Clitheroe 422324 (Editorial), 422323 (Advertising), Burnley 422331 (Classified) Clitheroe Advertiser & Times, April 29th, 1999


\\Tbe Clitberoe


Advertiser and I imes r i \ Write to: The Editor, Clitheroe Advertiser and Times, 3 King Street, Clitheroe BB72EW A simple solution


to sign dangers ANYONE who has recen tly travelled


August 28th, 2 days


And it’s all available for much less than you would imagine.


J May 29th, 3 days


To travel aboard the Orient Express is to savour the “Golden Age of Travel” and we have arranged this very special journey: and opportunity to step on board and enjoy for yourself the luxury of the British Pulman. Carriages gleam in amber and cream livery. Stewards are resplendant in immaculate uniforms and your table is set with starched white linen, shining silver and glittering glass.


The price includes Transport from the local area Orient Express from Liverpool to London Champagne, dinner and wine Accommodation in central London City sightseeing tour


Free time Services of a courier.


along the A59 between the Barrow round­ about and Gisburn cannot have failed to have noticed the profusion of signs th a t have appeared over the las t few months advertising local businesses, events, etc. There is everything advertised, from ice cream to car boot sales, pubs and, recently,


a t least one new business. We fully realise that all businesses have


to fight to survive in these difficult and often uncertain trading times but, bearing


market forces and not have the privilege of advantageous subsidies, nor ride roughshod over planning controls and, more impor­ tantly, ignore the welfare of the animals. There is no doubt th a t animal husbandry is working against God's intent, zero graz­ ing, zero humanity. There is a price to be paid for the dairy products so casually con­


sumed.


VERNON STUTTARD, Millbrook, Fence.


‘Hypocrisy’ claim


| in mind the poor accident record of this stretch of trunk road, these can only aid to distract the driver from the road ahead. Over the last few months, the Highways j------------ „ ------ . .


with the A59. If these illegal signs continue to proliferate at the current rate, then the accident blackspot could easily be trans­ ferred to the Chatburn access junctions of the A59 where, last weekend, up to seven of these signs could be seen attached to lamp- posts and other pieces of roadside struc-


We like many other businesses in this


a re a ,’spend many thousands of pounds each year advertising in newspapers, such as the Clitheroe Advertiser and Times, plus


June.12th.9 days July I6th,6 days


The price includes Transport throughout Channel crossings Accommodation for 5 nights


Whether it’s your first visit or the latest of many you'll


never run out of things to see and do. Paris really does offer something for everyone - magnificent boulevards, galleries and museums, pavement cafes and shops and nightspots galore. The major sights will no doubt be on your list of things to see, the Eiffel Tower, Notre Dame, River Seine and so many more.


Continental breakfasts En-suite rooms Half day city tour The services of a courier.


I some of the many tourist brochures avail­ able to Ribble Valley visitors. The perpe­ trators of this illegal signage seem to be rid­ ing on the back of the other businesses in the valley and gleaning off their trade a t little or no expense to themselves. Surely the solution is very simple, we all realise that visitors to the area bring in wel- I come trade and employment and they wish


I to erect suitable tourist signage a t each -------


I junction off the A59, other than the A671 Clitheroe junction where brown signage


| already exists? Businesses in the adjacent villages that


l commodity) entered on the appropriate directional sign. This would then make a level playing field for all concerned and the signage would fit in with the roadside fur­


offer a service/attraction to tourists could then pay to have their name only (not their


niture. A similar scheme to this was suggested . ,


some 10 years ago by the Lancashire Hill Country consortium, but I believe its suc­ cess floundered at County Hall level. Since then, tourism in this area has grown con-


| siderably and the signage needs to adapt with it to the benefit of all.


A CONCERNED LOCAL BUSINESSMAN


WALKINGFQR igi^ppiSS


A: :• S C O T L A N D v -June30th,6 days


July 19th, 8 days


bathrooms. What better way to see the mighty Danube.


Close your eyes and dream of the Blue Danube. The river traverses eight countries from the Black Forest of Germany to the Black Sea ot Russia. Our journey takes us through the wooded valleys of Austria, lined with charming old towns, historic castles and rums, beautiful churches and monasteries. On board our vessel the MV Serena, all cabins have picture windows and private


The price includes Transport from the local area Channel crossings Overnight accommodation in


Germany five nights cruise All meals on board Tour of Passau Excursion to Vienna Welcome drink and party


Farming letter hit


i the nail on the head I WOULD like to applaud Judith Roberts for her letter in last week's Clitheroe Adver­ tiser and Times headed "Country dwellers


| must accept the air".


I Every word hit the nail on the head worthy of being reprinted each week until


.


the message sinks in. Year after year I have watched Ribble


and I-Iodder Valley farms become "dead" and eventually turned into the dreaded


conversions. And who occupies these converted farms


and barns? Certainly not the local village people, b u t largely, as Ju d i th Rob erts describes, the white-collar brigade. My main objection to barn conversions


I is the destruction of habitat. I As a small girl, born and bred in Wiswell


O O O O O O O O


when it was a living farming community, I used to love watching out for the swallows to retu rn. At the end of the summer, I loved to see them line up in scores on the telephone wires and listen to their twitter­


ings. July 21 st, 5 days November 28th, 7 days May 17th, 8 days From


This tour offers you the opportunity to experience two contrasting wonders of USA, one man made and one natural. Las Vegas is the 24 hour entertainment capital of America, full of glitz, gambling, glamourous shows, wedding chapels and neon lights, it has to be seen to be believed. To experience the Grand Canyon is awesome! A mile deep, 200 miles long and 18 miles wide - no words can do justice to its sheer splendour.


The price includes Transport from the local area Flights from Heathrow Airport/hotel transfers Full day tour to Las Vegas full day to the Grand Canyon Accommodation for five nights in Loughlin Quality Hotel


Now their farm homes have gone and , ,


with the farms went the swallows' food sup­ ply, clouds of midges created by middens, shippons and cow manure in the fields. The dairy project a t Withgill would,


hopefully, re-create the right habitat for the return of both the midges and the swal­


lows. Wouldn't it be a shame if the townies , ,


couldn't stand the smell! Keep Britain farming.


DORIS BROWN, Moor Field, Wliallcy.


Husbandry works against God’s intent


I WRITE in response to the letter from Judith Roberts in the Clitheroe Advertiser and Times last week, headed "Country dwellers must accept the air." She totally misses the main point of the


O O O O O O O O


May 5th, 12th or 19th 7 or 14 nights


£499/£629 August'13th, 3 days/ -f.95 ....... s b £ f j w m i


Experience the tradition of friendliness on this most beautiful island in the Mediterranean. Surrounded by translucent sea and bathed in sunshine for 340 days each year, this jewel is a favourite for British holiday makers. There is lots to see on the island, or for those who need a breakway at a bargain price - this is the holiday for you.


The price includes Flights from Manchester to


HOWTO CONTACT US ’ Fob a free brochure call our ’


or for adv.ee call


0990 134 826 0870 608 6000 c l u s L v e h o l i d a y s f o r o u r r e a d e r s


‘ i>4 hour hotline on....................-


Larnaca Airport/hotel transfers 7 or 14 nights accommodation Quality hotel Evening meals Breakfasts Tour guide.


opposition to the Withgill application, which I unders tand is purely planning based and imposes on the countryside a huge factory development housing 1,000 cows, equivalent in floor area to four stan­ dard factory units or two large supermar­ kets. I t contravenes the adopted Local Plan, Government guidelines for develop­ ment in the countryside, is within the pro­ tected area of the Forest of Bowland and fringes an important Area of Outstanding


Natural Beauty (AONB). However, her emotive plea that the coun-


try s id e should be th e domain only of "country people" is to ta lly against the growing evidence that all aspects of farm­ ing are now factory-based, which reduces animals to mere commodities. There is much published evidence about turkey farming and broiler fowl and pig rearing, but little has been revealed about the lot of the cow and its future obviously is doomed with the arrival of the Withgill proposal. Nowadays a cow is forced to breed at a


very early age and her offspring removed at a day old. She is milked to capacity for 10 months after being made pregnant again within three months of giving birth. This cycle is continually repeated, by which time chronic health problems or infertility will make her uneconomic and she is sent for slaughter well before her allotted lifes­ pan of 20 years. Therefore your pinta costs a lot in animal suffering. All this belies the cosy pastoral myth of contented cows graz­ ing the green fields and, no doubt, when the beef export ban is lifted, calves will again be taken from their mothers and transported for slaughter to the hell holes


of Europe. The farming community is accepted as a .


major industry and must adapt like other traditional industries when threatened by


• „


on school places THANK you to the Advertiser and Times and reporter Sheila Nixon in particular for publicising the apparent hypocrisy of the


Agency has made distinct improvements to - borough council on the shortage of places the Pendle Road/Sabden Road junction jn Ribble Valley schools.


- -


Democrat controlled (only jus t) Ribble Valley Borough Council, led by Coun. Howel Jones, to point the finger a t the county council when approval by Ribble Valley's planning committee to compara­ tively large-scale new housing is creating


I t 's a b i t rich of the cu r ren t Liberal "the misery." As reported in the Advertiser and T. imes . , _.


the previous week (April 15th), many par­ ents and headteachers are very concerned about the present and future situation. MP Nigel Evans has called for a halt to house building in Ribble Valley until the required educational facilities are provided. Ribble Valley Council has not been co-ordinating properly with the county council. Clearly, the problem is widespread in the borough. Are developers being asked to pay for the necessary extensions to schools? Coun. H. Jones is reported as saying


to find places of interest to themselves as that this year the problem mainly affected | easily as possible. Would it not be sensible


Salesbury. The current example a t bales- bury/Clayton-le-Dale/Wilpshire is a good


one. The borough's planning committee, currently dominated by Liberal Dems and their allies, approved the present develop­ ment taking place off Ribchester Road of densely-packed four to five bedroom hous­


es.The outlook and nature of the Sales- bury/Clayton-le-Dale village will now change. Views of all three parish councils, supported overwhelmingly by electors, were blatantly ignored - this included the inability of the local Salesbury school to cope with the increase in demand. The bland answer given to this a t Ribble Valley was th a t if there was increase in demand for school places, the county council would


find them (somehow). Evidently there is also scant regard for


village conservation and community safe­ ty. One of the foreseeable consequences of Ribble Valley current planning policy is th a t four to five bedroom houses will a ttract a t least two cars in use per house. Do those in power think that everyone will solely use bicycles (presumably in cycle


lanes)? Rather than trying to provide cost-effec­ . , . „


tive alternatives aimed a t reducing vehicu­ lar traffic on local roads, the Lib Dems and their allies are effectively increasing the traffic and the associated hazards for resi­ dents, including for senior citizens. I " f-ddi^ tion, comments made by certain RVBC member(s) indicated th a t those currently in control may have their eyes on village


commons. Incidentally, Ribble Valley Lib Dem


planning policy for housing appears to be a t odds with the same political party in neighbouring Blackburn-with-Darwen.


There the Liberal Democrats have called for a halt to new housing developments on


green field land. As far as Ribble Valley school places are


concerned, it can be seen that it is not only the county council which may be hoping that the problem "will go away each follow­ ing year," (to quote from Coun. Jones, as reported), but also the current majority of the borough council.


No doubt the electors for the Ribble Val­ . . .


ley Borough and parish councils will con­ sider how to show their views after four


years a t the May 6th elections. Thanks again to the Advertiser and


Times for championing local causes by giv­ ing readers the facts.


ALAN SCHOFIELD, Clnyton-Ie-Dale.


Amazed when I paid


a visit to quarry I WENT to Bellman Quarry on Wednes­ day evening to collect newts, because Cas­ tle Cement has now got planning permis­ sion to reopen and extend the redundant quarry, which has been dormant since the 'sixties. I t has grown over with vegetation and has two ponds. Because the ponds will be dug out when th e q u a r ry in g com- mences, the amphibians have to be relocat-


As I entered the quarry, I stopped m


amazement. There was nothing left, no trees, except in the top corner, no bushes, all the blackberry thicket run over and flat­ tened. The week before it was all green and full of bird song. I t now looked like the Somme and the only audible thing was the


crackling of two large bonfires. As I picked my way over the caterpillar


tracks, I saw a wren's nest hanging ofr the rock face. I t had two eggs still m it; there was a moorhen's nest in the big pond, aban­


doned. I collected 23 newts and one frog. I hat , ,


is 1581 have picked up in six weeks. As I was leaving, I saw a moorhen sit­


ting in a tree on the top of the quarry, look­ ing down on the devastation that once was


its home. So much for the Wildlife and Country­ , _ , .


side Act 1981, updated in 1990; it is illegal to disturb nesting birds or destroy nest sites, but that appears to me to exclude big companies which have a balance sheet to


consider. Maybe when you next buy a bag of ,


LYNDA ENGLAND, The Meadows, Worston.


® Castle Cement quarry manager Mr Keith Hall commented: “All work to clenr the site has been carried out in line with our permis­ sion nnd to the apparent satisfaction of Lan­ cashire County Council, whose officer visited the site as recently as Monday. Last year, sci­ entists from Sheffield University cleared as many newts and other amphibians as possi­ ble and we invited those people back this spring to clear any remaining amphibians


, .


cement, you will think of what it has cost the environment.


they could find. Staff clearing trees arc checking for birds nests before felling and any which have been found will be left until the end of the nesting season. Lynda Eng­ land has been aware of the work we have car­ ried out on the site and has been working hand-in-hand with us to remove newts, other amphibians and plants to the pond at Worston, so that they can be appreciated by


people there.” Bring back factories


to create wealth THE election result of May 1997 effective­


ly neutered Ribble Valley. The parliamentary majority enjoyed by


Labour is so large th a t Ribble Valley is an oasis of blue in a red sea. So is it surprising


that we are marooned? Large parliamentary majorities are not


necessarily good for a country. Let's face it, here you could p u t up H a r ry Enfield's "Tory boy" a t a Westminster election and he would probably get in. Why? My thesis is roughly the following. Ribble Valley is land-owning, agricultur­


al, wealthy, served by excellent education institutions, (perhaps most significantly)


one of the few areas in Great Britain out­ side the shires where "the family" is the


prime social unit. The statistics will probably prove all of


these, for example school league tables, crime, illegitimacy, health statistics, wait­ ing lists, etc., and, I guess, church atten­ dance is also higher here than in most of the rest of the country. Unemployment is also low, despite the


fact that Ribble Valley has little indigenous man ufa c tu r in g , U ltra fram e , Castle


Cement and ICI excepted. My belief is that education is the passe tout A sound education, coupled with famjjv vaiues with a smidgin of religion


fa ily l


thrown in for good measure, forms an excel­ lent base for young people to grow, devel­ op, mature and provides excellent role models for emulation. This is what put the


Great into Britain. However, these are all very middle class


features and values. What really concerns me about Ribble Valley and Britain as a whole is th a t there is very little manufac­ turing industry around. How many manu­ facturing manual skills are actively pro­ moted? For example, electricians, joiners, carpenters, cabinet makers, plumbers, engineers, turners, millers, tool makers and


fitters. Britain has too few producers and Rib­


ble Valley is just the same. How many parents do you know who


will say: "My lad/lass is an apprentice — whatever?" Indeed, where could a young person get technical training in Ribble Val-


ley? In future years, Ribble Valley may well


rue its middle classness. Who holds which parliamentary seats is


of little importance when viewed from the standpoint of manufacturing production. Where are tomorrow's producers commg


from? W ith o u t them th e re will be no wealth for anybody.


All other questions are insignificant . . . . . . SAME AGAIN Big thank you to our


tireless councillors I WAS surprised that you did not mention Coun. Myra Clegg in your story about councillors who are standing down this


year.Coun. Clegg has served the Wiswell and Pendleton Ward for many years and has done an excellent job, considering how scat­ tered the ward is, including Barrow and Worston and many other small villages and


communities. She has been tireless in her endeavours to


help and advise people who have contacted her over the years, and in all the time I have known her I have never seen her back away from a problem, although she must have been tempted a t times, as her usual workload must have been tremendous, especially when she was Mayor of the Rib* ble Valley and chairman of our parish


council. I t is said that "you can't please all of the , „ , . ,


people all of the time," bu t Coun. Clegg certainly pleased a lot of the people a lot of the time, and I, for one, would like to say a big "thank you." She will be a hard act to


follow.


HEATHER JACKSON, Trafford Gardens,


Barrow. O A full list of the 13 councillors not seek­


ing re-election appears elsewhere in this week's issue. Editor.


Not sorted out -


by a long shot I HAD a chuckle to myself when I looked a t the front page of the Lib Dem "vote­ seeking" news sh eet th a t th e p a r ty is proudly popping through our doors. "Bright Street" was the headline, and it


said Coun. Frank Dyson was recently con- tacted concerning a grot spot behind the football ground off Bright Street, making it sound as though it was a new problem his party had just been made aware of, when, in fact, local residents have been complain­ ing about the disgraceful state it has been allowed to get into for years. I t started to deteriorate when the people


who kept it fenced and used it as a garden allotment were given notice to quit because the owners were going to build on it, which must be around 20 years ago by now. What


a lot of rent money to lose. However, Coun. Dyson then says he


alerted Ribble Valley Borough Council to the problem. Surely Coun. Dyson, if your finger was on your ward's pulse, you would have known RVBC had been made aware of the problem many times over the years, not only by the general public, but by your


colleagues. The news item then goes on to say: th e


council is now in negotiation with Standen Estates". Well I hope they have better luck than Lancashire County Council has had. I have a letter from them dated back in


April, 1998, regarding the broken flags and mess on the road and pavement caused by heavy vehicles accessing the land. They were going to sort it out, but one year on and the flags are still cracked and the vehi­ cles still use this unofficial entrance to. what is, in my opinion, little more than a tip. I am surprised the councillors did not see


.


when placed in the light of this dilemma. Bring back the factories!


this when they were all down there posing for their publicity photos. I understand tn e . pile of rubbish they were proudly standing, by was collected by council employees. 1 hope they will see to i t th a t the cost of this service is not met by the ratepayers, bu billed to the land owners. I believe them to be wealthy people who could easily afford to fence and tidy the place up and if they don't, in a reasonable time, th e council i should do i t for them and give them the


bill. Coun. Dyson went on to say: I t was


good to see the council being able to sort , out local people's problems", but, Coun. Dyson, sir, i t is not sorted by a long shot. There was one item on the front page of


the news sheet, "Recycling Success". I must congratulate them for that. Well done, but d o n 't p u t B rig h t S tre e t down for any


Brownie points. BRIGHT EYES


Break from council’s


ideological chains ONCE again the local elections are upon us and our letterboxes are being stuffed with all the usual paper promises, b u t are we simply being offered different colours of Blackpool Rock, with the same worn out policies written right through? Perhaps we will be subjected to financ­


ing y e t more grandiose development schemes like the new Clitheroe market, which appears to offer no genuine advan­ tages over the old market to either shop­


pers or traders. The car parking charges, allegedly intro­ . . . .


duced to pay for the new market, have made Clitheroe u n a ttra c t iv e to use for quick shopping, and you often need a tin opener to get a town centre street parking space these days. The streets of Clitheroe are now so obstructed with parked vehicles and traffic calming th a t young children must find i t almost impossible to find a safe, convenient, place to cross, and a dn- ver's view of any children on the pavement is obscured. Of course, Ribble Valley Bor­ ough Council could have easily adopted a "free" disc parking scheme to solve the problem of the lack of empty car park spaces, like some other small market towns in the area, and perhaps saved a fortune by not needing any ticket machines. As usual the sick and elderly lose the


most, as they now need to pay a 20p tax to visit the health centre without facing a route march, especially those from sur­ rounding villages who may need to nip m to pick up a regular repeat prescription from the dispensary. There are often plenty of free spaces on the town centre car parks these days, b u t there are also plenty of empty shops in Clitheroe, and i t is often less hassle to shop elsewhere if you need to use a car. The latest potentially expensive white elephant in the pipeline appears to be th e new tra n sp o r t interchange, which appears to simply replace the recently restored station building already paid for.


: Perhaps the money could be better spent providing a local rail station for Henthora, in the first instance, and then, perhaps, a new station for Billington on a site near the main road bridge, which I believe was first suggested in the 1930s. There is even the possibility of a future extension of the existing Manchester rail service through to Chatburn, using a site close to the village centre, and in space probably thoughtfully provided by the original engineers of the line in the late 1870s, long before most of the current residential housing existed. If only today's planners had the same fore-


sight! Expensive flagship schemes like the new


transport interchange and other "environ­ mentally trendy" ideas, such as a possibly extravagant tree planting programme, may work wonders for the "corporate image" of RVBC as a local authority, bu t they are probably of little benefit to the majority of Ribble Valley residents who pay through the nose for them. I t is probable tha t most people would wish their council tax to be spent on local services which genuinely improve their quality of life, not perhaps appear to be wasted on simply following the latest corporate ideology. There may be many new faces on the council after the elections, and perhaps any new councillors will have the courage to break free from the ideological chains of the more recent past, and take the Ribble Valley forward into the coming Millennium in a new, more posi­


tive, common sense direction.


G. PYE, Downham Road, Chatburn.


My amazing choice


of candidates BLACK bin baggers, turncoat or cowards? What a wonderful array. True blue Ribble Valley never fails to amaze mel The council elections of May 6th offer


me this amazing choice of candidates in my ward. In cid en tal ly , my ward is n 't in Calderstones. There are too many sane people there to affront them with such a choice. Having read the blurbs th a t have fluttered their way into my home, I am compelled to ask: "Is this the best we have


to offer?" The black bin baggers, ak a Lib e ra l


Democrats: their blurb is surreal. Please, please tell me it's a spoof. Counting "doggy- dos" on The Sands; waiting for a puff-puff th a t as often as not seems not to arrive; and a free black bag every week. I am under the "dis-illusion" th a t I pay for my "free" black bag every month by direct debit. There is not one single solitary word about education, young people, health or


employment.


Score: No votes. Turncoat, aka Conservative (erstwhile


black bin bagger) : was obviously too embarrassed to continue as a bin bagger. However, his running-mate, Auntie Wain- wright, the Lady Mayoress or just Joyce, call her what you like, she has got her fin­ ger on more pulses than Dr Smyth. Score: One vote. Cowards, ak a Labour, c/o www.


Newlab@Newtone.NolO; if you know you're going to be beaten, the least you


could do is turn up. Score: Minus votes. Yours with tongue sincerely in cheek.


PRO TANTO QUID RETRIBUAMUS, Whalley.


Page 1  |  Page 2  |  Page 3  |  Page 4  |  Page 5  |  Page 6  |  Page 7  |  Page 8  |  Page 9  |  Page 10  |  Page 11  |  Page 12  |  Page 13  |  Page 14  |  Page 15  |  Page 16  |  Page 17  |  Page 18  |  Page 19  |  Page 20  |  Page 21  |  Page 22  |  Page 23  |  Page 24  |  Page 25  |  Page 26  |  Page 27  |  Page 28  |  Page 29  |  Page 30  |  Page 31  |  Page 32  |  Page 33  |  Page 34  |  Page 35