host of products was on sale on the day, including home produce, cakes, toys, books and jew­


ellery. ' Our picture shows some of the people who attended


the fair. (CAT 14799)


‘Minimal impact’ from barbecue test rig


PLANNING permis­ sion has been granted for a most unusual


company "test rig." . Rectella International


sells its barbecue sets all over the world - but tests


the designs first in the yard at its works off Peel Street, Clitheroe. The council Planning


and Development Commit­ tee accepted an officers' rec­ ommendation to allow a new test area to be built on what is now a delivery area. I t will replace an existing one, which will have to be removed.


Four nearby residents


objected to the plan, saying they already suffer from traffic, parking and char­ coal dust problems. Addi­ tional smoke and smell would get into their proper­ ties, they claimed. But the officials' report


f a u n HORNERS


said the impact would be minimal. Fumes should be adequately dispersed by a


flue. After hearing a sugges­


tion th a t the company would be "jumped on" by the Environmental Health Department if there was a problem, councillors voted the plan through.


Retired police officer’s talk


A TALK by a retired police officer kept members of Clitheroe Young Farmers interested at their meeting at


Pendleton Village Hall.


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