18 Clitheroe Advertiser & Times, August 12th, 2004
www.ciitheroetoday.co.uk
Ciitheroe 422324 (Editoriai), 422323 (Advertising), Burniey 422331 ' f
Clitheroe 422324 (Editorial), 422323 (Advertising), Burnley 422331 (Classified)
Council is giving a poor service
- | Write to: The Editor, Clitheroe Advertiser and Times, 3 King Street, Ciitheroe BB72EW Editoriai c-maii:
vivicn.imcath@
eastlancsncws.co.uk [— Your help led me
to my cousins! I HAVE been researching my family history for 12 years and, although I have gone back to the 1600s in some instances, I have never found any ancestors who did not hail from the West Country. It was with some surprise, therefore,
that when the 1901 census came on line and I started tracing my grand mother's siblings, I found that one of her brothers - Frank Price - was hving at Grove Cottage, Gisbum, with a wife and family and working as a game- keeper at Gisbume Park. I began to wonder if I had any
cousins still in the area, which in those days was in the West Riding of Yorkshire, but as all my relatives of the older gen eration were. long gone, I wrote to your paper in the hope that someone might read my letter req u e s tin g help. Sure eno
ugh, I struck gold. The same day th a t
the
paper came out, I had
ROSEMARY with the poster highlighting the
story about her appeal for information (s) cousins I
, u , the hour and f within
never knew existed and who were liv ing in Billington. At the end of July, we made the
four-hour drive north and I met Shaun, Pauline, Elaine, Barbara, Pat and Frank for the first time. They pro-' ceeded to make us so welcome and we spent a couple of hours looking at fam ily photographs and getting to know one another. Many thanks to the Advertiser and Times for all your help.
ROSEMARY BLAIR, Whitfield Farm, Falfield, GIos
Police: we need
to check speed I AM -writing to reply to some of the issues raised by David Bowker in his letter to your paper. I welcome debate of this controver
J'--' -‘ 'r '
sial issue, but would like the chance to clarify a few things. Speeding in -villages is the number
one issue raised by communities in the rural areas of the Ribble Valley. In response to that concern, we have been carrying out speed checks, covertly and overtly, for some months to check whether the perception of excessive speeds is correct. Sabden and Mellor have been
revealed as particular problems. That is why we have targeted these places. The fact we intended to do so has been widely publicised. We are following national guidelines on the use of hand-held roadside
ROSEMARY and her Ribble Valley cousins (s)
de-vices, and no one has been prosecut ed for speeds of under 38 miles per hour. The road closure a t Read has
increased traffic volume. However, the plan was in place months ago and enforcement will continue until the problem is solved. Officers engaged on the checks have received many positive comments from -villagers sick of selfish motorists who appear to care little about their safety. I must point out that all the speed
enforcement is being done by officers in high visibility clothing. Liveried police vehicles are parked nearby. In some cases, the drivers have passed a liveried -van, two officers and the speed de-vice (complete with tripod) at 52 miles per hour, then said "I didn't see you" when they were stopped! What chance has a yoimgster on the way to school? We have tried just parking up - itd o e s network! Speed limits are in place to protect
the public - residents and drivers alike. We have a responsibility to respond to community concern, and intend to do so (resources allowing) in other -villages where there is a proven problem. I would be very happy if we prosecuted no one -
that would be a success. All th a t is required is for
drivers to adhere to the clearly signed limits. "Why is that so difficult? Mr Bowker mentions our efforts
an excellent arrest rate against travel ling criminals, and are using measures such as Anti- Social Behaviour Orders to create long-term measures against them.
INSP. ROBERT E. FORD, Lancashire Constabulary, Clitheroe Police Station, King Street, Clitheroe
Worries over plan
for medical co-op so, are we about to get a "revolution ary, intelligent network" system of doctors and nurses (page 1, Advertiser. and Times last week)? Might I ask, where from?
against criminals. While officers have been there to specifically target speed ing, they have also stopped numerous other vehicles, to check documents, carry out searches and generally detect and prevent crime. We are acutely aware of travelling criminals and use a -variety of tactics against them - across the whole of Ribble Valley. With community support, we enjoy
A GROUP photograph of the Price family taken in Wiltshire on the occasion of the golden wedding of Frank’s parents in 1915 - he is standing on the left (s)
Having got used to acronym
REMS, we now have the Blackburn with Darwen Co-operative (no men tion of Burnley, have they opted out?) whose manager, Mrs Marilyn Rush- ton, says that "we are in safe hands". I recall the captain of the Titanic
saying something sinular and, recent ly the Health Secretary, when asked about the crisis in the Health Service, saying: "Crisis, what crisis?" And Tony Blair stating a few days later: "We have only 48 hours to save the NHS.". Of course, we get the usual cliches:
"to provide a safe patient-focussed ser vice" and "the need to get the patient into the right service." This reminds me of the PCT's "Guide to Local Patient Services" booklet. Under the heading "Pursuing Perfection", it aims to ensure "nothing about you without you"....."reflect the needs of the peo ple rather than the needs of the ser vice" ....."we are never satisfied until you are" and many more. How then would we have found out
if it had not been for Rebecca Wright's story on July 29th about the dramatic
changes? With regards to Dr Crowther's com
ment in that article, that "after a well- earned rest" and "when the honey moon is over some doctors might come back", we are now informed that many will now work with the co-operative. That must be the shortest "well- earned rest" and "honeymoon" ever, ending before it begins! The triage system emphasises my
fears that, instead of repeating to three or four different people the symptoms they have, and the time this takes, they will use the 999 system - a concern only discussed last week by a House of Commons Select Committee. Am I to assume that the two emer
gency doctors will have to sit in their cars for the duration of their shift in order to he near their computers? Is the satellite system in place? What is the cost of all this? It does not appear to have been well thought out. And last, but by no means least,
where are the extra nurses coming from? Prom Hodder Ward at Clitheroe Community Hospital - closed, chained up and padlocked for well over a month? Rumours abound from: Staff shortages, no money to recruit, all staff are on holiday (at the same time?), no patients, and even MRSA. Of course, the silence from the PCT
and community hospital management is deafening! To Ribble Valley residents, I say:
"We threw out Jolm Prescott's barmy scheme to tie us to Blackburn. Let's
band together and do the same to this one."
CONCERNED RESIDENT, Name and address supplied
We don’t support
Brockhall plan REGARDING the Brockhall Village planning application.
I write to try and counter the
impression given by the various arti cles in your newspaper that the final plans for the development of Brock hall Village are supported by the resi dents of the village in the guise of the residents' association. This is simply not true and at no
t o e were the views of the residents of Bowling Green Cottages sought by either the developer or the residents' association.
We, the residents of Bowling (Jreen
Cottages, strongly object to the nlan to build a large five-bedroomed houi office and garage on the bowling green and we have collectively written tn Ribble Valley planning department voicing our objections. The plannine appUcation seeks to justify this on the grounds that it will be the only way to stop anti-social behaviour. This is nonsense, as there is now
FROM the report on Ribble Valley Borough Council’s three-yearly survey, it appears that the council and elected councillors have only just realised what a poor service we council tax pay ers are receiving from Ribble Valley Borough Council. 'This has come as no surprise to
-very little anti-social behaviour. We, the residents of Bowling Green
' Cottages, have offered to buy the bowling green for use as private gar dens on two occasions in the past cou ple of years. Of course, the developer will get over £200,000 from a builder instead of only a few thousand pounds from us and that is the reason why he
has included this building in the plan ning application.
PAUL TAYLOR, Bowling Green Cottages,
Brockhall Village Land is needed
for employment THE central point about the develop ment a t Brockhall (and the old Bar- row Print Works site) is this: if a devel oper does not want to provide offices or employment units, it is all but impossible to make him do so. Any number of assertions "that there is no demand for offices etc." by someone who would clearly like to build more houses, does not make it true. My experience over 10 years observ
ing the Brockhall development tells me otherwise. I list four brief cases.- An application recently came before
planning committee to build 27 units and offices speculatively at a site near the Petre roundabout only a mile from Brockhall. The applicant claimed there was a ready market for such units. This application was turned down and is now going to appeal. A young couple from Brockhall
recently tried to acquire some existing office space in the village. They ended up buying and converting a terraced house in Billington, thereby taking a relatively low cost home off the mar- ket. The chairman of planning commit
tee a t the time Brockhall got the go ahead was so enthused by the chal lenge of bringing employment to Brockhall that he gave up his planning post and went to work full-time at Brockhall. I am told that, despite masses of interest, he eventually gave
up in frustration. The longest existing employer at
Brockhall, Science in Sport, wanted to expand its operations there, but now has premises in Altham. I would take a lot of convincing that
there has been any genuine attempt to bring employment on to the Brocm^ site, and belie-ve the developer should be held to the terms of the revised Section 106 agreement he signed. This is an
important economic development Naturally, employers gravitate first
to sites like those in Clitheroe where they get ready cooperation and fas decisions. But such sites are now near ly full. The remaining designateQ employment land in the boroi^h, UK Brockhall, Calderstones and Barro ,
must be safeguarded.
GRAHAM SOWTER, Whalley Old Road, Langho
myself, who on writing to Ribble Val ley Borough Council on matters of concern to the town (litter, flooding etc), I usually get back a complete negative reply from various heads of departments, giving, in great detail, reasons why the council cannot do anything about the contents of my let ter. They even going as far as to sug gest that I should do it myself or rub bish the complaints by stating that the problem does not exist. On my campaign trail for the last
elections (again thank you all tha t voted for myself), it was obvious from listening to the council tax payers that it was a waste of time bothering with Ribble Valley Borough Council, due to nothing being done. Well this report certainly proves that statement. Perhaps if certain executives concen-
tra te d on Ribble Valley Borough Council matters, rather than outside non Ribble Valley Borough Council business, then we may get better value for money. If Coun. Jim Rogerson and Coun.
Chris Holtom would concentrate on getting a better service for the people that elected them, rather than calling them names (Victor Meldrew) then we might get a service that reflects the high council tax th a t we have to endure here in the Ribble Valley. May I ask the two councillors, when
did you last have a meeting -with your electors? I bet it was years ago.
RON LOEBELL, Edisford Road,
Clitheroe You shouldn’t do
this to animals! CAN I be the only person to be appalled at your picture last week of an event staged a t the Royal Lan cashire Show? Described as "Chariots of Fire", it
showed a person dri-ving a horse-drawn cart down a ramp with flames shooting up on either side. Animals are terrified of fire, yet here
we have a sensitive animal, like the horse, having to endure this ordeal, purely to give cheap entertainment to the public. Shame on the organisers of this
event. Of course, I will, no doubt, be told the animals really enjoy it, but
. then they have no choice in the matter, do they?
DOREEN GATHERCOLE, Clitheroe Road, Whalley
Moved by young
boy’s generosity I WAS moved when I was working in the Oxfam shop the other afternoon; A little boy came in with his mother and older brother, and gave me a donation for the Sudan Appeal in 5p, 2p and Ip coins-in all, £17. His mum told me i t was holiday
money he had been saving all the year. I t is nice to know in this day and age
that yoimg children can be touched by the plight of those less fortunate than themselves. :
LAURA BAILEY, Hazel Grove, Clitheroe
www.clitheroetoday.co.uk Letters to the Editor
of the Ribble Valley feel valued and appreciated, encouraging interaction and impro-ving access to services. Its motto is - Ribble Valley Com
munity Cohesion Group: Respecting Individuals, Valuing All. More details are available from
Anne Borland, tel. 01200 414531. - Editor
Join us for big See “You shouldn’t do this to animals” below ( B290704/lf) My mail is going
astray as well! I WRITE about the letter in last week’s paper about mail being posted to wrong addresses. For the past two years, I have had
mail arrive at my house for other peo ple, sometimes for my neighbours, but quite frequently mail for streets five minutes away. I have also had my mail delivered to
my neighbour’s address. On a t least three occasions I have
received mail that was addressed to Salthill and Brook Street (I live on Tower Hill), which I have taken round and delivered myself. I t worries me as I have had mail
that I was expecting not arriving and I have wondered where i t has been delivered. On those occasions, i t has not been forwarded to me by whoever received it. I have pre-viously complained, but
the postman said he had done the round for years and has never made a mistake! I accept that occasional mistakes
can happen, but mine and my neigh bours’ experience of having our post delivered correctly is a rare one. We seem to be constantly re-posting mis delivered letters. How many other people in Clitheroe
have experienced this problem and why does it continue?
TOWER HILL RESIDENT, Name and address supplied
Well, would you
like a wall view? REGARDING Brockhall, Old Langho — the current plans do seem to ignore a small minority - the people who live very near, almost on the Bowling Green! One has told me how this makes
them feel disillusioned and knows that others feel similar. The current plan quietly presents one work-live unit/home planned for the bowling green. There is 12 ft. between the kitchen window and the current edge of the green, which may even become a wall! How tall, I wonder? There has been an exhibition day for
the plans and I believe this has inspired an appeal from these people. The Government agenda on lessening air and traffic pollution sounds won derful on face -vAlue, but at the expense of the minority? To people supporting this plan,
would you like to burden yourself with a mortgage debt to be ignored in the near future and have a wall and a building to look at outside your kitchen window?.- I am sure you would also object and would welcome a compromise. There
have been previous offers from the peo ple li-ving near the bowling green, how ever, these were rejected. I appeal to those people who are in
an influential position, please complete the design of Brockhall -with integrity and consultation -with the people who live around the bowling green.
TRACY BARON, Brockhall, Old Langho
Critic quoted me
out of context THE Editor has a critic. Will you take up the challenge and publish this let ter?
My reply to a letter on immigration
and asylum from the Ribble Valley Community Cohesion Group (CAT July 15th) was not published. A hatchet job on me? Politically cor
rect journalism? News and Views from the Centre of the Kingdom? Then in the July 22nd edition I am
quoted out of context and accused of not doing certain jobs, which I certain ly have, by Zoe Houston. The editor rubbed salt into the wounds by adding a footnote at the end of her letter, say ing: "This subject is now closed." Very unfair, extremely worrying. We
really deserve better. I remind the edi tor of the following: "Everyone has the right to freedom of opinion without interference and to seek, receive and impart information and ideas through any media and regardless of frontiers." (The Declaration was proclaimed by the General Assembly of the United Nations on December 10th, 1948). Over the last 36 years, I have had
many hundreds of letters published in eight local newspapers. This is the first time I have ever had to make a com plaint about how my letters have been treated. I hope it is the last.
BERT HARDWICK, Queensway, Waddington 0 1 stand by my decision not to pub
lish Mr Hardwick's letter referring at some length to immigration and asy lum seekers. In that letter he asked for information about the Ribble Valley Community Cohesion Group. The group is a partnership of community and public sector organisations, and local residents. I t meets monthly a t the Trinity
Youth and Community Centre, Clitheroe, and includes representatives of the police, youth and community service. Scouts, schools, Ribble Valley Borough Council and Lancashire County Council. I t does not receive public funding
and provides a forum for the following matters: young people, disability and mental health, race and faith, the elderly and nual isolation. . The group aims to help all residents
coffee morning INVITE your friends and colleagues round for a coffee on September 24th and join the 1.5 million people expect ed to take part in the World’s Biggest Coffee Morning for Macmillan Cancer
Relief. To register as a coffee morning host
simply call the hotline (0845 6021246) or register online a t the website
www.macmillan.org.uk/coffee I think most of us have been
touched by cancer in some way, either personally or through a friend or mem ber of our family. I am no different. I know first hand the feelings of devas tation and hopelessness that a cancer diagnosis brings. Thankfully, I also know the real dif
ference the support provided hy Macmillan makes to families who are faced with cancer. Today and every day, 741 people will
be told they have cancer. Right now, Macmillan cannot help all the people who need them. That is why I -will be putting the kettle on, raising my cup and .taking part in Macmillan’s World’s Biggest Coffee Morning this year - and I am asking if you could, too. Whether you raise £10 or £1,000,
every coffee counts and every penny matters. I know just how much fun taking part can be, having-been involved in the event myself for the past few years. Go on - make a coffee and change a life.
MARTIN CLUNES, for Macmillan Cancer Relief
Destroying packs
can be averted THE wholesale destruction of packs of hounds in the event of a hunting ban can be averted, according to a report published recently by the Associate Parliamentary Group for Animal Wel fare (APGAW). Simultaneously, a new MORI poll,
commissioned by the RSPCA, has found that 88% of the public wants to see the dogs given a second chance at life in the event of a ban, through retraining, rehoming or retaining
them. An APGAW working group, tasked
with investigating the welfare implica tions for hunting dogs in the event of a ban, found that there will be no need for dogs to be killed en masse if owners utilise a combination of feasible options. The report shows it is indeed possible and preferable to retrain the dogs to draghunt (in which an artifi cial scent is followed rather than live quarry); rehome them as pets; and retain some in packs to live out their natural lives. Having heard evidence from owners
who have successfully rehomed hounds, the group concluded that it is possible to rehome many of the hounds as pets - in pairs or to homes that already cont^n dogs and to adopters who have experience, sensitmty and
, skill.' Furthermore, i t concluded that
rehomed hounds can stop hunting
Clitheroe Advertiser & Times, August 12th, 2004 19
without a negative impact on theii welfare, in the same way that hounds are already prevented now from hunt ing outside the season and on non-hunl days. In light of this research - froir
experts Rachel Casey, an anima! behaviourist from Bristol University. Ian Cawsey MP, and representatives of the Kennel Club, Dogs Trust, and the RSPCA - we would urge hunts tc do the right thing and look to the futiue welfare of their dogs.
ALANWOLINSKI, RSPCA Regional Manager - North, RSPCA Regional Headquarters, P.O. Box BR29, Leeds LS13 2XL
Television appeal
to stepfamiles WE are making a documentary for Channel 4 about stepfamilies. I t is estimated th a t by 2010 there
will be more stepfamilies in the UK than biological families and this pro gramme will look specifically a t the relationships between stepbrothers and stepsisters. We are keen to speak to any stepsiblings about their experi ences, both past and present. Did you have difficulties befriending
or sharing your li-ving space with yom stepbrother/stepsister and did this lead to any conflicts -within the' fami ly? Did you fancy your stepbrother/ stepsister or have a physical relation ship with them? Or are you two families with
teenage stepchildren who are about tc move into one household and worried about the issues and conflicts which may arise between your children? Whatever your experiences, wc
would love to hear your story. To talk to us in confidence, please
call James or Martha on 020 77517388 or e-mail us at
step@rdfmedia.com
MARTHA CONSTABLE, RDF Media, Kensington Village, Avonmore Road, London
Reliant Robin is
the right name AS an ex-Reliant enthusiast (sad ] know), I read -with interest last week’s article about Roger Nelson. Why, oh why, is there always this
difficulty over the name of Reliant cars? One does not speak of a Fiesta Ford or a Cavalier Vauxhall, why ther. a Robin Reliant? The brand name is Reliant and the
model is Robin and should therefore be a Reliant Robin. In addition to this, the Robin and the Rialto were com pletely different models and therefore the nomenclature Rialto Robir Reliant is a complete nonsense.
BILL CAVANAGH, Hillcrcst Road, Langho
Did you work in Garnett’s Mill?
I AM in the process of writing a book about life in Low Moor in the early years of last century (1910 to 1930). Is there anyone who is able tc
remember these years, who perhaps worked at Garnett’s Mill or raised s family in the village during those years? If so I would be very grateful iJ they could please ^1101751-476747 oi -write to me at High Kungthorpe, Pick ering, North Yorkshire Y018 7NG, oi contact me -via email at the following:
paulinehukin@yahoo.com
PAULINE HUKIN, Pickering, North Yorks
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