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J fc s n e df ^o S fa /ta fo tif 21 Church Street, Clitheroe 01200 422264


FOR LOCAL TOURISM


Family Fortune’ prize offer. | ATA , ! GLANCE


Local roads claim yet another motor cycle victim as con­ cern mounts over accident figures.


The borough coun­ cil’s Chief Executive hits back in kennel closure controversy.


The Ribble Valley is a healthy place to live - and, once again, it’s official.


“Abiding impres­ sions” were left with inspectors who took a look at Stony- hurst College,


u n u w page 6


A big national cycle race arrives in the Ribble Valley - and hits the national headlines when a sign is removed.


I proposed housing development on the


■ i. i i ii page The row over the


' Calderstones Hos­ pital site boils over


again. page 11


FOGGITT’S WEEKEND WEATHER: A warm, sunny


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E.muil: Editorial.eastlancs news@blinlernct.com


C L IT H E R O E ’S Ultraframe empire is to be expanded even


further with a £5m. state-of-the-art dis­


tribution centre. The new 78,000sq.


ft. development, off Lincoln Way, will be a


Farming ‘first’ as crowds flock to buy Gisburn asparagus


____ * * by Ben Carlish. HORDES of vegetable-lovers are


flocking to a Gisburn farm store to snap up bags of an exclusive root crop, usually the preserve of


gourmet kitchens. Gisburn Country Diner and Fruit


demand With four separate grades of the veg­ , . ,


etable, ranging from "s°uP -^ ade l° "jumbo", selling for just less than £2 a


pound, staff at the store, part of the Gisburn Estate Farm complex, expect to sell their annual two-ton harvest yield of the high-class vegetable easily. General manager Mrs Jackie Robin­ son said: "We cannot grow the stut 1 quickly enough. People are queueing up hours before we even open to get in on the act. We’re very happy with the


i W 're nappy way it has taken off." .i.—.r if


etable in the Ribble Valley area, plant­ ed two acres with asparagus two years ago, following advice from the govern­ ment-funded Agricultural Develop­


The farm, the first to grow the veg ment Advisory Service.


Farm has found its fresh home-grown asparagus has become so popular it is having difficulty keeping up with


from the salt steppes in Eastern Europe, thrives in warm weather condi­ tions and, while some Cheshire farms grow it, it is practically unheard of to grow it commercially so far north. Like rhubarb, it takes a year for the aspara­ gus to "crown", and this season marks the farm's first selling of it, along with more "humble" strawberries, blackcur­ rants, squashes and other assorted fruit and veg. While it is not traditional farm produce for these parts, it is being farmed using some very traditional


The vegetable, which originates . . methods. Every day, a team hand-picks a hun­ ,


dred weight of the vegetable, which is sold off to customers from many differ­ ent backgrounds in no time at all


used to help the harvest, because the height of the undercarriage from the ground ensures the all- important tips of the vegetable are not knocked oft. Planter and harvester Mr Rod Gregg, a member of the Ribble Valley Vintage Club, drives the tractor, and it belongs to fellow farmer Mr Roger Graham, also a member of the Vintage Club. He has five other vintage farm vehi­


A 1956 model Nuffield tractor . . ,


A 1956 model Nuffield tractor is ,.1 uAM.nnf VionQllsP t


vehicle.


cabs, stereos, all sorts of mod cons. With the Nuffield, you soon realise how cold it gets at six o'clock in the momingl But it's quite a sight, seeing it roll into the fields at dawn - it's like taking a


"Tractors these days have heated , ,


step back in time.” Pictured with some of- the crop are


Rod Gregg and Roger Graham, with the Nuffield tractor, and store manager Mrs Jackie Robinson. (190598/2/5)


.______________________________________


and dry spell should make for ° fir,° weekend.


Ultraframe in big £5m step forward


by Vicky Carlin


‘No increase in noise levels,’ firm promises residents


. _ _ • • ____ I 1 ^


crucial boost.for the company's expansion


plans. I t will be built on two levels and will include an automatic storage racking sys­ tem, which will be the first of its kind in the


world. The design has already


J a WSON'S C /Jixi C fie fu v y fo n & n t c /$ 6 v e attracted international


--- 1 11 envisaged work, which he I II I hopes will be carried out by


interest and will, according to managing director Mr Ian Robinson, "put the company at the forefront c>f warehousing technology". If the plans get the go- ahead, Mr Robinson has


— II I local contractors, starting in July, with the building up and running by next summer. It is expected that at least 30 new jobs will be


created. Ultraframe pic already


Patio/Conservatory furniture


• Picnic hampers/cool bags and boxes • Picnic wear/picnic tables • Allibert garden furniture • Cast aluminium garden furniture • Wooden tables, chairs and


' ■ :■ i> •/.• :■


benches • Deck chairs • Wide selection of Bar-b-ques • Charcoal, lighter fuel and Bar-Be-Quick •


AM1


has planning approval for the development of the site, but is anxious to have access and working hours constraints lifted. The company has appealed against the restrictions and it is anticipated that the appeal will be heard at the


end of June. As a result, 20 Ribble


Valley councillors visited the site last week in a bid to keep up to date with the developments and for the company to explain why the site needs to be used 24 hours a day, as with its existing buildings in Clitheroe. The company has already acquired a strip of land between the two


sites. Mr Robinson comment­


ed: "The new centre is the next phase in Ultraframe's development and takes us into the future. We are all very excited about it." He added: "The heart of


expressed concern at Ultra- . frame's plans and, as a result, the company has carried out a detailed noise survey as part of the appeal process, and is assuring the residents that there will be no increase in noise levels once the new site is up and running. The land is already used for vehicles during the night. Extensive tree planting


________*. TTif»-o_


and the replacement of existing conifers is also planned, along with a high fence to separate the devel­ opment from the houses


nearby.


The site adjoins the new golf driving range and, together with the existing ag


storage site next door, wiln a l oncurp t.h anv h€


ensure that any heavy traf- * fic to'Ultraframe is kept


clear of residential areas. Mr Robinson said: "Two


years ago all our vehicles travelled along Salthill Road where a lot of people live. Now, with our new developments, only one i


goes past a day. "It is all part of the com­


pany's commitment to develop in and with the local community while maintaining a commercial


focus." Our picture shows com­


pany founders Mr and Mrs John and Rosemary Lan­ caster with other members of the Ultraframe board at the new site. (220598/26/5)


cles in his collection. Mr Gregg explained the Nuffield does not have the comforts of a more modern-design


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‘Inaccurate’ sign lands gardener in parish council controversy


A ROW over the transforma tion of a large field into a gar­ den area has taken a vivid new


The owner of the land, Mr Milton Berry, of Back Lane, Rimington, is


displaying a bold black a£d r® protest sign there. It alleges that the parish and borough councils have


ordered the garden to be abandoned and £2,000 of young trees, shrubs and bulbs to be destroyed. Mr Berry has received a notice


from Ribble Valley Borough Council ordering him to restore the field, much of it open areas of mown grass, to its agricultural state. He has been refused planning permission for a


garden.


the parish council has influenced the borough, so he has mentioned it on


But he claims that pressure from ,


the sign as well. The field is next to another also


Ultraframe is in Clitheroe and we want to remain here. The expansion will allow us to stay established


here for the future." A number of local resi­


dents have W e c /c /in (/


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owned by Mr Berry which has a gar­ den area that is legal. The one which has been refused planning permission formed, many years ago, the tennis courts and bowling green for the nearby Black Bull Hotel. "The coun­ cil claims it can only be agricultural now and even my mowing the grass is wrong. But I can cut it roughly if I


.. 2- : r ± t r i r x ,M E So N ^ likel" says Mr Berry. A,f “


I planted scores of various types of trees at the bottom of the field, but the council says those which would not have grown there naturally have to be dug up. The same applies to plants and flowers, and I have to remove the summer house and any­ thing ornamental, such as a timber-


"There are all sorts of silly points - „mi ______ #,11


work arch." Mr Berry cannot understand why


improving the appearance of the field is not welcomed, but planners have said all along that gardens have got to remain within the allowed built-up


^Agricultural land, whether used for farming or not, cannot be taken over, except in special circumstances. Council officials, backed up by coun­ cillors, are always keen to emphasise th a t planning procedures are designed to prevent people from changing the use of land without


safeguards or in such a way that a precedent may be created. Parish clerk Mr David King says


r e f u s e d planning permission.


the sign is inaccurate - whatever their views, parish council members have no power over planning matters at all and cannot order anything to be abandoned. Nor does the sign point out that Mr Berry has been refused planning permission.


A REALISTIC scarecrow appar­ ently stuck in a tree is a more


familiar feature of Mr Berry's garden (250598/5/15)


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