SWe need to let ceuotryside develop 18 IKMM i W ODIOHMY T O M f
INCE the horrors of the foot and mouth crisis and the various legacies that it left the British
countryside, the value of agricultural land in the North-West has remained relatively level, with slight increases in average values over the last year or so.
This statement, however, far from
portraying a stabie agricuitural econo my hides a very complicated and changing social and economic environ ment that the rural market place is experiencing. There is some uncertainty from the
farmers' point of view with the empha sis away from food production increased support for environmental stewardship and the introduction of the Single Payment, which will all have an influence on land prices.
On the other hand, house prices and
demand for the rural idyll has never been higher. The countryside is the chosen place
to live for affluent professionals from the many towns and cities throughout the North-West that the Ribble Valley is easily accessible from. Do not get me wrong - affluent pro- fe c io r'Is trcm the iC r n n elcon e
i
by John Atherton, of Athertons estate agents
thertons
in the countryside. "Hey" - as the say ing goes "some of my best friends are affiuent professionals from the town'.' It might be nice though if some coun try folk are able to live in the country side as well. But if there is no provision for
affordable housing sorted out soon, the coliapse of real communities as we have known them will turn to melt down. And if there are no local employ
ment opportunities in the countryside, why would our younger generation want to hang around anyway? If we are to maintain a vibrant
healthy countryside (and therefore a vibrant healthy property market) and not lose all our bright young things to the towns and cities, we have to cre ate a place for them where they can live and a place for them where they can work And the biggest obstacle in the way
of all that is - surprise, surprise - plan ning.
d perhaps most important
ly to get the ball rolling is the issue of affordable housing for local people and keyworkers. Flexible and adaptable policies need
to be implemented quickly-the ideas are out there - and some of them will work - if bureaucracy allows them to.
' Just get on with itl - that is my "sub tle" message to the powers that be. Secondly, the workplace. Rural work
places have usually meant farms in the past. Small fragmented places o f ' employment located all over the place - on top of hills, next to rivers, on open plains - everywhere.
And, historically, sustainable, healthy communities have evoived around
them. Farms relied on farming - agricul
ture, growing things, keeping animais and selling produce for a profit. And it used to be relativeiy straightforward - and with your profit you looked after the family and carried on farming. It is not so easy
now.To make '
enough profit, farmers need to do things differently-get bigger, add ' value to products, market niche prod ucts, find niche markets, become ranchers - whatever. In some ways, that is no bad thing.
For far too long the producer had no contact with the consumer whatsoev er and that is where any industry will
fall down. It may be that some farmers will
never be able to make a profit from farming again. So they have to look at other ways of making money (or get out altogether). Tourism facilities, leisure or, maybe, some other form of light industry, office provision or other commercial uses should all be consid ered. Obviously planning law is there for a
purpose and the beauty of the country side needs to be retained, as that is the thing that makes it so attractive. But small fragmented places of
employment are what created that environment and that is what should be allowed to continue. Do not make iarge industrial areas
on the edge of town the only solution. Allow these farms to employ people and make money to support local employees. . Allow barns to be converted for these people. Okay, keep the moratori um on large executive houses if you must (even though the sale of such barns can fund other diversification
. projects on the farm), but promote - do not restrict new buildings to the
provision of new office space or other non-agricultural uses. It is complicated, but that does not
mean we have to leave it all to chance or market forces. A good balance between a strong economy, good envi ronmental practices and heaithy social ethics and community development is paramount - no essential I But I do not believe that we have
got it right yet and we need to concen trate really hard to achieve this. And now! Local authorities need local poli cies with flexibility and common sense at a local level - and allow market forces do the rest.
That sounds ever so logical and sim
ple, but the fact is that they are restricted by policies - be it highways policies, green belt policy or whatever - and the Government needs to let local authorities to get on with i t . On the other hand, local authorities
need to have the courage to say" Yes, you can do that" a littie more often. Oops, I seem to have gone off on
one. I was supposed to be writing a piece on the state of the rural property market since foot and mouth Generally its picking up nicely. There you go - easy.
Tasty treats Itom tite titclien
T
he kitchen is the heart and soul of hundreds of Ribble Valley farmhouses. And many of our older readers will remember the charity cookery book
published by the Clitheroe Advertiser and Times more than a decade ago. It featured recipes contributed by chefs - some of
national repute - throughout the area, as well as a few favourite recipes from Recipe of the Week writer (vlar- cia Morris. And it quickly sold out. Below we reproduce two of
the recipes, one from Jigsaw Pantry and the other from retired farmer's wife ChristineThistlethwaite, who is also one of the Clitheroe Advertiser andTimes'
team of village correspondents. COURGETTEAND
ROSEMARY FILO PIE Ingredients
Megitta House, Kenyon Lane, Dinckley £1.2m
Magnificent property in exclusive sought after rural location. Spacious Four bedroom detached house. Set in 5 acres of gardens and paddock land.
Inc 217 Rochdale Road East, Heywood For sale as a whole or In two lots Offers over £400,000
Redgates Livery Yard and Land
4 bedroom Victorian terraced house. Outdoor arena - 50m x 20m. Approximately 15 acres grassland. 14 loose boxes. General purpose building. Caravan storage area and 12 garages on short term lets.
for the whole (also available in 2 lots)
Warcock Farm, Warcock Lane, Bacup GIRO £575,000
. Floor Lounge with views along the - valley...
6 King Street, Cfitheroe Lancashire BB7 2EP . Tel: 01200420100 Fax: 01200420103
Converted farmhouse with 14 acres Ota of grazing land. Additional brick built barn with PP for 4 bed dwelling. Stables, Outdoor arena, triple garage. Four bedrooms, one f ., with En-Suite. First.
Middle Pasture Farm, Cliviger, Near Burnley. For sale as a whole Offers over £350,000
Stone built . ' V ' l f ■ 4 )
farmhouse and attached barn offering scope'to produce a substantial country house (subject to planning). Outstanding rural location with panoramic views. ' Smallholding extending to 54 acres (25.89 ha)
North Barn & South Barns, Higher Greystonely Farm, Chipping Offer around £495,000 (each)
IV ,
Substantial attached barn conversions. Outstanding rural location within tiny hamlet. Completion expected mid to late June 2005. Four Beds (3 with En- Suite) Kitchen, Utility,
Lounge,.Dining Room, Detached Garage. Paddock land bys
negotiation separate
Oak Tree Cottage, Hapton - £425,000 Attractive Detached Four Bedroom Flouse. Set in rural 'setting with open aspects to Pendle Hill. Stable Block, menage and grounds extending to 3 acres ota. Garage, Workshop/Barn, Playroom. Landscaped gardens, parking area
Land at Riverside, Low Moor, Clitheroe Available in 2 Lots
1 lb 2oz courgettes (grated) 3oz butter 1 oz pine nuts 3oz wholewheat breadcrumbs (grated) Itbsp olive oil 1 bunch spring onions (sliced) 1 clove garlic (crushed) 1 tbsp rosemary (chopped) 1 lemon (grated rind) 1 oz pitted black olives (chopped) loz sun dried tomatoes (chopped) 1 egg (beaten) 4 tbsp fromage frais loz grated parmesan cheese 12 sheets filo pastry Method
1. Sprinkle the grated courgettes with a little
salt and leave to drain for about 30 minutes. Rinse well and squeeze dry before use. 2. Melt loz butter and stir-fry the pine nuts
and breadcrumbs for 10 minutes or until they are golden. 3. Heat the oil and fry the spring onions, gar
lic, rosemary and lemon rind for two minutes. Mix with courgettes and allow to cool. 4. Stir in the olives, tomatoes, egg, fromage
frais and Parmesan cheese. Season with salt and black pepper. 5. Melt the remaining butter. Layer three
sheets of filo pastry on a large baking tray, brushing each pastry sheet with butter before sprinkling the breadcrumb and pine nut mixture between each layer. 6. Spread a quarter of the courgette mixture
For further details please contact our Whalley Office
53 King Street, Whalley Lancashire BB7 9SP Tel: 01254 828810 Fax: 01254 824308
6 Su(Jell Cross, Blackburn, Lancashire BB2 IAN Tel: 01254 682470 Fax: 01254 677982
on the last sheet and layer with filo pastry again. Repeat the layering twice more (four times in all). 7. Brush the top layer with butter. Mark out
and cut through the portions before baking. . 8.
Bake.at 200 degrees C or Gas mark 6 for
approximately 35 minutes, until golden. 9. Serve hot with a green salad. Wine suggestion: A very healthy dish, how
about an organic wine? Penfolds produce a very flavoursome Semilion Chardonnay, fresh and dry with a pleasing acidity. ■ Recipe courtesy of Jigsaw Pantry and
reprinted from "Charity Cook-In" compiled by Marcia Morris in conjunction with the Clitheroe Advertiser andTimes.
CRUSHED PINEAPPLE CAKE This quantity makes 2 x 11b loaf tin cakes but may be halved. Ingredients
6oz butter chopped llblOoz mixed dried fruit lOoz soft brown sugar Boz tin crushed pineapple (including juice) 1/2 cup sherry, 1/2 cup water Place the ingredients into a large saucepan.
Bring to boil, stirring constantly, and simmer for three to five minutes. Allow to cool, then add three beaten eggs, sift in 8oz plain flour and 7oz SR flour, 1/4 tsp bi-carb soda, 1/2 tsp mixed spice, 1/4 tsp ground nutmeg, 1/4 tsp cinnamon. Method
1. Fold all together thoroughly (the mixture will
be quite runny). 2. Divide into 2 x 11b loaf tins, greased and
lined, and bake in a slow to moderate oven for
approximately 11/2 to two hours. Wine suggestion:Try a light Frizzante Moscate
dAsti which not only complements the pineapple cake, but is not very high in alcohol, so if con sumed as part of the afternoon tea, you stay
awake! Recipe courtesy of retired farmer's wife Chris- .
tineThistlethwaite ■ Re-printed from "Charity Cook-In, 100
favourite Dish of the Week recipes compiled by Marcia Morris in conjunction with the Clitheroe Advertiser andTimes, now sadly out of print.
OFFICIAL UK POLARIS DEALERSHIP
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19 WIN A Barbour
UNISEX WAX JACKET WORTH OVER £160
jWORLD in Clitheroe to offer one lucky reader the ichance to own this Wax Beaufort Barbour jacket j for a Lady or Gentleman.
I We have teamed up with Ken Varey's OUTDOOR ■
|« Barbour have been making wax jackets for the last 100 years which offer performance durability and style. The jacket up for grabs is available in two colours - olive green and navy, is waterproof and made with traditional tartan lining.
OUTDOOR WORLD in Clitheroe offer a huge range of Barbour outdoor wear and big named clothing and footwear from Berghaus, Brasher, Meindl, Aigle and Hunter. There is a huge stock of walking and camping equipment and don't forget to visit
Ijtheir new shooting and fishing department. *For a chance to win this fantastic prize just answer
3 and send it to:- ’Win a Barbour
Jacket, Advertising Dept, 3 King Street, Clitheroe, BB7 2EW.
Question: What new department have KenVareys OUTDOOR WORLD recently opened in New Market Street, Clitheroe?
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Please send y o u r e n t ry to : B a rb o u r C om p e t i t io n , P rom o t io n s D e p a r tm e n t , East Lancashire N ew spape rs, Bull S tre e t, Burnley B B I I I D P by May 2 8 th .
From lime to dme we and other companies in our group, have some great offers and special promotions which we may like to inform you about Please lick the box if you do not want us or other companies in our group to contact you by telephone and / or mail i
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