22 Clitheroe Advertiser & Times, July 15th, 2004


www.clitheroetoday.co.uk


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


Arts centre: now you can have a say


by Vivien Meath


FOLLOWING our publication of the ambitious design study for St Mary's Centre, Clitheroe, last week there has currently been


very little community feedback. Trinity Community Partnership


prepared a design brief to assess the former parish hall's suitability for development as an arts and social enterprise centre, of a community resource centre or a combination of the two. Following a limited competition,


the study was led by a project team headed by Clitheroe architect Charles Stanton, of IWA. Images published here are illustra­


tive of what the building could house, but development of the entire site in two phases could provide a


OPEN FORUM


I HAVE read the article about the plans for St Mary's Centre in the Clitheroe Advertiser, and I would be interested to know how the architects are planning access for disabled people. You say that the centre is easily accessi­


ble from at least six car parks, but I am not aware of any car park near enough to allow someone using a wheelchair to reach the centre unaided. The only on-street facility for disabled


parking close by is situated near the library and accommodates two cars. It is well used already. I also wonder how it is planned to overcome the problem of access to all the levels of this site as possible parking in York Street would not be suitable if access to the building is in Church Street. I am very impressed with th§S>roposals


and hope that appropriate facilities for dis­ abled users will enable me to use the centre when it is completed.


THE design perspective of the site viewed from York Street; Clitheroe, showing the parish church, top right, St Mary’s Centre and proposed retail and office space (s)


Dreaming of a place in the sun?


GILLIAN HILL, Lowergate, Clitheroe


-THE architectural approach to the new centre viewed from Castle Street, Clitheroe, with the innovative roof structure over the St Mary’s Centre (s)


Will Prince be invited to Brockhall after his criticism of local property developer?


WILL Prince Charles be invited to visit Brockhall Village follow­ ing this week's criticism of prop­ erty developer Gerald Hitman? The Ribble Valley developer was


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believed to be the man accused of "cynical asset-stripping" by the Prince on Monday as he launched two weeks' public consultation on proposals for the future of North Wales Hospital, Denbigh - a proper­ ty, it emerged, that was formerly owned by Mr Hitman. The Prince revealed th a t the


North Wales hospital was the inspi­ ration behind his settingup his own historic buildings preservation trust - the Phoenix Trust - some 10 years ago. At th a t time the site was not


owned by Mr Hitman's company, but the Prince was told th a t the only inquiries made into the disposal of the building involved breaking the site up and selling off the attractive


elements. The estate agent con­ cerned warned that asset-stripping would leave most of the hospital's larger buildings unoccupied and decaying. The hospital, recognised as a pio­


neering example of early Victorian asylum architecture had fallen into decay and had been vandalised after the North Wales Health Authority closed it in 1995. In 1998 it was sold to a company


owned by Mr Hitman and in Decem­ ber 2002 was sold to Acebench Investments Ltd. On Monday, the Prince told his


audience th a t a building in good repair eight years earlier was now a wreck requiring extreme measures to rescue, repair and regenerate it. The sale of attractive elements


that could have helped finance rescue had taken place and, he said, the pre­ vious owner had been allowed to get away with a huge profit from what he


described as deliberate destruction. Ironically, the trust's new propos­


als for the site are not disimilar to the initial plans for Brockhall Village - also a former hospital site. Howeverthe trust will be working


in partnership with Acebench Invest­ ments, Denbighshire County Coun­ cil, Cadw and the Welsh Develop­ ment Agency. The intention is to restore the main buildings utilising the income from the “high-quality and well designed new buildings” planned for the brown field areas where buildings once stood. The mixed development proposals


incorporate a substantial area of , business use for employment, as well as residential, sheltered housing, public access and community uses. Brockhall was acquired by London


and Auckland Estates Ltd on its clo­ sure, 11 years ago. Owner Mr Hitman has never denied his criticism of the NHS,


which he says was so "appallingly and wastefully managed" that it let him have the 20 Q acres that was the hospital for an initial investment of £750. The company became Brockhall


Village Developments Ltd, but with some £10,000 a week needed to maintain the infrastructure, provide security and protect the physical environment, Mr Hitman publicly stated that a sale of assets was the obvious way forward. The company's initial ambitious


plans for the site have met with con- ., stant opposition from planners, but | despite obstacles, there are now some j; 300 sought-after homes within Brockhall Village, Blackburn Rovers I has its training ground there and an | application for the final phase is | about to be lodged. '


|


comment as we went to press this j week.


Mr Hitman was not available for |. i.


600-plus seat theatre, two cinemas, activity centre, two dance studios, two cafe bars, retail spaces and offices.


DISABLED ACCESS Access was one of the key themes


addressed by the team. The brief states: "The absolute


need for social inclusively in building design and use, particularly in terms of the use by disabled people, thus taking full account of the require­ ments of the Disability Discrimina­ tion Act."


TWO PHASES The building could be developed


in two phases which could be built in either order. Phase A - the conversion of St


Mary's Centre - has been arranged so that some cafe/bar facilities could be provided within the circulation


spaces, which would suffice while the centre is developing but may restrict its long-term development as it would be unable to accommodate the more popular events. Phase B - the remainder of the


site, with cafe bars, retail and offices. 9 Trinity Community Partner­


ship chief executive Geoff Jackson has agreed to answer questions resi­ dents may have about the proposal, in this newspaper and on the part­


nership's website: www.clitheroethe- future Readers wishing to put specific


points should write to "Arts Centre", c/o Clitheroe Advertiser and Times, 3 King Street, Clitheroe BB7 2EW. Anyone wishing to obtain a copy


of the design study, should approach Mr Jackson or Mr Richard Jackson at the partnership: 01200 427886.


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


www.clitheroetoday.co.uk D ow n U n d e r diary


Episode 1: It's just like riding a bike


MR CHARLES’ reassuringly infa­ mous words to reluctant aviators Messrs Gibson, Hodkinson and Strain as the British Airways pilot explained the reasons for our delay from Manch­ ester - leaking hydraulic oil could prove problematic, and is somewhat impor­ tant when landing a plane he jokingly reassured us as one horrible noise after another echoed from the undercarriage. How we all laughed. The journey was nonetheless short and


uneventful (except in Mr Hodkinson's tor­ tured fear-of-flying mind). We touched down in London, and the


transit procedures went smoothly, with the realisation th a t Greece were European Champions en route. And so it came to pass that a t 22.20,


flight QF10 took off for Singapore, and the longest plane journey most of the party had ever encountered had started, and this much-anticipated and eagerly-awaited tour


B THIRTY pupils and six staff from Stonyhurst College are currently in Aus-,


-tralia on the college rugby tour. Below, 'pupils describe their experiences to date.


was well and truly under way. The 14-hour flight took forever, but


passed without event, crossing countries such as the Ukraine, Azerbeijan, Iran, Afghanistan and Pakistan. We touched down in Singapore, some­


what disorientated and not too sure what day it was, what time it was or who we were. The heat, for those who dared to venture


outside, was around 30C and clothes instantly stuck to the wearer. Still disorien­ tated and feeling the effects of the previous flight, we boarded for Cairns with the pro­ pellers on the plane thankfully loaded with a bountiful supply of hydraulic fluid! And then, finally, at 04.52, we landed in


Cairns, and transferred by bus to the Cairns Colonial Club, where we could not take cus­ tody of our rooms until 2 p.m. The club was just waking up a t this ungodly hour so having stored our luggage


we bussed into Cairns for breakfast and a look around. Despite being a relatively new city of only 100,000, Cairns appeared a vibrant, lively and cosmopolitan city. Temperatures hovered around 27C, the


sun blazed do™ and there wasn't a cloud in the sky. A typical winter's day in northern Queensland, not dissimilar to your average day in North West Lancashire. The party split up for a few hours, and as


we sat waiting for our breakfast a t the street tables of an Ocean-side cafe and gazed across and watched some of the boys take advantage of the beautiful life guarded lagoon. Later in the day we bussed back to take


up residence and a very short time later the boys were relaxing around and in one of the hotel pools. So far so good, but all too soon we took the chance to remind ourselves of why we were here with a 4 p.m. session on the adjacent Brothers rugby league ground. After two intensive training sessions, the


two teams are ready to meet the challenges of the first fixtures against Innisfail head- on... To be continued...


We make a solid start to our tour and gain some valuable Aussie experience


Episode 2: Innisfail


Stonyhurst 2nd XV 31 Good Counsel College, Innisfail 0


THE tour got off to a solid start against a physical and aggressive Good Counsel side at the Innisfail Leprechauns Ground on a thankfully overcast afternoon. We were made to work hard in the open­


ing quarter and also had to come to terms with southern hemisphere interpretations


of the laws, notably what constitutes a ruck. From a penalty, Mark Molloy drilled a


penalty into the corner and from the ensu­ ing lineout, Tim Fitzgerald was driven over to open the account. Fergal Marlborough, playing at outside


centre, was to take advantage of some hes­ itant home defence a few minutes later to sprint clear, allowing Mark Molloy to con­ vert, and a try from Mark saw us take a 19- 0 lead into the interval. In the second half, further scores from wingers Jordan Wilde and Matt Scholes


from a well-worked set piece saw us record a comfortable 31-0 win. More importantly, every player got on the pitch and was able to get some Aussie rugby experience under their belt. Standout performances came from hook­


er Ryan Stokes, second row Henry Hall and openside Wictor Willumsen. In the backs, centres Mark Molloy and


Fergal Marlborough looked a dangerous combination, and we look forward to going to Brisbane and testing ourselves against stronger opposition later in the week.


Stonyhurst 1st XV 36 Combined Peninsula Schools 5


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THIS game kicked off at a cracking pace, and we scored in the first minute, though this correspondent is unable to pro­ vide too much information about the try as I was tending to Flannan O’Mahony, who took a knock on the head in the first hit of the game! As I looked up, I saw Joe


Ansbro ghosting through the defence to score a try which Joe Notter converted. Further scores from Aaron


McLoughlin and Luke Lang­ ford gave us a 17-0 halftime lead. Tempers flared in the second


half as the home side struggled to maintain any possession , and were forced to defend for


long periods. Flannan O’Ma­ hony, Joe Ansbro and Ross Munro added tries, though a rare lapse in concentration allowed the Peninsula side to grab a consolation score. It was particularly pleasing


to see Ross Munro back on the field and looking sharp after a prolonged layoff through injury. The impressive perfor­ mances of Joe Ansbro and John Ashworth were highlight­ ed by the opposition coach after the game. Performances in both


matches were flawed and there is plenty to work on, but over­ all, enjoyable opening encoun­ ters and a good platform upon which to build.


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TAKING a breather as the hot Australian sun beats down out of : cloudless blue sky (s)


Clitheroe Advertiser & Times, July 15th, 2004 23


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