• 28 Clitheroe Advertiser StTiiries, September 16th, 2004


www.clitheroetoday.co.uk


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


•-45 W-} I Write to: The Editor, Clitheroe Advertiser and Times, 3 King Street, CUthcroe BB72EW Editorial e-mail: vivien.meath@eastlancsneW8.co.uk —


Put the blame where it


belongs! JULIE JEFFRIES has a real cheek. How many tears


would she have shed if her children had been injured,or worse, as the result of not wear­ ing seat belts,and being involved in an accident? I t may be embarass-


ing for her to be stopped by the police and have her name in the paper, but trying to shift the spotlight on the actions or com­ ments of the police officer who stopped her is pathetic


J. WALTON, Kenilworth Drive, Clitheroe


STRAPPED in the car and safe at all times C l-l R I STIVliC^S


S P E C I A L S ! ! B O O K E A R L - V


Departing: November and December 2004 Featuring the


Christmas Markets of


Nuremberg • Germany • Brussels ♦ The Tyrol • Valkenburg • The Black Forest * Sv.ritzerland and Alsace • Ostend • Bruges • Valkenburg


Turkey "n’Tinsel , ’ .' Blackpool Break


Departs 17th December 2004 3 DAYS JUST £109.00


GERMAN . , Christmas Markets ,


22nd November and 10th December 2004


4 DAYS JUST £89.00


Christmas Carols with the Stars


Departs 9th December 2004 2 DAYS JUST £99.00


Departs 25th November and 2nd and 9th December 2004


4 DAYS JUST £299.00 EDINBURGH


Christmas Shopping .Special


Departs 3rd and 11th December 2004


2 DAYS JUST £69.50


Mon 22nd to Fri 26th November 2004


JUST £125.00 I Write to: The Editor, Clitheroe Advertiser and Times, 3 King Street, Clithcroe BB72EW Editorial e-mail. vivien.mealh@eastla____________ Great place to


live, none better I RESPECTFULLY disagree with some of the comments made by a London-resident Hugh Geddes in last week’s Clitheroe Advertiser and Times’ letters column that “Ribble Valley is a seriously diffi­ cult place for employers”. I also disagree when he said that


our borough has “an imminent prospect of a senescent community supported only by pensions and property gains”. My company “The Sidings Ltd”, owns The Sidings Business Park in


Whalley. I have hands-on entrepreneurial


experience in the borough and I am pleased to say it is very much alive and well. I see i t every day without fail


and it is all based upon dedicated hard graft. My company has never applied


for a grant - let alone received one - and Mr Geddes’ claim that The Printworks office building cost £13.50 per sq. ft. is potentially mis­ leading to say the least. I assume tha t £13.50 was the


return his company sought on cap­ ital spent as I reckon a 20,000 sq. ft. property would today cost about £1.3m. to construct with car parks. In today’s local commercial prop­


erty market, £13.50 per sq. ft. rent is not achievable, but £8.50 is a fair rent and provides a reasonable return. He does fail to mention that the


owners recently sold this invest­ ment for about £1.6m. on a virtual freehold basis (a 999 year lease). If the full freehold had been dis­


posed of then, I understand that some of the precious grants would have had to be repaid. I make no criticism of the dispos­


al however. There are four significant areas


of commercial land in my area. These are A59 Link at Clitheroe,


Barrow Print Works, Brockhall and Calderstones Park. I have made inquiries to pur­


chase land on three of these sites the exception being Brockhall. None of the owners was prepared


to sell land for commercial develop­ ment by myself, which is their legitimate right. I personally take the view that


the present owners of the Commer­ cial Use Land at Barrow, Brockhall and Calderstones Park have hous­ ing (on their terms) as a priority policy. Mr Geddes’ company has


acquired land in Barrow by the railway line perhaps with a railway station in mind so there is obvious­ ly a bigger picture from their per­ spective, but to me, it is a potential planning nonsense. Why should their parcels of land


be appropriate? Conversely put, if housing was in


recession, but commercial property a better bet, would a developer seek to change residential consent to industry and argue that the site suddenly had all the necessary attributes for such a proposal? They are different beasts. At the end of the day, the Lon-


don/Barrow “Boys” made a specu­ lative investment in 1987 to make as much money as possible for its


shareholders. There is nothing wrong in that.


It is the market economy. I t seems that it hasn’t gone to plan and it appears to be the case that it is now lining itself up with Mr Hitman’s interesting application for live- work units at Brockhall. If this application succeeds, then


others will inevitably follow. Is it more housing through the trades­ man’s entrance placing further strain on our facilities? That is the dilemma facing Ribble Valley Bor­ ough Council and it is a matter for the Planning Committee to deter­ mine in due coiu^e. As regards to house prices, I


believe that these are fundamental­ ly underpinned by our brilliant farmers who create our wonderful countryside to make our borough a marvellous place to live and with­ out doubt, our very talented teach­ ers, who provide the strength behind the incredible number of top-class schools, which without doubt has drawn many new fami­ lies into our area. Affordable housing is now in


vogue and it is encouraging that a policy has been commenced, but inevitably it will have problems. In my view, as people live longer


and reluctantly accept that they must work longer, perhaps the financial institutions will make housing affordable by providing even longer term facilities. In the meantime, I respectfully


dissent from Mr Geddes’ certain views about the Ribble Valley. I have travelled extensively and


so have many other people in the borough. I consider myself extremely for­


tunate in this a times crazy world to live in Whalley in the Ribble Valley. I t is not perfect by any means,


but it is infinitely better than most places on this planet and for me bettered by none.


ANDREW RONNAN, The Arches, Whallcy


Are these figures


being ‘doctored’? FOLLOWING your article re. the new CP service, in the Advertiser and Times August 19th, I waited "for more information on the new system" in last week's newspaper. I need not have bothered! Instead, we had another


"spokesman" wheeled out assuring us of the new system, Mr Mike Smith.


According to Mr Smith: "People


might think they are losing their CPs, implying that is not the case as "they will be working under a different system." Two paragraphs later we are told


the CPs are no longer available for out-of-hours calls. If that is not a contradiction in itself, I wonder what is!


With regard to the procedure


now in place, we will be chaneiled though two, three or four different stages before our request for help is met. Computers, satellites etc., do


not allay the fears of people in pain danger, or who are concerned, as a spokesman for an area where the (TPs have opted out has reported a 13% increase in 999 Accident and Emergency attendances. My own call to NHS Direct


some time ago was answered from a call centre in Manchester and when I gave them my Ribble Val­ ley address, I was asked: "Is that in Lancashire?" Articles in the national press


recently highlighted an emergency call from a lady in Ringwood, Hampshire, being diverted to a Midlands call centre and the emer­ gency doctor had a 520-mile five and a half hour journey from Blackpool to attend to her! Police response time for emergen­


cies is 15 minutes from the first call,' and national ambulance times vary between 14 and 19 minutes, depending on location. Are these latter figures being


"fiddled" with the knowledge of the Department of Health? I would rather have used the word "doc­ tored"!


CONCERNED RESIDENT Show us all your


‘accountability’ THE Countryside Alliance claims in recent letters to the press that “Hunting is fully open and accountable”. As a hunt monitor, working with


Protect our Wild Animals (POWA), I can tell your readers that hunters and their supporters make it as difficult as possible for us to film the awful reality of hunt­ ing. They try to prevent us from film­ ing anything they do not wish the


public to see. Our view is blocked, we have to


cope with intimidation and person­ al insults, accompanied by obscene hand and finger gestures. We have had our cars damaged.


I have been threatened with a knife and we have been spat at and


3SS3.UIt6d All this, in an attempt to stop us


collecting the evidence to put before Parliament, the media and to the public so they can indeed make up their own minds. If hunting is to be open and


accountable, I challenge the CA to let hunt monitors attend any hunt and allow us to inspect and film the


corpses of foxes. Allow us on to private property


to witness and film “dig outs” and “flushing to hounds” and to allow us to film, what I consider to be one of the most loathsome practices, euphemistically called “autumn hunting”, but in reality is the sav­ aging of cubs still partially depen­ dent on their mothers. If your readers would also like to see hunting with dogs made illegal


-this autumn, they should write to Tony Blair at Downing Street as a matter of urgency to ask hiin to keep his promise to ensure the dui to “Ban i t” goes through.


JUDY GILBERT,


Hunt Monitor, Protect our Wild Animals (POvVA), Tormount Road, London


Can anyone help me trace


my grandfather’s line? THE fast growing hobby of family history research has a t last reached me in California, USA. I have started trying to trace my grandfather


Martin's line and am wondering if any of the fami­ ly still live in the Billington and Whalley area. My great grandfather was a Thomas Martin


(born in Whalley in 1848), who was a cotton weaver in Billington in the later 1800s. His father, John Martin was a shoemaker bom in Whalley in 1823. Perhaps if any of your readers have any informa­


tion about the family they might contact me in California via my email (rahance@dcn.org).


R. A. HANCE, 1103 Radcliffe Drive,


Davis, California


Why are these actions not


classed as terrorism? WHY is terrorism not terrorism when the wanton destruction of homes and indiscriminate slaughter of innocents by cluster bombs, napalm, tanks and helicopter gunships is sanctioned by Presidents and Prime Ministers?


ROBIN PARKER, St Chad’s Avenue, Chatburn


• Letters can be sent by post to the Clitheroe Adver­


tiser and Times, 3 King Street, Clitheroe BB7 2EW, via e-mail to vivien.meath@castIancsnews.co.uk, via fax to 01200 443467 or texted to 07799696447. However, the writer’s name and full postal address must always


- be included.


THE Hodder Valley foxhounds proved popular with everyone, but are their days now numbered? G110904/2b


Is Tiggs your missing pet?


AN appeal is being launched to find the ovraers of a well-loved tabby cat which has been found


in Clitheroe. The affectionate, well-cared for cat, thought


to be a male, entered the garden of a house in


Buccleuch Avenue in May. After contacting the local vets, pet rescue and


radio appeals, no one has yet come forward. Mrs Brenda Kay is currently caring for the


cat and is calling him “Tiggs”. She said: “I had heard that there were posters in the Waddington Road area a while ago with a


lost tabby cat. “I just thought that there might be children


who are fretting about their lost pet. “I have been a cat lover all my life a,nd I know


how distraught I would be if I lost mine. “Tigg’s has obviously been loved and very


well looked after. “He’s a really lovely cat and very affection-


If anyone has any information about the cat, please contact Mrs Kay on 01200 424748.


... . Gimmer lambs


MULE gimmer lambs met an excellent trade at Gis- burn Auction Market’s gimmer lamb show and sale on Saturday with mule lambs peaking at £100. It was second placed mule lambs from A. Lodge, of Langcliffe, that topped the sale at £100 selling to D. and C.J Moorhouse, of Gis- bum. Next best at £90 was the first prize lambs from K. A. Fawcett and Sons, of Barden, which sold for £90 to R. M. Shackleton, of Broughton. The first prize continental ram, a "rexel shearling from M.S. and H.A Watson, of Newton, Ba r r ow- i n - F u r n e s s , achieved £450 selling to G. and S. E. Parker, of Slaid- burn. Mule gimmer lambs made an average of £62.47, while Texel Rams made £215.


Thank you all


for your support I WOULD like, through the let­ ters page of the "Clitheroe Advertiser and Times", to thank, first of all, the organisers of the Hodder Valley Agricultur­ al Show. Without them there would be no show. Secondly, a very big "thank


you" is due to the people, includ­ ing a number of townspeople, who went along to the Hodder Valley Foxhounds tent to offer their support in a variety of ways. Whether it was through con­


versation, supporting the raffle, donations or looking a t and commenting on the display. "Thank you" also to the chil­


dren who came to see the hounds. The hounds certainly enjoyed the attention, especially the cuddles.


The support meant a great


deal to members, following a week of rather devastating news. The ironic part about Wednes­ day's announcement and the proposed agenda before the House of Commons yesterday, September 15th, is the intention that one group of mainly coun­ try people should be denied cer­ tain freedoms, while this week­ end another group will be cele­ brating the right to roam, at will, over designated areas of pri­ vately-owned land in two areas. South East England and in the North Western area. This could be a bitter pill for


some landowners to swallow. For, if a hunting ban is enacted, th a t same owner would be responsible for an illegal action by allowing a hunt to take place over his own land.


K. ROBINSON, Midland Terrace, Hellifield


\4i':


Clitheroe 422324 (Editorial), 422323 (Advertising), Burnley 422331 (Classlfi^) ‘•J V < :> r: y i i.,


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Clitheroe Advertiser & Times, September 16th, 2004 29


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