20 Clitheroe Advertiser & Times, June 3rd, 2004


www.clitheroetoday.co.uk


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


'Clitheroe 422324 (Editorial), 422323 (Adveriisihg), Burnley‘42233't (Classified)


'www.cntheroetoday.cb.uk Letters to the Editor Write to: The Editor, Clithcroc Advertiser and Times, 3 King Street, Clitheroe BB72EW Editorial e-mail: vivicn.mealh@castiancsnews.co.uk — Pat on the back for


council’s Fair Trade I WOULD like to thank Ribble Valley Borough Council for taking an interest in Fair Trade goods. In addition to the coffee and tea that


most people know about, Fair Trade sells such a lot more such as raisins, roasted and mixed nuts, sweets, sul­ tanas, orange and other fruit juices, rice, pasta, muesli, jams, honey, wines, toilet and kitchen paper and a lovely range of clothes. Our church has recently started sell­


ing Fair Trade foods on Sundays. I do, however, feel that Clitheroe’s super­ markets could be more supportive. Let’s make Clitheroe a Fair Trade


town. I was also pleased to learn that Rib­


ble Valley Borough Council has grant­ ed the temporary use of its chambers for the purpose of Friday prayers to our friends in the Muslim community. Good luck Sheraz and Rahman.


Hope you get your permanent site soon.


LAURA BAILEY, Hazlc Grove, Clitheroe


Thanks to you both


from all villagers WHEN Martin and Abigail came into our village, Chatbum, to take over the Post Office and the little shop, I recall observing to them it was a magnani­ mous commitment to offer the facility of a shop being open from 6 a.m. to 8 p.m., every day of the week. I have been asked to express through


your columns the appreciation of vil­ lagers, including myself, for the invest­ ment Martin and Abigail have made to the shop facilities. I t can be recognised that a costly


investment is also a personal invest­ ment. But the enlargement and wider


space offer a greater comprehensive range of goods for the people of the vil­ lage. There is an amenable sense of space and light. The spacious convivial atmosphere


of the shop is an investment also for the benefit of the village community. And for this, the village community


wants to record its thanks and appre­ ciation.


ROBIN PARKER, S( Chad's Avenue, Chatbum


It was not us, says


environment group THE noise auditors who have been parking their car in Mr Parker's street - see letters May 27th - are not from the Environment Agency. Noise levels do not fall within the agency’s regula­ tory powers. Castle Cement commissions its own


independent noise audits, which are carried out by a private company. Mr Parker also alleges that "the


Environment Agency sends two mem­ bers on expenses from London to stay at a hotel in town to investigate a prob­ lem that is not a problem". This is entirely untrue. The Environment Agency has


regional and local offices throughout England and Wales. Environment


Thanks for a really great holiday win


■ LAST year at the Royal Lancashire : Show, I entered a competition organ­ ised by the Clitheroe Advertiser and Times to win a holiday in Pontins. Much to my surprise, my name


was.chosen and I won a holiday for four people to any Poritins self-cater­ ing centre. After a lot of thought I decided to


take my mum, dad and sister. We went to Pontins at Prestatyn


in North Wales at half-term and had a great time, swimming, trampolin- ing, playing mini-golf, tennis, aer- oballetc. I thought I would write to you to


say thank you for organising the competition and for the holiday.


ANTHONY HOWE, Chatburn Road, Clilheroe


Officers work solely in the area in which they are based. Any agency staff who carry out regu­


latory and investigative work relating to Castle Cement’s Ribblesdale works are based at the agency’s area office in Preston. They are not brought in from London or any other region and do not use hotel accommodation.


SPOKESMAN, Environment Agency NW Region


An honour to meet


this kindly gent I WOULD like to write a small credit towards a gentleman and his housing company, who are going to rehouse my wife and I in Clitheroe after we were given notice on our current property last week. The gentleman in question is a Mark


Greenwood from Great Harwood-based Liberty Property Group. The company specialises in trying to provide first rate accommodation all at reasonable rents. At first glance you may ask why I


need to personally thank this man and write a letter to my local paper. The fact is Mr . Greenwood


approached me after he unintentional­ ly heard me inquiring about property in one of the Clitheroe’s estate agencies. I had not even noticed th a t Mr


Greenwood had entered the agency behind me, while I was making inquiries about a local property to rent. When I left the agency and made my


way to the next on my quest list, I was approached by Mr Greenwood, who offered his hand in friendship and told me that he ran Liberty Property Group. He told me that he is the founder of


the company who caters for people that do not have the kind of money that is required for a lot of the properties in the Clitheroe area. He also told me that he knew how


difficult it was also to find a landlord who was amenable to pets such as dogs etc. I gave him my details and informed


him that I had a dog and he said leave it with me, I will get back to you as soon as I can. He did just that. He got back to me


three days later and told me that he had a property in Clitheroe that was suitable for us and our dog.


ANTHONY is pictured in Pontins at • Prestatyn, North Wales, (s)


To cut to the chase, Mr Greenwood


and his company have a humane side to the way that they do business. Indeed the way that Mr Greenwood


approached me and the way that he was genuinely concerned for my predica­ ment, made me warm to his kind man­ ner and his almost charitable approach to helping people less fortunate than himself. In a world where most people are


treated like another number, it is a gen­ uine honour to meet people like Mr Greenwood who know what it is like to struggle when trying to find suitably priced appropriate accommodation. Thank you very much Mark and good


luck with Liberty, in the hope that the Christian attitude that you exemplify may pass on to others in the real estate business. I look forward to becoming one of


your tenants.


PHILIP JOHN WATERHOUSE, Parson Lane, Clitheroe


Without knowledge


or compassion? IF my friends’ car breaks down, I hope I would give them a lift. If my neighbours’ house burns down,


I hope I would help them. If I see a complete stranger having a


heart attack in the street, I hope I would call an ambulance. If people are fleeing persecution,


threats or torture, shouldn’t we offer them a place of safety, a refuge, asylum? The BNP leaflet for the forthcoming elections calls for an end to asylum for­ ever. I t asks us to turn our backs forever on


the bullied, the raped and those made homeless. Either the BNP does not understand


asylum or they are forever incapable of feeling sympathy for others. Ignorant or without compassion,


which is it?


JO HARDING, Wilson Street, Clithcroe


Protect our lanes


from county council! HAVING lived in Tosside all my life until recently, I should like to comment


on Lancashire County Council’s contro­ versial "Quiet Lanes" and "Greenways"


scheme. I expressed concern to LCC about


the recent re-signing of roads and the


scheme in general. LCC states: “The traffic levels on


the ‘Quiet Lanes’ are already very low." If this is the case, then why is the


scheme necessary? LCC assured me that reduced speed


limits will not be imposed, yet the study report for the scheme generated by JMP Consultants Ltd., and avail­ able on LCC’s website, states that reduced speed limits may be necessary after a period of monitoring. The report also makes patronising


remarks about how locals have found it difficult to grasp the concept of "Quiet Lanes." LCC and JMP Consultants fail to


understand that these lanes are vital transport links for local residents, rural businesses and farm traffic. The report refers to the "Bowland


Toolbox." This is a collective name for a variety of potential methods of traf­ fic control and includes the redundant gate posts already seen in the area. It discusses the use of painted road


surfaces, paved sections, insertion of chicanes and false cattle grids. It is obsessed with the desire to make


all "Quiet Lanes" uniform in width and suggests breaking up the Tarmac where the width is exceeded. The most worrying suggestion is the


benign neglect of road surfaces, hedges and ditches, in the belief this neglect will reduce traffic speeds. LCC assured me that the scheme is


low key and low cost, yet the report estimates the cost of implementation to be £525,000 and suggests further funds may be required. LCC claims that it is preserving the


character of the lanes, but I fail to understand how the proliferation of signs, traffic calming measures and benign neglect will help to preserve their character, which has remained rel­ atively unchanged for centuries. These lanes do need protecting -


they need protecting from LCC and its desire to create a rural theme park.


LUKE DUGDALE, Oakfield Avenue, Barnoldswick


Help is on hand and


it’s not too far away I WOULD like to respond to the arti­ cle written by ME sufferer Rachel Bar­ nett last week.


I too have ME and have been ill and


unable to work for nearly four years. I am 45 with three teenage children. For three years I was very, very ill


and tried a number of different treat­ ments.


Since joining “Rainbow Tai-Chi”


classes with David Ellis over a year ago I have experienced gradual, sustained, significant healing and recovery. At the class I go to in Skipton there


are two other ME sufferers and a woman with chronic asthma, all of who


are recovering well and feeling the ben­ efits. David also runs a healing class in


Skipton which follows the Tai Chi class on Monday afternoons.


He has finished classes for a long


summer break but is due to start again in September.


He also runs a class in Clitheroe at


“Equilibrium” in Moor Lane on Wednesday afternoons.


For details, contact David Ellis on


01756 753188. If you call him before he leaves for an extended trip he could take your details and put you on his mailing list for details of his classes and workshops. Alternatively you could ring him in


September and ask him for details then.


Best of luck to any other ME suffer­ ers out there!


ELIZABETH GARDNER, Ribble Lane, Chatburn


Building project


that should unite MY direct ancestor, Isabella Spencer, was the co-founder of the Slaidburn Methodist Chapel when it was built in 1821. Its history is well-documented, and


by all accounts, it was a community effort which brought together the peo­ ple of the village. It is, therefore, a great pity over the


last four years to have witnessed the plans for a new village hall in Slaid­ burn turn out so disastrously, and in the process, divide the village. I opposed the first two sets of plans


simply on the grounds that the chapel and adjoining buildings were to be completely demolished. I gave my gen­ eral support for the third set of plans as they intended to keep most of the buildings. Having read Mr Diack’s letter in the


' Clitheroe Advertiser and Times, I have to agree with his general tone. How many times will it take before the cur­ rent (unelected) trustees of the build­ ings get it right? Surely the villagers of Slaidburn can


have little confidence in them; I have none left! I t really is time for the trustees to consider their positions and let others have a go who can try to repair the damage already done and take on board the views of a large number of people in the village who are still not happy with the proposed plans. I really would have thought that a


new village hall would have united a village community. This is what should have happened. I hope this may still happen in the


future.


CHRIS SPENCER, Black Bull Lane Fulwood, Preston


Your le t te r s . . . ® The Editor welcomes letters on any subject, but correspondents are reminded that contributions may be edited or condensed, must not exceed 350 words and should reach us by noon on Tuesday. Letters with noms de plume are now


only accepted for publication if the edi­ tor agrees that there is a valid reason for the writer's identity to be withheld. Letters can be sent by post to the Clitheroc Advertiser and Times, 3 King


Street, Clitheroe BB7 2EW, via e-mail to vivien.meath@eastlancsnews.co.uk, via fax to 01200 4434G7 or texted to


0779969G147. Letters submitted by any of these


methods must, however, include the writer’s name and full postal address.


M e rd fe te s -R e n z


Atlas Internationa], part of the Atlas Group, established in Costa Blanca for 25 years, with more thon 50,000 happy clients. Prices range from £45,000 and include the land.


Fight to save this


invaluable service I LEFT school 35 years ago with no exam qualifications. I grew up in local authority care


homes and was moved around, some­ times staying only a very short time in any one home. In those days, you were not encour­


aged to stay on, but to leave and get a job to prepare yourself for life in the “grown up world”. The only exam I ever passed was my driving test at the age of 17! I was never able to apply for any


jobs which required certificates. And then I found my interest in


computers, but how was I supposed to use them properly? I popped into the Skill Share IT cen­


tre in Henthorn Road. There I was encouraged to learn at my own pace. I could not go on a college course as


you just have to “get on with it” there and I would be left behind. But not by the wonderful staff at


the centre led by manager Melanie Kilminster. From basic computer use to more


advanced and up-to-date courses i.e. ECDL (European Computer Driving Licence), I could learn whatever I wanted to at my own pace. I have now passed two exams and


am working towards another. My confidence has grown and I love


using the computer. I can write letters, design posters,


compile a basic spreadsheet and am working on presentations. However, the centre has been told it


must close as there is no funding left. Therefore, it has to leave Clitheroe


the centre as I did and see for them­ selves. I.must also add that some of the


tutors work voluntarily and their patience is wonderful. Please save this valuable communi­


ty centre.


PAM KENT, Croasdalc Drive, Clitheroe


How can the young


afford a home? I AM disgusted at the way greedy businessmen are buying properties in Clitheroe and surrounding areas for lets or to sell on. My son and many more like him


cannot get on to the bottom of the property ladder. We are creating a new generation of


tenants and many young adults are not getting the chance to live where they were born or be independent.


A CONCERNED PARENT, Name and address supplied


Can you remember


MR SIMON O'ROURKE with staff and scheme users counting down the days to the closure of the IT Learning Centre closing (C100504/5)


and go to another town, which means we will lose such a valuable asset to people like myself. Plenty of money is put in place for


sport and leisure facilities and for the young people of the town. While I agree that that is right, the older generation also have a right to


carry on learning and finding new interests. So please councillors, protect a ser­


vice to the ordinary folk who still want to learn.The funding runs out and the centre is due to close on July 31st. Can I please invite any councillors or bodies interested to just pop-in at


the MC5 concert? I AM writing to see if your readers can give me any information on a rock con­ cert supposedly held at Clitheroe Cas­ tle in 1967. It was by a then unknown American


group called The MC5. They were soon to become leg­


endary and indeed the surviving mem­ bers have recently re-formed and are playing a series of concerts this year.


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DAVID HALL, Blackburn


Your memories are


worth sharing I AM currently in the process of researching a book which takes a nos­ talgic look at village life between 1930 and 1970 and I wondered if any read­ ers could help me with their memories of growing up in a Lancashire village? The book covers all aspects of vil­


lage life such as rural industries, coun­ try crafts, transport, customs, fetes and fairs, village sports, country pur­ suits, village shops, the village hall, the church, pub, the village bobby, school, clubs and organisations, art, music well-known characters or anything else to do with village life. Perhaps there was something unique


about the village you lived in - did it have its own traditions or was there something that took place in your vil­ lage that made it famous or infamous? Can you remember how the commu­


nity celebrated great occasions such as VE day and the Coronation? The book will be published by a


well-known international publisher. If you think you may be able to help me, please write to Henry Buckton, PO Box 2770, Glastonbury, Somerset BA6 9XD or e-mail me a t henrybuck- ton@tiscali.co.uk. All photographs will be returned.


HENRY BUCKTON, Glastonbury, Somerset


CHtheroe Advertiser & Times; June 3rd, 2004 21


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