20 Clitheroe Advertiser & Times, February 10th, 2005


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


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


www.clitheroetoday.co.uk


Clitheroe Advertiser & Times, February 10th, 2005 21


Letters to the Editor * — Write to: The Editor, ClithcrocWdvertiscr and Times, 3 King Street, Clitlieroe BB72EW Editorial e-mail: vivien.meath@eastlancsncHs.co.uk — L-[Write lo: The Edilor, Clilheroc Advcrliscr and Times, 3 King Sircet, Clithcroc BB72EW Editorial e-mail: vivien.mealh@easllancsiiews.co.uk 1 -^ Our train service


is generally good YOUR readers will doubtless have been amused by Mr Kent’s somewhat flowery description of his train journey (February 3rd, 2005). Much of what he reported is, sadly,


true for some rail users on some days. However, as with many aspects of human endeavour, when the system works it works well. For the last 11 years, the residents of


the Ribble Valley have had the oppor­ tunity to "let the train take the strain" to destinations far and wide. Speaking from personal experience, Mr Kent may well have had a far more stressful journey back from Birmingham had he driven north up the M6 that day. Generally, the performance of the


Manchester-Clitheroe service is good (nearly 90% of trains arrived at Clitheroe within five minutes of planned time last month), but there is room for improvement in overall ser­ vice quality. There is, of course, no justification


for playing "musical platforms" at Manchester Victoria, nor for turning trains back at Blackburn (a quite rare event these days). As for dirty seats, blame the uncaring members of soci­ ety whose muddy shoes spoil it for the rest of us. As statutory passenger representa­


tives, members of the Rail Passengers Committee (RPC) for the North West regularly take train operators to task over the failings mentioned by Mr Kent, and many more besides. Over the years we have scored many wins for the passengers, one of which being the installation of the, now working, clock at Blackburn station. The new station was built without one, as the operator did not think it was necessary! Times are changing, however. The


Government has decided it wants to save a small amount of money by abol­ ishing regional RPCs (which have existed, with various titles, for over 50 years) with just a London-based body remaining. By virtue of the RPC’s statutory position, train operators are obliged to take note of members’ com­ ments and recommendations. The sug­ gested regional replacement body will have no statutory clout. In addition to abolishing regional


RPCs, the Railways Bill, currently being hurried through Parliament with undue haste, seeks to "simplify" the process for the closure of stations and rail routes. No longer will there be the opportunity to hold a public inquiry, organised by the regional RPC, to determine local hardship and to consider other relevant factors. Instead formal consultation into a


proposed closure will be carried out at a distance, i.e. from London. This new arrangement, coupled with the Rail­ ways Bill’s requirement for local authority transport providers to con­ sider the replacement of train services by buses, is seen by many as a means of smoothing the way for a "Beeching 2" process of line closures. The Government denies this, but


who knows what will happen once the bean-counters in Whitehall take over the running of the railways. I hope Mr Kent enjoys his journeys while they last.


DAVID J. BUTTERWORTH, Dcpuly Chuirmun, RPC North Wc.st, Fairfield Drive, Clitheroe


environment and managed to make a living. The Western man comes to take and deplete, and all just for fun!


Nature has just sent us all a fearful


and agonising reminder that we do not own the Earth. Yet the prominent and the powerful in our community (letters to the editor, January 27th) are des­ perately preoccupied with saving their precious toy - blood sports - watching wild life die in agony. Countryside Alliance is devoting


tremendous efforts and vast amounts of money to overturn this Act of Par­ liament. In the Sunday Times, January 9th,


it stated that hours before the quake struck, streams of ants and other insects began pouring out of the ground and heading uphill. "The tribes people followed their example and sur­ vived." Blessed are the meek - they will inherit the earth.


CLITHEROE Rail Station ... where 90% of trains arrived within the planned time last month (s) Say no to all these monstrosities proposed for Kemple End


I AM writing to object in the strongest possible terms to any of the structures which have been depicted being placed at Kemple End. Who on Earth are these people who, given the chance, will inflict these monstrosities upon us? I picture people behind closed doors


- with more money than sense to play with, and in an effort to justify their existence and pay packets - racking their “ brains” to think what gim­ micky and unnecessary scheme they


Sad to see end of


milk collection era AFTER 70 years,, we see the end of a local transport company collecting the milk in this area. In the mid ’30s, Mr Keighley, of


Rimington, asked my father, James ■ Robinson, if he would consider supply­ ing kosher milk to Manchester. Mr Keighley collected milk from


local farms and took it to Prestwich twice a day! When the Milk Marketing Board


came into being, Mr Keighley collect­ ed for them. About 1943, the MMB bought out the milk collection con­ tracts and MMB Transport Clitheroe was formed on the Croft Street site - formerly Robinson and Spencleys, which was also a milk collection firm including eggs. Albert Davies became the first man­


ager and he retired about 1971 when there were 20 churn collecting vehicles in the yard. He was followed by Victor Wood,


also from Rimington. In 1955, adjoining land was pur­


chased and buildings for body build­ ing, paint shop and mechanical work were erected. Jack Whittaker came on the kit


wagon during the terrible weather of 1963, but had to abandon his wagon in Rimington. This meant no empty kits, so we had to arrange a tractor convoy through the fields and meet poor Jack, who was frozen almost to death in his wagon, to change the full kit for empty. This was late in the evening around


9 till 10 p.m. after a very long cold day. The first tanker came here in 196'7, driven by Ernie Howarth.


can come up with. The whole thing has been very cunningly presented. It is obvious from reading the comments that most people think that we are obliged to pick something, and are opting for the least offensive. This is not so! We are still a democ­


racy and if enough people object, and strongly enough, the powers that be wll have to think again and may be have a public debate. Kemple End, Pendle Hill and all


our surrounding hills speak for them- We have known as personal friends


many of the drivers over the years, with them coming in all weathers, and it is sad to see the end of a local collec­ tion firm.


Our organic milk is, at present,


being collected by a firm from Wrex­ ham, Wales.


We wish the departing drivers the


best of luck in the future and many thanks for the past years!


TONY AND JEAN ROBINSON, Lower Gazegill, Rimington


Police need to hear


about these crimes IN your February 3rd edition, there was a letter from a resident of Low Moor who questioned the wisdom of calling the police in reponse to the many acts of vandalism, thieving and loutish behaviour that emits from a small group of juveniles. Well, from having first-hand experi­


ence of this group over the last few months, I would strongly recommend that all incidents of the nature men­


tioned be reported to the police at once. If the officer at the end of the phone


is casual about it, I would recommend that his name and number be obtained and a letter presented to Insp. Ford at


Clitheroe condemning the officer’s attitude. The gang who appear to be causing


trouble in the Low Moor and Edisford area are not interested in any hand of friendship that Bonnie Mitchell (Let­


ters, February 3rd) suggests we give them. Over the last few months, the dam-


selves, and their outstanding beauty draws the tourists. What man-made structure can improve on this? So come on all you lovers of our


beautiful area - stand up for Kemple and write in your thousands against this affliction we ivill surely suffer if we are apathetic. It does not have to take long, just a few lines registering your objection.


JOYCE BISHOP Queen Street, Whalley


age and theft of items in the area have been as follows:


Throwing of eggs at people who


were attending a function at the church hall; attempts to smash win­ dows at the hall while a function was in progress; the theft of Christmas lights and damage to others to the amount of £80 at my house on Edis­ ford; damage to the church windows; damage to car mirrors; attempted damage to the braking system on vehi­ cles at Low Moor; the smashing of two windows at the church hall the day after Boxing Day; and the trashing of


the church hall shortly after New Year. So should we turn the other cheek as


some might suggest? Well if I catch nny of them in the act of damaging my


property or anyone else’s, I will cer­ tainly not. What else can be done to eliminate


shanie them? NAME AND ADDRESS SUPPLIED


the louts in our midst? Can we not let the papers name and


Taking the fish that


people could eat IN the Valley magazine - "Gone Fish­ ing - in Mongolia!", the article describes it as the: "Most isolated and unspoiled country in the world." Thus, let us go and take their


resources - beautiful fish. What a tri­ umph - with sophisticated equipment, dressed in expensive attire. Have we not fished out our own


waters? It will be tourist trade — money!


People in that harsh country can not eat money, but they can eat that fish. P or centuries they preserved their


IRENA ZALASIEWICZ, Hebburn Drive, Bury


Any spare space for


mechanic project? I AM writing to ask your readers if they have a garage or premises spare in Clitheroe to enable a pilot car/bike mechanic project for young people to take place. We have secured initial funding from


the National Lottery to pilot this scheme for those interested in learning more about how cars and bikes work. This project is supported by youth workers and the Trinity Partnership, and qualified mechanics would be employed. We had originally intended for a


garage at the former gasworks to be used, but this is now reverting back to the local council for redevelopment to take place. We would pay rent for the premises, which must be secure, as we will have a lot of expensive equipment, tools, bikes and cars stored. We are also looking for premises to


use as a drop-in cafe/youth centre and would appreciate knowing if anyone knows of any such facility at an afford­ able rate. I can be contacted via Trini­ ty Centre on 01200 427886.


DOMINIC GILES, Youth Chairman, Trinity Youth Club, Wesleyan Row, Clitheroe


Are £169,00 Homes


affordable housing? REGARDING the new apartments at Pimlico Road, the Coach Houses. I was very disappointed to read


about this new development in an advertisement in the Clitheroe Adver­ tiser and Times. I, and I'm sure many other people,


were given to understand that this area was designated to provide afford­ able housing for the people of Clitheroe. How on earth are young people


going to get on to the housing ladder when the starting price for these apart­ ments is £169,000? Is this what the council calls afford­


able?


H. M. WALMSLEY (MRS), Meudowhinds, Low Moor, Clitheroc


Why we oppose this


plan for village hall FURTHER to your report in last week’s paper concerning the latest pro­ posals by the self-appointed Slaidburn Property Trust, I would like to reply as chairman of the Slaidburn Conser­ vation Group. We have not been fully consulted


over the latest proposals for the village hall and were basically given just 10 days to respond to a leaflet dropped through our doors. We hurriedly arranged a meeting to


discuss these latest proposals and had to chase up the details and documents concerned. The parish council was shown the


plans and has asked for some serious amendments, as well as a further detailed meeting along with a public meeting. This has still to be forthcom­ ing! The conservation group is opposed


to the proposed design, as we think it is ugly and out of keeping in a conser­ vation area. We consider that if the Slaidburn Property Trust genuinely wished to benefit the village it would abandon this latest design. We would have supported proposals


long ago if these had retained the existing buildings of the chapel, chapelhouse and Sunday school and converted the interior, leaving the ouside unchanged. The work of the Landmark Trust throughout the coun­ try demonstrates that such conversion is feasible. Our alternative proposals are too


many to mention here and have been sent back to those wishing to inflict yet another out of keeping building on the local residents and aw'ait the response. "The Slaidburn Property Trust does


have charity status and has spent enormous sums of money on various design proposals for the village hall that would have bankrupted many other charitable organisations. We believe that charitable trusts


should not be used as a vehicle for peo­ ple with large amounts of money to disrupt a small rural community. The Slaidburn Conservation Group will oppose a planning application on the present designs unless major alter­ ations are made.


S. WOOD, Chairman, Slaidburn Conservation Group, c/o The Green, Slaidburn


We’re fed-up with


this behaviour REGARDING Bonnie Mitchell's let­ ter in response to mine. The point of my original letter was misinterpreted. There was a point to be made - that people are fed-up with behavdour from certain elements within society, be it youngsters or any other group. It was an act of criminal vandalism. One only has to look at TV shows to realise how far we have come; or not,


some might say. I am sorry I was so outspoken


because a vital piece of property to the community was damaged, and I know also that the church itself has been vandalised externally, as well as the


hall. I also do not have to see the destruc­


tion, either as it was reported in the AND bow ibe Slaidburn Conservation Group would prefer it lo appear(s)


CAT at the time. I understand the tone of the report at the time was very much condemning those responsible. Mindless was one word I remember being used. Is that name calling, too? Who pays for the damage ultimate­


ly^? The community who use those venues! I don't think those doing the vandalism stopped for one moment to think about "respecting" it, do you? I also heard the many conversations


on the local circular bus afterwards from many locals on the subject. "Destructive" was one word I heard and "it must be heartbreaking" for those involved. The Ribble Valley area is extremely


lucky when it comes to the problems faced in other nearby towns and areas in the UK. This can be seen when visi­ tors from those places arrive and they can see the sheer difference in atmo­ sphere. Within some of those areas some people are too afraid to leave their homes, the elderly terrified to go outside even during the day, explain to the emergency services why they are having rocks, glass and, in some cases, fire bombs hurled at them. Yes, they are angry, too - angry at -


why it is happening when it never used to. What did they do to deserve it? Go explain to the blind elderly lady whose home was burnt down in a nearby town by eleven-year-old children because they didn't like her. I do not think this ever happened


when I was a youngster. Some of these towns are mere miles from here. And I certainly have nothing against young­ sters before anyone suggests that. I am a young person myself and am fully aware of the culture. I entirely agree that olive branches should be


given in some cases. And that there should not exist this "us and them" attitude, but generations change and there must be a reason why? No mat­ ter how small, all of these issues are part of a much bigger problem.


NA.ME AND ADDRESS SUPPLIED Device that can help


to save our wildlife EVERY year thousands of wildlife and pets are killed on the roads. Fit­ ting a clever little device to vehicles can reduce this terrible loss. An ultrasonic whistle is a small high-


frequency easily-fitted whistle that alerts animals to the oncoming vehicle giving them time to flee from the road. Developed in America to prevent car collisions with deer, drivers have reported these whistles have also helped prevent other animal road casualties. We have sold Ultrasonic whistles for


over 10 years in our “Hogalogue” cat­ alogue and they have consistently proved to be a best seller. They work at speeds over 30 m.p.h. and are inaudi­ ble to the human ear. They fit in seconds on to cars, vans,


lorries or motorbikes. We sell them at just £8 each including post and pack­ aging, a small price to'pay to save many lives! Membership of the British Hedge­


hog Preservation Society costs just £7.50 a year for one person, or £12.50 for a family or group, so why not treat yourself and help hedgehogs at the same time. Membership of the society also makes a lovely unusual gift. For details of ihembership and a copy of


our “Hogalogue” send an A5 SAE to us at the address below. Many of your readers will know of the existence of the British Hedgehog Preservation Society, others may be interested in its aims: • To encourage and give advice to


the public about the care of hedge­ hogs, particularly when injured, sick, orphaned, treated cruelly or in any danger. ® To encourage the younger genera­


tion to value and respect our natural wildlife and, by supplying information and giving lectures, to foster their interest in hedgehogs. ® To fund research into the


behavioural habits of hedgehogs to ascertain the best methods of assisting their survival.


FAY VASS, British Hedgehog Preservation Society, Hedgehog House, Dhustone, Ludlow


There is a painting


class at Ribblesdale REGARDING a letter printed on January 20th entitled “ Painting class” , from D. J. E. Williamson. There is a painting class every


Wednesday evening, from 7 to 9 p.m. at Ribblesdale School. Courses cost £40 for 12 classes. I would be happy for my details to


be passed on to Mrs Williamson should she want further details or an introduction to the class.


MRS J. LARKIN, The Rydings, Langho


HOW the building would look under the Slaidburn Property Trust plans (s)... - u


Let’s all salute the


courage of Ellen I, ALONG with many other readers, have been following the adventures of Ellen Macarthur as she sailed single handed around the world. Now thankfully she is safely in port.


Let all the readers stand up and give this courageous lady three cheers, then drink a toast to her achievement.- I have always maintained women


are as good as we males, often they are better. Helen has proved it. I have been disappointed at the


news coverage on this sailor's feat of endurance and skill. Yet, every day we read about some


spoilt soccer player who would not be good enough to wash the decks of her yacht and no way would they have the guts to climb a 90 fo o t mast in a storm.


MARTIN JAMES, Kingfisher, Grindicton


Take a trip with us


to the battlefields EACH year, the Lancashire and York­ shire Historical Society organises pil­ grimages to the First World War bat­ tle areas. This year we will be visiting the


France and Flanders areas in July% and then in September we plan to visit the Battlefields of the Somme and the Ypres Salient, Arras, 'Vimy Ridge and Loos. We will also visit the Le Gateau Battlefield, if this is requested. The trips specialise in visiting spe­


cific cemeteries and memorials on request and an experienced guide will accompany each trip and commentate on the various battles and the many historic events that occurred. We can also assist in the tracing of


war graves, and whenever it is possible we operate a free cemetery or memori­ al photography service for those peo­ ple who are unable to travel. The society was formed in 1990 by


ex-Servicemen who have many years of practical experience in conducting visits to the various battlefield areas of France and Flanders and we actively support a variety of ex-service chari­ ties and institutions. These trips are open to anyone who


might be interested and we welcome all inquiries. Anyone who requires fur­ ther information should contact the society secretary on 01226 723860.


PAT THOMAS, Royston, Barnsley


Concern over plan


for petrol station HAVE you noticed how many empty petrol stations thdre are around the country?


That is because the cost of convert­


ing them is prohibitive due to the clean up necessary to make them safe: removing the tanks from the ground and decontaminating the area. The petrol station proposed for the


A59 Barrow Enterprise Centre could quickly become one of these sites, as could the one in Barrow village. I have forwarded my letter to the council outlining my concerns.


HELEN SHORTER, Audley House, Barrow


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