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Thursday, March 20th, 2003 No. 6,089 Sstk.fi. £>* > *¥


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iaon liaye 18


A fifth candidate is named as the BNP declares its-intention to' contest all five, wards in Clitheroe’s May elections.


AT A GLANCE - . i i‘" '’


t* . \ »7># - i ‘ 1 1 1 ■ Page 2


A new skatepark ahd games area is taking shape in the grounds of Clitheroe Castle.


page 5


It was a proud day for Ribble Valley volunteers as a Royal cou­ ple gave their seal of approval to the hospice.


— « page 14


A man who started his illustrious Methodist church career in Chatbum returns for a special occasion.


.....page 12


A Clitheroe man has been acquitted at Preston Crown Court of causing grievious bodi­ ly harm.


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Burnley boss Stan Tement is to help Chtheroe FC in their bid to raise £5,000 for replacing the Shawbridge ground’s floodlights.


wmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmim page 40


WEEKEND WEATHER: Dry and milder, .with :q. plenty of sunshine “ and light winds. ■.•


SUNRISE: 6-18 a.m. SUNSET: 6-19 p.m.


LIGHTING UP TIME: 6-19 p.m.


CALLUS ( News: ■


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01200,422324.,..-.. , Advertising:'- 01200 422323 Classified: 01282 422331 Fax: 01200443467


Editorial e-mail: vivicn.mcath@ costlancsnews.co.uk


RED NOSE DAY was a close shave' for headteacher Mr Vincent Murray a t S t Michael an d S t Jo h n ’s RC School, Clitheroe—literally. While children cheered, school care­


taker Mr Alan Moon (above) shaved Mr Murray’s head tight to the scalp. The new skinhead’s public show of


bravery resulted in£179.44 being raised for Comic Relief. This was a fur ther boost to the


£254.50 raised by the children who cele­ brated their Big Hair Day in no uricer- tain manner. A member of staff commented: “Mr


Murray was feeling the cold after­


wards!” At Clitheroe town centre fitness stu­


dio Lee Carter, proprietor Vicky baked six dozen buns and invited customers to guess what the red cherries on top had been soaked in. Ironically the first bun-taster, Rohanna Stoddart, was the only person to guess correctly. The


answer was Madeira, and £225 was


raised. There were fund-raising ventures


galore throughout the Ribble Valley,. with hundreds of youngsters going to town with yarious.yersions of "big hair." Ribblesdale High School Technolo­ gy College was no exception, as this


picture of Becky Chanter and friends, above, shows. (T140303/5)


• Three young residents of Chatbum,


Louise Paul (11), her sister, Larna (eight), Chelsea Green (10) and Phoebe Frankland (10) dressed up and collect­ ed £28 from villagers for Comic Relief. • Further report and pictures of Red


Nose Day, page 5 .'


Racial outbursts interrupt mosque appeal hearing


by Tim Procter


NAKEDLY racial comments briefly but nois­ ily interrupted Tuesday’s appeal against plan­ ning refusal for a small mosque in Holden


Street, Clitheroe. Almost 100 people crowded into the Ribble Val­


ley Borough Council chamber for the hearing. I t was not the normal type of public inquiry, but an


informal and mainly courteous opportunity for people to put the case for and against. The result should be known in four or five weeks. There was a strong police presence in and around .


the building.


SETTING THE STANDARDS


THAT OTHERS CAN ONLY FOLLOW.


several men loudly shouted views of uncompromising clarity in quick succession.


But the officers had no need to intervene, even when . .


other people in the chamber agreed with the senti­ ments expressed.


I t was quickly and noisily clear that some of the .


: But Planning Inspector Mrs Claire S herratt remained totally unruffled by the outburst. She calm­ ly asked for quiet and told one man in particular, who had stood up to shout down from the front row of the public gallery, that he would be asked to leave if he was not quiet. 1 Mrs Sherratt called for people to allow “construc­


tive discussion” to continue. She emphasised that the issue was about land use and whether the site was suit­ able for the purpose proposed. There was no further trouble. The proceedings started with Mr Graham Connell,


for the mosque trustees, and Mr John Macholc, for the council, outlining their cases. The applicants do not deny that there may be some


extra traffic caused by the mosque, but say it would be less than the 5% increase permitted. The mosque would be a kind of meeting room, only


40 metres square, taking as few as three people. Some prayers may be said as early as 4-30 a. m., and as late as 10-45 p. m. in the summer. Mr Connell emphasised that both the trustees and


the council had spent two years looking for an alter­ native site, but none could be found. . The councillors’ objections to Holden Street, on a


narrow vote in a case where officials recommended approval, are on traffic and amenity grounds. .


“Attendance cannot be controlled or limited and


there will be congestion,” said Mr Macholc. Speaker after speaker supported this, quoting


instances where the emergency services could not get to nearby houses. But Coun. Frank Dyson, a ward representative on


Ribble Valley Borough Council, said that there had been no objections from the county highways experts. “I don’t believe we can allow the car to dominate our total future,” declared Coun. Dyson. “I believe it is right for a community to have a place of worship.” Former councillor Mr Harry Backhouse referred to


difficulties he had had with traffic in Holden Street. But he also questioned whether a mosque would blend in with a market town which had Clitheroe’s his­


tory, and with a castle...,, “Would it be in keeping? Would it look right? Would it be appropriate,” asked Mr Backhouse.


. Then he declared: “These are emotional issues. I think they are very relevant.” BNP council candidate Mr Peter McQuade said can­ vassing had shown that a lot of people were concerned


about the mosque. I t was an emotive issue and the council elections would let the people of Clitheroe decide whether they wanted a mosque or not. Inspector-Mrs Sherratt crisply responded: “This is


a planning appeal.” > Mr David Bowden, who had spoken numerous times during the hearing about traffic problems in the area, said: “There are emotional issues, but it is for planning


reasons we feel the appeal should be rejected. I t is on planning grounds we oppose the mosque.” After ensuring that everyone who wished to speak


had done so, the inspector closed the hearing to visit the appeal site. She made it clear that no further arguments could


be put to her, though anyone who wanted to point out features of the site could do so. One was inescapable - the number of vehicles parked


and being driven along Holden Street. • . The inspector carefully examined the site and sur­


rounding properties, watched by some of the people who had been at the hearing. She checked that none of them felt there was more she should see before leaving.


Driver still critical after smash


T A MAN wlio was involved in a three-car smash in Pendle Road on Thursday, was yesterday said to be stable, but critical in . hospital and still unconscious. . . Mr Andrew (Tom) Metcalf (20), of. St;


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Peter's; Close, Salesbury, was driving a Rover Metro towards Clitheroe when it was


v,: in collision with a Ford Escort and a Land- ’ Rover Discovery, which were being driven- out of the town.


< . 1 * A fire.crew from Clitheroe released Mr


a; Metcalf from the wreckage of the car, a n d , rf-he;was examined a t the crash scene by -paramedics.5


,Heitwas taken to Blackburn- Royal Infirmaryfcbut later transferred, to;


the intensive care unit.at Preston Hospital: - The Escort was being driven by M r Paul Clegg (26), of Chester Avenue, Clitheroe:. He also was taken to Blackburn Royal Infirmary, where he was treated for a hand injury and whiplash injuries, but was not detained.


,


■;• The driver of the Discovery, Mr David: Newton (38), of Over Hacking Cottages, Stonyhurst, was uninjured.


1 .


• The incident occurred a t 4-45 p.m. and- the road was closed for about two hours." -: ; This week police were appealing for.wit­ nesses to the accident. 1


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'ri' page 3 Head’s close shave adds to Red Nose


Castle Cement may burn animal parts


A KILN at Castle Cement might soon be burn­ ing meat and bones instead of coal, i t was revealed this week - and, they say, it should improve emissions from one of the two giant stacks. In a statement issued by the company yester­


day, Castle Cement said they gave “early notifi­ cation” of their intentions in relation to the company’s medium-term fuels strategy to the Environment Agency, Lancashire County Council and Ribble Valley Borough Council at a recent liaison committee meeting. They plan to replace coal with a meat and bone meal residue from the animal by-product


process. ' The company stated: “The company has


available a supply of Agricultural Waste Derived Fuel, which is meat and bone meal residue from the animal by-product rendering process. The company wishes to emphasise that


this fuel will contain no material from the over- 30-month cattle scheme. This material can read­ ily be burnt as an alternative fuel and is widely used for this purpose on cement kilns in Europe. “The fuel is classified as ‘non-hazardous,’ is


granular and similar in appearance to damp sand. I t is a suitable replacement for coal and its use should result in improved emissions to the environment. This alternative fuel will only be usedonkiln7. “The company recognises that the ‘Substitute


Fuels Protocol’ will apply and will need to be met fully, including full public consultation which will take place in due course. A probable timescale for introduction will be approximately •12 to 18 months.” Castle Cement will be sending out a newslet­


ter to residents within a five-mile radius of the works within the next two weeks. A Castle Cement spokesman said they had


consulted Ribble Valley Borough Council and the Environment Agency before making the announcement. “Safety will not be an issue” he added.


MP joins Blair vote


WHEN most Conservatives voted with the Government oh Tuesday night over the Iraq issue, Ribble Valley MP Mr Nigel Evans was


among them. . Yesterday he told the Advertiser and Times: "It was unusual to be joining Tony Blair in the division lobby last night; however, I believe th a t the Government has been right in their dealings with Iraq. We are dealing with an evil man who, I believe, would use the arms he is amassing. He must be stopped before it is too late. "My thoughts and prayers are with our


troops at this time. May they have God’s speed and return home safely after a job well done," he added.


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