20 Ciitheroe Advertiser & Times, July 15th, 2004


www.clitheroetoday.co.uk


Clitheroe 422324 (Editorial); 422323 (Advertising), Bufriley 42233l'(Classified)'


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Letters to the Editor Wriic to: The Editor, Clitheroe Advertiser and Times, 3 King Street, Clitheroe BB72EW Editorial e-mail: vivicn.meath@eastlancsnews.co.uk


IN light of recent letters in the Clitheroe Advertiser and Times, the Ribble Valley Community Cohesion Group would like to clarify the following points: Ribble Valley Council Chamber:


Some facts about asylum seekers and other immigrants Benefits for asylum seekers:


Asylum seekers are not allowed to claim mainstream welfare bene­ fits. If they are destitute the only


The faith group which uses the chamber for Friday prayers pays to use the room in common with other users. Asylum seekers: The Ribble Val­


ley has not received any asylum seekers. The National Asylum Support


Service (NASS) has stated it will not send any asylum seekers to the Ribble Valley, as the area does not have the relevant infrastruc­ ture to support asylum seekers. Housing for asylum seekers:


Housing for asylum seekers must be fit for habitation as defined by the Housing Act 1985 and meet all regulatory requirements. NASS


accommodation


providers are not required to pro­ vide telephone facilities, televi­ sions or licences for televisions. Furniture must be supplied and this includes the provision of a cot or highchair for babies. However, it does not require the provision of new furniture, new cookers, wash­ ing machines or window cleaning.


Tenants, read the


small print first! I WOULD just like to warn people who are thinking of renting property to read the small print and never take your landlord’s word. Make sure you have written confir­


mation of any agreements made ver­ bally. I feel- very let down by my last land­


lord who I trusted completely and considered a friend, but I have now learnt a valuable and expensive .les­ son. I hope these people can live with


themselves because they give other landlords a bad name.


DISAPPOINTED TENANT, Name and address supplied, but withheld by the editor


How can our young


people cope today? THERE may have been a number of letters in your newspaper concerning housing needs for first-time buyers. When I got married in the ’60s, we


bought our first house in Clitheroe, got a mortgage off one wage, man­ aged to pay all the bills at a time when we had two small children. How many young couples can do


that today? The house cost £2,000, my hus­


band’s wage was £19. Something needs to be addressed now. Council houses are being sold. Chil­


dren are even now purchasing their parents' council houses/flats under their parents' names, and getting a great discount. When a young couple now want a


council house to s ta r t their life together or a single mum with chil­ dren, where is the decent housing stock for them in Clitheroe, Ribble Valley?


option is to apply for support from NASS, the Government department responsible for sup­ porting destitute asylum"appli­ cants. Asylum seekers get weekly cash


payments worth 70 per cent of Income Support for adults and 100 per cent for children. From April, 2004, this means a


single adult over 25 gets £38.96 a week, which is 30 per cent below the poverty line. A joint study by Oxfam and the


Refugee Council shows that 95 per cent of asylum seekers cannot afford to buy clothes or shoes and 85 per cent experience hunger. Work: Asylum seekers, refugees


and other immigrants bring with them a wealth of skills and expe­ rience. According to the Greater Lon­


don Authority, 23 per cent of doc­ tors and 47 per cent of nurses in the NHS were born outside the UK. In 1999 to 2000 immigrants made a net fiscal contribution of


A wonderful charity walk


approximately £2.5 billion, worth lp on Income Tax. Immigrants have been actively


recruited in the past to fill labour shortages in certain areas of work, such as manufacturing and healthcare. Travelling: The UK is ranked


10th in the EU in terms of asy­ lum applications in relation to overall population. The world’s poorest countries


produce and bear responsibility for most refugees. As European countries introduce tougher immigration controls, it is diffi­ cult to gain entry to Europe at all.


Most asylum seekers don’t


choose their country of origin. Where they end up depends on how quickly they fled and by what means. Most asylum seekers do seek asylum in other European countries and the fact that some travel to the UK through another European country does not mean their asylum claim is less credible.


THE RIBBLE VALLEY COMMUNITY COHESION GROUP, Ribble Valley: Respecting Individ­ uals, Valuing All


Then there is a new era of people


requiring reasonable housing, that is a recent development of the last few years. Divorcing couples in their 40s ,50s


and 60s who go through a great trau­ ma then cannot afford decent housing in the Ribble Valley at an affordable price. I hope when they do the survey


they take these people into consider­ ation. They may have great assets


between them, but once they split they each need reasonably- priced housing. Some people have lived all their


lives in the Ribble Valley and the last thing they need after a divorce is to have to uproot away from family and friends to a strange town with no sup­ port system. Can something be done for those


people?


CLITHEROE BORN AND BRED, Name and address supplied, but with­ held by editor


It’s car parking, but


not as we know it! HAVING just returned from a shop­ ping expedition in Clitheroe, I would like to share my thoughts on the vagaries of supermarket car parking. I am amazed at the skill of drivers


who are able to accurately reverse into a narrow parking bay, yet seem to have very little control of a shop­ ping trolley. Having positioned the car boot in


the most inaccessible position the drivers proceed to negotiate their loaded trolleys in the narrow space between two cars, ensuring that there is no possible damage to their own vehicle. Needless to say, supermarket trol­


leys in these situations have all the qualities of unguided missiles which


THE BNP battlebus finds no room in the streets of Clitheroe to move progress! (C060604/lb)


help to keep local panel beaters and paint sprayers in full employment. Logic suggests that to drive into


the parking bay would enable the shopping to be loaded into the boot in a more convenient way and the reversing procedure to exit the bay could prove a useful test of observa­ tion and driver skill. Regrettably, the latter might result


in less work for local car repairers and generally less fun for people like me who make these sad observations.


BOB FROST, Sawley Grange


So, where are all


these activities? IT was recently stated that there was going to be a range of activities pro­ vided by Ribble Valley Borough Council for young people in the area, and so far very little if anything has been done. We wrote to the borough council


several weeks ago (Chris Hughes) and have not yet had a reply.


DOMINIC GILES, Trinity Youth Club, Wesleyan Row, Clitheroe


We should not be


treated like this! ON Friday, July 9th, at 5 p.m., I heard a disturbance outside my home - shouting, banging and loud music. When I went to investigate, I found


between 12 and 16 young men (old enough to drive cars as they had parked them in our cul-de-sac) and about four young girls. They were kicking a football


against my garage and house wall. When I asked them to move just


three yards to the playing field and football pitches, I was bombarded


with a load of abuse and bad lan­ guage.


I felt very intimidated as I am a


pensioner and widow and I was on my own, so I rang the police. When the police arrived at 5.55


p.m. most of the youths disappeared. The few who remained were moved on by the policeman. Although I agree with young chil­


dren having to play around their homes for safety reasons, I totally dis­ agree with young adults (aged 17 years plus) playing and being abusive in the streets, especially to their elders. Would they be happy for their grandparents to be treated as I was?


CONCERNED PENSIONER, Low Moor, Clitheroe


I can help you to


help yourself A STAMMERER who cured himself after years of unsuccessful speech therapy is now teaching his life­


changing fluency techniques to oth­ ers. A free open day, hosted by 30-year-


old Stephen Hill, will be held in Clitheroe on July 24th.


I t aims to show stammerers in the


region the key elements of his five- day individual tuition sessions. Stephen explained: “Approximately one in a hundred people has a stam­


mer or stutter as some people call it, usually men. “It can literally ruin a person’s life,


stopping them from reaching their potential at work.


“It can also restrict their social life, not to mention the ridicule which


some stammerers suffer at the hands of unfeeling people. “The fluency techniques I used are


eminently transferable to others and the many stammerers.


“I have worked with people on a


one-to-one basis who have left the course at the end of the week a totally different person. “Their friends and family simply


can’t believe the improvement.” Steve holds his one-to-one intensive


therapy courses in Birmingham throughout the year. He said: “I ’ve cured myself and am


more confident, than anyone I know, and I believe my life’s work is now to help other do the same.” A venue will be decided once the


level of interest has been established. Anyone interested in attending the


free open day, which is open to stam­ merers and their families, can contact Stephen on 01214539208 or at the address below.


STEPHEN HILL, 51 Longshaw Drive, . Great Park, Birmingham, B31 5BN www.stammering-stuUering.co.uk


Y o u r l e t t e r s . . .


• The Editor welcomes letters on any subject, but correspondents are remind­ ed that contributions may be edited or condensed, must not exceed 350 words and should reach us by noon on Tues­ day. 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 Clithcroe 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


07799G96447. Letters submitted by any of these


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


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C O N D I T I O N S A P P L Y


across Morecambe Bay WOULD any of your readers relish the challenge of experiencing one of the UK's most wonderful walks over the sands of Morecambe Bay? Led safely across by the Queen’s official guide


to the sands, Mr Cedric Robinson, the Meningi­ tis Trust is looking for readers who want to join us on August Bank Holiday weekend and help fight meningitis. The eight-mile walk will be held on Saturday,


August 28th, beginning at 4-45 p.m., from Arn- side lower promenade and finishing just in time for dinner at around 7-45 p.m. at Kents Bank Station, near Grange-over-Sands. I t is truly a family event and a chance for people to fundraise for a great cause by getting sponsored - and you can even bring your dog! Please join us for this great event. You can find out more by contacting me on 08451204764.


CHRISTINE HUGHES, North West Regional Development Officer, Meningitis Trust


What an absolute load


of bagged-up rubbish! “WHAT a load of rubbish.” We have been told to keep our garden rubbish separate in green bags. The bin-man refused to take them and told me


they were not in the council’s green bags. We ran out of these long ago and had to buy some. The bin-man said we are allowed one bag per


week (ridiculous) and the council gets paid £16 per ton for the refuse. The bin-man gets nothing for it, I do the work


for nothing, and the council gets paid for it. “What a load of rubbish.”


MR W. JOHNSON, Bushburn Drive, Langho


THE West Bradford sign having been “altered”by thieves (CR140704/1)


Cheeky thieves resolve this


village’s ‘tacky’ sign problem! CHEEKY night-time thieves have taken the issue of the “tacky” new West Bradford sign into their own hands- quite literally, by ripping the offending item from its stone base and stealing it in the middle of the night. The controversial colour sign—valued


at £50 - is now unlikely to be replaced, said Coun. Gwen Pye. Many local residents were unhappy


with the new addition to the village - prompting several letters into the Clitheroe Advertiser and Times' office. One letter from a West Bradford resi­


dent said: “I have yet to meet anyone who defends (the sign) other than the village committee.” Several residents have now expressed


their relief that the sign has been taken. Parish council clerk Mr David Sharp,


said: “I t ’s not on really. There weren’t many fans of the sign, but that doesn’t mean it is acceptable to steal it. “Some people are happy at the sign’s


disappearance, and others are a bit miffed.” Parish councillor for West Bradford,


Grindleton and Waddington, Mrs Gwen Pye, said: “I very much doubt the sign will be replaced now. “The sign has caused a certain amount


of talk in the council chambers and in the village, and I have received phone calls from several local residents about it.”


Coun. Pye is in agreement with com­


ments made in a letter to the Clitheroe Advertiser and Times by Mr Sharp. She said: “There are regular village


meetings, but we don’t get a big response. “People should attend the meetings


and give their opinions on what should happen in the village, instead of waiting for things to happen then rising up against it. “The next meeting is on August 19th


at 7-30 p.m.” Clitheroe police are continuing their inquiries into the theft of the sign.


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The Rider bus service has changed. From 5th July 2004, there is no longer a timetabled 203/206 bus service. In its place is an extended demand responsive service which runs all day long Monday to Saturday. This is pre-bookable and door to door within the Ribble Valley. Membership is free. Fares are comparable with other bus services. Simply telephone 01200 444484.


For more information about the Ribble Valley Rider or the wide range of public transport services in the Clitheroe area visit www.transportforlancashire.com county council


>1 Write to: The Editor, Clitheroe Advertiser and Times, 3 King Street, Clitheroe BB72EW Editorial e-mail: vivien.meath@eastlancsnews.co.uk


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