f l* j ’ „ Vfe) jYVit ? •{ < > ,*v_ ^ , '• ' ‘ ' ' ’• J Y; ’( . ■ '■ / f tj^ r r - i f t - v , ,•(.>■* ■> r^' < » e Thursday, December 1 1th, 2003 No. 6,127 V J * ' tifr "< ., *t <


Teenage chefs taste success


AT A GLANCE


Our telephone boxes are set to disappear with at least nine fac­ ing the axe. ^


•• •■■'■ • '" ' - • •■ page 3


A : fa sc in a t in g h is to ry of Glitheroe has gone on sale in aid of a charity trust.


■i page 4


Trinity Methodist Church is all set to stage its 40th pantomime.


■ • i ii page 5


Local views will be heard prior to a decision on the burning of a new fuel at Castle Cement.


...page 3


Andrew Smith (nine) was just one of the visitors to Sunday’s Christ­ mas market in Clitheroe.


• • page 16


A Chatburn man who went out to pick holly collapsed and died suddenly.


- page 7


Four Ribble Valley footballers help their school beat Eton Col­ lege.


_ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ page 34


WEEKEND WEATHER: MILDER, though cloudy, with rain on Saturday.


SUNRISE: 8-15a.m. SUNSET: 3-49 p.m.


LIGHTING UP TIME: 3-49 p.m.


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Editorial e-mail: vivien.meath@ castlancsnews.co.uk


COMMUNITYconcems about speeding vehi­ cles in Ribble Valley villages and the rural areas have led local police to take firm action. Local officers have been trained in using a


s§ I


laser speed detection device after members of the public have consistently complained about the rise in the number of vehicles speeding through their villages. Following consultation with the Lancashire


Partnership for Road Safety, and working with the Road Safety group of the local. Crime and Disorder Partnership, a laser speed detection device has been acquired and will be used by local officers for enforcement.


§t^s


. Insp. Bob Ford, officer in charge of policing in the Ribble Valley, said that before enforce­ ment starts, it is important to establish whether there actually is a problem or if vil­ lagers are miscalculating the speed of vehicles. Insp. Ford commented: "Speeding in villages


is the number one topic being raised at our surgeries and at public meetings. However, we do not yet know whether speed is a problem, or it is a mistaken perception. - “Several officers have received training in use


super shew


Bid to make town centre better for pedestrians


STREETS and spaces in Clitheroe could be much


improved. This was the conclusion of


a Community Street Audit of central Clitheroe, conducted by Clitheroe The Future partnership, with the help of national charity Living


Streets. Small groups of local people


walked the centre of Clitheroe with Living Streets experts in November to see how the streets worked for people on


foot. What they found was that


shopping, socialising and walk­ ing in Clitheroe could be even more popular. With some detail changes to make life eas­ ier for everyone, whether they arrive on foot, by car or by public transport, Clitheroe could become even more sue-, cessful - without generating more traffic problems. While some of the difficul­


ties identified were pretty obvi­ ous - try crossing the road safe­ ly by the roundabout at the bottom of King Street - some are easy to miss. For example, the fingerposts


in the middle of the market point in all the wrong direc­ tions - irrelevant for most local people, but a real nuisance for visitors.


. And most of Clitheroe’s dropped kerbs are inadequate, - or missing entirely. Dropped kerbs are not just important for wheelchair users, but for parents pushing baby buggies, visitors wheeling suitcases and delivery drivers using trolleys.


£v'VN.V*V (I- / Av'F ’ m -A . r } * ”•»<,? V f m


which visits many of the villages, will be under­ taking speed checks as part of his routine patrols of the rural areas in order to gather data to assess the extent of the problem. Enforcement will be considered later if deemed


necessary.


plaints about “boy racers” speeding around Clitheroe and Whalley increase. Insp Ford said: "Nigel's work will help us to


Town centres will also be targeted, as com­ •'> p h o n e u u o r


establish the facts before we go any further. We will be feeding the data back to parish coun­ cils, and to the highways authority. "We are responding to community concerns


and hope that the long term result will be a reduction in complaints and collisions. The gathered data will also help to highlight the need for traffic management or other engineer­


ing work." Insp Ford explained: "Speeding is an emotive


of the handheld speed detection device and we will be utilising the skills of our Community Support Officer to gather data across the bor­


ough." Police Community Support Officer Nigel


Williams, who staffs the mobile police station


subject at the moment, but by using this device we are simply responding to what the commu­ nities are telling us - there are drivers who openly flout the law, causing danger and nui­ sance to others, racing around the town cen­ tres, knowing that we have notgot the equip­ ment to tackle them. We have now, and we will be targeting these selfish individuals." Our pciture shows Insp. Bob Ford and PCSO


Nigel Williams checking traffic speed in Chat- burn. (G091203/5)


\ ‘


Borough council to take over for enforcing parking restrictions in Valley


by Duncan Smith


TWENTY-FIVE new jobs could be created in the Ribble Valley after coun­ cillors gave the thumbs-up to decrimi­


nalised parking. Responsibility for the enforcement of


on-street parking regulations in Lan­ cashire switches from the police to local authorities next July. Members of Ribble Valley Borough


Council’s Planning and Development Committee gave the go-ahead for the introduction of £60 penalties for on and off-street parking offences. This is in line with other Lancashire authorities. And councillors heard the authority


had submitted a bid to house a new centre in the Ribble Valley administer­


ing parking penalty notices from across Lancashire. Suitable sites for the new centre, which will create up to 25 jobs, are currently being considered The council’s engineering manager,


Mr Graham Jagger, said: “Parking restrictions are not being enforced due to lack of police resources. This has resulted in illegally parked vehicles causing an obstruction, or vehicles occupying limited waiting areas for longer than permitted. “Lancashire County Council agreed


to adopt powers allowing district authorities to take over enforcement duties two years ago and set the new penalty charge following a feasibility


study. “The county council has established


ing parking attendants for each district, but Ribble Valley Council has' decided not to enter into the agreement and instead to directly employ its own attendants. “A report will be prepared for com­


mittee,in due course outlining our pro-, posals in detail.”


-


-, Under the.new scheme, enforcement charges in the council’s 15 pay and dis­ play car parks will be revised in line with on-street penalties.' The current charge of £25, discount- ■


ed to £5 if paid on the day, will be increased to £60 reduced to £30 if paid within 14 days. Mr Jagger continued: “The increased


charge is a legal requirement and will streamline on-street and off-street


a central enforcement contract provid­ , parking offences.


all enforcement operates with clearly defined procedures, giving a clear con-1 sistent approach; that the public will


. “This will avoid confusion.and ensure understand. ;. ;:!' “Surplus income;'raised from charges . , ! YyY-Y,;


will be reinvested in public transport and higKwayimprovemente.” ,;


Jbhh .Houldswortlv, of Glitheroe \


Chamber of Trade, said parking prob­ lems in the’town had worsened over recent months. He said business was suffering because people were being put off visiting particular shops if they were unable to park anywhere nearby due to cars being parked all day.. . He looked forward to the council tak­ ing responsibility.for enforcing parking


regulations' and employing parking attendants to patrol the,town.


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D.J.P. Domestic Appliances


Louise, Angie and staff would like to take this opportutt^:ofij^Mag-;aien^- a very Merry Christmas and a Happy New Yearfa’iy-., -l.,


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Open Sunday 10am - 4pm *. , i


New Year’s Eve 9am-3pm Closed New Year’s Day


Re-open Friday, January 2nd, 2003 at 9am


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for mince pies and mulled wine on the 22nd, 23rd and 24th December.


.


However, most of us ignore them most of the time. Paul Holdsworth, of Living


Streets, said: “Clitheroe is already a great place to walk. But.it could be even better - great news for the local econo­ my, tourism and shopping, as


well as for local people them­ selves. If we get things right for pedestrians, more people will enjoy walking in Clitheroe, easing parking pressure for those visitors who really have no choice but to drive.” Living Streets will be pro­


ducing a detailed report on the Street Audit findings, with hundreds of suggestions to improve Clitheroe. Our picture shows Living


Streets representatives and local volunteers involved with the project, (s)


action on


Philips closure: MP in call for Government to take action


RIBBLE VALLEY MP Mr Nigel Evans has called for Government intervention in the closure of the LG Philips plant at


Simonstone. It was announced last week that Philips


was to close its glass factory in Simonstone with the loss of 265 permanent jobs. Mr Evans said: “This is a devastating


move. Including part-time and agency work, well over 400 jobs will be lost in the area fol­ lowing this announcement - this despite the fact that the factory is very competitive. This is a huge body-blow to the area. “The manager, Steven Dodd, has spent


seven months with the company, establish­ ing an effective management team, and this announcement came as a bolt out of the


blue. “There was always stiff competition in


the production of cathode ray tubes from China, and from April 1st, when 10 other countries join the EU, this will only get worse. This is not just a problem facing the Ribble Valley, but the UK as a whole.” He added that he had contacted Mrs


i news and v iews from the Centre of the Kingdom lines t


r


rl-'V! ^ J im r%


i.clitheroetoday.co.uk Price 55p


Patricia Hewitt, the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry, asking as a matter of urgency that she contact Mr Dodd and try to arrange a stay of execution from LG itself. Alternatively, Mr Evans would like to see


an attempt to save as many jobs as possible in the area through retaining the workers or diversifying and restructuring the plant. “Manufacturing is vitally important in


East Lancashire, and we cannot sit idly by, watching the jobs being exported to Asia and eastern Europe,” said Mr Evans. The Dutch electronics giant announced


the bad news as part of a major restructur­ ing of its European production infrastruc­ ture. The Simonstone plant, built in 1960, is due to close inmid-2004. More jobs will go at other Philips plants


across Europe, including around 1,000 at Aachen, Germany, with the closure of a cathode ray tube factory there.


Shopping extravaganza


CLITHEROE’S late night Christmas shop­ ping extravaganza takes place next Thursday. The evening promises to be a glittering


affair, with choristers, bellringers and the town band joining in the fun. Turn to page 17 for a three-page festive spe­ cial feature packed with competitions.


No. I - 3 King Lane, Ciitheroe 443340 (50 yards from Yorkshire Bank In centre of town) mm


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