18 Clitheroe Advertiser & Times, February 24th, 2005


www.ciitheroetoday.co.uk Letters to the Editor — pVrKc lo: Tlic Editor, Clillicroe Advertiser and Times, 3 King Sired, Clithcroe BB72EW Editorial e-mail: vivicn.nieath@casllancsnfws.co.uk — Is this just another


example of spin? IN all the letters published to date regarding the panopticon at Kemple End, no mention has been made of the fact that the proposed site is designat­ ed common land. As such it is covered by the Coun­


tryside and Rights of Way Act 2000. Section 13 of the act states that the occupier; in the case of Kemple End Common, Stonyhurst College, owes no duty (to those exercising their right of access) in respect of "a risk resulting from the existence of any natural fea­ ture of the landscape." The disused quarry encompassed by


the Kemple End Common is not a nat­ ural feature of the landscape having been created by the activities of the owners. I t is, therefore, logical to assume that the risk arising to the public accessing the site is the respon­ sibility of the owners and presumably if a death or serious injury occurred by someone falling from the edge of the quarry, a drop of 50 feet or more, they then could be faced with a massive claim for compensation. There would, therefore, be a great


financial benefit to Stonyhurst College if the construction of the neoSCOPE went ahead in that the wall would ren­ der the edge of the quarry sate, the cost having been borne by public funds. It would also absolve the college


from any accident which occurred by virtue of someone climbing over the wall. This, also, is implicit in Section 13 of the Act. Are we, therefore, being presented


with a very clever scheme in which we are offered the choice of three propos­ als, two of which the presenters must have known would be totally unac­ ceptable? Are we being duped and is this


another example of the "spin" so prevalent in this day and age? It may be of some consolation for


your readers to know that any con­ struction on common land has to be approved by the Department of the Environment, DEFRA, so there are plenty of hoops to be jumped through before permission to construct neo­ SCOPE is given and there will be ample opportunity to raise objections.


ANDREW J. MOORE, Kenilworth Drive, Clilheroe


I support all these


objections totally I AM fully in support of the objections to the proposed "Neoscope" expressed in the letters column. As a regular walker in the Kemple


End area, will someone explain why the car park at the top of Birdy Brow has been fenced off to motors? I heard that the closure was said to


be due to fly tipping. I have never seen any debris, only an abandoned car some years ago. This car park afforded excellent off­


road hardstanding for up to 12 cars. Walkers using this as a starting


point now have to try to park on the road and in the muddy verge. This looks very untidy and is quite unsafe on the narrow road. I would also be interested to hear of the progress towards construction of


the three-way footbridge across the rivers Ribble, Hodder and Calder at Hacking Ferry. For this amenity, I would be pre­


pared to pay my share of an increase in Council Tax, provided it is built to last (of concrete and steel) like the Dinck- ley footbridge.


IAN R. WHITE, Rogersfield, Langho


Don’t make us a


laughing stock RE. the Panopticon on Kemple End. The people of Clitheroe are already


living with one insult to their intelli­ gence - the rusty mess in York Street. Surely we are not going to let these suf­ ferers of "Emperor's New Clothes Syn­ drome" win? We want visitors and tourists to


come and enjoy our beautiful country­ side - not come to laugh at us! I t is the duty of every resident of


Clitheroe and the surrounding area to sign the petition against this mon­ strosity.


JANET REES, Bracken Hey, Highmoor Park, Clilheroc


X %< Dig a hole and bury


panopticons in it! I WOULD like to suggest that instead of money being spent on the constr- ruetion of a “wall” at Kemple End, it be spent on digging a hole. Into this could be placed the mon­


strous pile of scrap iron currently rust­ ing away outside the hall in York Street, Clitheroe. It would be nice to think th a t we


could also inter therein the crackpots who drew up such a hare-brained scheme to waste money and those who sanction them.


J. K. CROSS, Wigglcsworlh


Design seems to be


best of a bad bunch I HAD thought th a t this project would have died a natural death by now; but evidently not as the article in a recent edition of the Clitheroe Advertiser and Times described. I confine my concern to the neo-


Scope proposal for the Ribble Valley; not a winning design, but a consolation award for the least objectionable loser. “Exciting” it may be, but in archi­ tectural language a lay person should


interpret this as a novel, but outra­ geous, piece of gimmickry. The attraction of the landscape in


the Ribble Valley is good enough to stand on its own feet without man­ made eyesores that serve no purpose. If tourists do not like our environ­


come from? A new quarry? Or are more of our


ment as it is, let them go elsewhere. Moreover where is the local stone to


stone walls to be removed rather than repaired.


As farming subsidies are already


being phased out, these walls though in disrepair will be needed again as stockproof barriers; think back to pre­ war days and expect a repeat scenario into which a neoScope will seem even more ridiculous.


CHRISTOPHER PARKER, Brow.sliolme Hall, Clitheroe


Is nothing sacred


here any more? YOUR readers have lent their voice to


express disenchantment with panopti­ cons. But have they missed the point? Here in Clitheroe we already have


/


PETITIONS opposing the intro­ duction of the panopticons into the Rihhle Valley are sited throughout Clitheroe. Carolyn Holgatc is pic­ tured signing one in the front office of the Clitheroe Advertiser and Times (B170205/2)


the .stark reality of art, not just in a public place but on a public building to boot. The stately Ribble Valley Borough


Council Office building has, creeping up its front facade, a truncated object that emerges above the skyline into something betwixt minaret and Polaris missile! The body responsible for allowing


this beastie may well be the planning committee of the building's owners. The cost element may well be found


under income rather than expenditure. I think we should be told. If the building had been listed surely


this art form would have remained on the table. What next I ask - is nothing sacred?


BRUCE DOWLES, Whallcy Road, Clitheroc


Shakespeare didn’t


like panopticons! WELL! I thought of my Shakespeare and “A Midummer Night’s Dream” and Py'ramus and Thisby. Aren’t they connected with a wall? “0 wall, o sweet and lovely wall!


Show me thy chink to blink through with mine eye. “O wicked wall! through whom I see


no bliss; curs’d be thy stone for thus deceiving me.” Well! I don’t want to spy through


any wall, whether in the guise of Pyra- mus or Thisby: “This is the silliest stuff that e’er I heard.” Please don’t let us mock our beauti­ ful countryside.


M. 'r. GRIEVE, LinieficId Avenue, Whalley


This is another


dome in the making WHY do we have to have these “half- baked”, “crackpot” panopticon pro­ jects foisted on us? Totally unasked for, opposed by


nearly all...like the dome this is our money squandered by those furthering their own selfish, egotistical interests. Our glorious countryside needs a


panopticon...like we need a boil on the bottom!


ANTHONY BLACKIE, Piggery Collages, Wilhgill, Clilheroe


Your letters . . .


9 The Edilor welcomes Idlers on any sulyecl, bul correspondenis are remind­ ed dial conlribulions may be edited or condensed, must not exceed 3.50 words and should reach us by noon on Tues­ day. Letters with noms de plume will only


accepted for publication if the editor agrees that there is a valid reason for tile writer's identity to l)e withheld. Letters can be sent by post to the


Clitheroe Advertiser and 'Times, 3 King Street, Clitheroe 15B7 2EW, via e-mail lo vivien.meath@easllancsncws.co.uk, via fax to 01200 443467 or texted to 07799090-117. Letters submitted by any of these


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


I


4223« (Ed«orl.0,422323 (Adv.dlsKg). Bdn«4, 42233,


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www.clitheroetoday.co.uk Letters to the Editor Write lo: The Editor, Clillieroe Advertiser and Times, 3 King Street, Clitheroe BB72EW Editorial e-mail: vivien.mcath@castlancsnews.co.uk Do your research


before writing WITH reply to last week’s letter enti­ tled “Taking the fish that people could e a t”, either Ms Zalasiewicz knows something I don’t, or she should do her research before putting pen to paper. I have spent three summers in Mon­


golia, horse riding, fishing and taking wonderful photographs of the country and its friendly people. I suggest Ms Zalasiewicz and your


readers should log on to www.fishmon- golia.com just to see what this compa­ ny is doing for tourism and local econ­ omy in Mongolia. For conservation look under


“Taimen Fishing” “Conservation” this really is happening out there. I have stayed with Andy on each


occasion in Mongolia and can only say^ that he is showing great initiative and enterprise opening up this wonderful country to visitors in a sensitive and caring way.


W. BARKER, Shustun House, Litticmoor Road, Clitheroe


Your help would be


greatly appreciated IT is now more than 130 j^ears since the opening of the Clitheroe Union Workhouse in Chatburn Road. Times were, indeed, very different


from today and the “offered” condi­ tions within were, quite deliberately, made so harsh and demeaning that those unfortunate members of the community who had fallen on to the hardest of times were positively deterred from seeking the support they so desperately needed. In later years, a more enlightened


society has brought into being the Welfare State and the National Health Service and, while not yet by any means perfect, we do at least have a system of health and welfare support that we now virtually take for granted and, for us here in the Ribble Valley, surely one of the greatest gifts of this has been the development, out of that infamous relic of former times, of the Clitheroe Community Hospital. Clitheroe Community Hospital, at


the centre of the Ribble Valley, now provides both In and Out-patient ser­ vices second to none and does this directly for us, the people of the Rib­


ble Valley. For those of us who have need of its


services, no praise has been too high tor the level of care provided and not the least of the advantages is the avoidance of tedious, expensive and time-consuming travel to other hospi­ tals out of the d istrict for both patients and relatives. In many ways regarded as a “cot­


tage hospital”, the management and staff make every effort to create as homely an atmosphere as possible and we, the Friends of Clitheroe Commu­ nity Hospital, have existed for many years to back that up by raising and dispersing funds to provide the “home comforts” that lie outside the remit of the National Health Service. Indeed, in recent years, we have


gone further than this and have pro­ vided much additional medical and technical equipment in order to allow the doctors and nurses to build upon


the excellent level of services that they already provide. Not the least of the benefits we are now able to offer lies in the fact that, as a Registered Charity, no VAT needs be paid on a fair propor­ tion of what we purchase thus max­ imising the real value of every pound we spend. Largely, our funds are provided by


gifts or bequests, many from former patients or their relatives, and, whether you or yours have already had need of treatment or care in Clitheroe Community Hospital or not, may I ask you to think of us and what we do for those who have need in our com­ munity. We are a completely volun­ tary group of people, we pay no fees and have no overhead costs - in other words every penny we receive is spent on the patients’ care and comfort. Should you feel able to make a con­


tribution, however small, or perhaps simply wish to know more about us, please do not hesitate to contact me at the address or telephone number below and, if you have done, thank you very much indeed for simply reading this.


BRENDA DIXON Chairman, The Friends of Clithcroe Community Hospital, -19 Chatburn Road Clitheroc Tel: 1)12(10 -122(:50


You do not speak


for everyone, Nigel COULD we inform Nigel Evans that he really should not take it upon him­ self to speak for all residents of the Ribble Valley in sending congratula­ tions to the heir to the throne? I t’s really rather a cheek. He definitely does not speak for the


Republicans of the Ribble Valley, who are looking forvvard to the day when we can dispense with this fairy story monarchy nonsense and grow up. Perhaps he will choose his words more carefully in future.


D. GORDON, P. WOOFF AND J.W. WOOFF, Clitheroe Road and Abbots Croft, Whallcy


Is this new Scout


group necessary? I OFFER you a more one-pointed let­ ter about an issue I feel strongly about, taken from a previous letter that failed to make publication. In recent weeks, a new multi-cultur­


al Scout group has been receiving a lot of press. I disagree with the setting up of this new group on the basis of it being needless. In a report, (Advertiser and Times,


06/01/05) Mr Sheraz Arshad claimed Muslims thought Scouting was “not traditionally open to them” so he sets up a new one - easy as that. Having been through the whole


Cuhs and Scouts experience myself, I never recall anyone being excluded for any reason. All children had to do was turn up and pay their “subs”. By setting up a different “Scout”


group, I feel these Muslims are not integrating with the British way of


life.


PAUL FRANKLAND, Hcnlhorn Road, Clilheroc


Please join me in


biggest breakfast I AM writing to ask your readers to join me and support a very special event to raise money for Cancer Research UK. Britain’s Biggest Breakfast is tak­


ing place for the seventh time on March 4th, 2005, and we are aiming to raise a massive £400,000 this year. But we can’t do this without your help. All you need to do is invite friends,


family or colleagues along to a break­ fast party. If you are not an early riser, there’s no need to worry as par­ ties can be held at any time through­ out the day. By asking each of your guests for a donation for Cancer Research UK, you’ll he making a fantastic contribution to the fund­ raising effort. This is a really fun event and


something I will be taking part in this year with friends and family. Cancer touches so many people’s lives, and holding a breakfast party is a terrific way of raising funds for the charity, while having a great time. So, make a date now and sign


• THE majority of Scout groups in Clitheroe are sponsored groups. Reli­ gious bodies do sponsor such groups and have done for many years. They do this to help promote Scout­


ing for people belonging to organisa­ tions. A lot of Scout groups are over sub­


scribed with waiting lists. Following the setting up of this group, some of those children have been taken off those lists. Members of the 1st Clitheroe Scout Group will be inte­ grating and taking part in activities with other groups throughout the dis­ trict and county.


SIMON NANSON, District Secretary, Clilheroc and District Scout Association


Electricians could


be in short supply FROM January 1st, thanks to new rules rushed through by John Prescott to "harmonise" Britain with the rest of Europe, we face the prospect of a startling shortage of self-employed electricians. Any of us wishing to carry out any


but minor electrical works in our homes may find that, under the new "Part P" of the Building Regulations, we have fallen foul of one of the more bizarre legislative shambles of recent years. The new regulations, introduced by


Mr Prescott's Office of the Deputy Prime Minister, conform with an edict from Cenelec, the Brussels-based "Committee for the Normalisation of Electrotechnology"; imposing draco­ nian new rules on anyone needing to carry out electrical work in the home. Apart from simple jobs such as the


replacement of a cracked light socket, electrical work will be legal only if car­ ried out in one of two ways. First, every electrician, however experi­ enced, will have to be certified as a "competent person". This will require him or her to pay between £350 and £1,500 to be "mon­


complain to their MP or MEP but they are powerless. Welcome to your European Federal Government.


VAL COWELL, UK Independence Party


Full marks to the


youth theatre WHAT a lovely show Ribble Valley Youth Theatre put on for the tsuna­ mi appeal at Trinity. We had a lovely evening. There


were talent, fashion and judo shows, a tombola, raffle and white elephant. What a great effort by the kids and


organisers. Thank you again.


ANNE WHIPP, Queen Street, Whalley


up for Britain’s Biggest Breakfast. Visit our website on www.cancerre- searchuk.org/breakfast to register and receive some handy fund-raising tips to help make your party go with a swing. You can also call the hotline on 08701 60 20 40.


KEN HOM, on behalf of Cancer Research UK


itored" for six months by employees of one of a handful of private companies appointed by the ODPM as "certify­ ing bodies". During that time, the electrician will be disbarred from car­ rying out any but minor works, while his work is being monitored, possibly by someone very much less experi­ enced than himself. He will subse­ quently have to pay a similar annual fee to have his certificate renewed. The only alternative, applying to


householders themselves as much as to professional electricians, will be to submit plans of most electrical work in advance to the building control department of the local council. This will include work of any kind in a kitchen or bathroom. The council will then have to be paid to inspect the work. It is estimated that 100,000 electri­


cians, many of whom are still barely aware of this new scheme, will be caught up in its web. I am all for safe­ ty anti good practice, but this non­ sense from the ODPM/EU is farcical. How can self-employed electricians


be expected to keep paying out for registration, assessments, annual membership and inspections, while being forced to lose so much working time? The whole thing is bonkers and a


• cowboys’ charter. One particularly puzzling feature of


this scheme is the speed with which it has been rushed through. Calls to sev­ eral council building departments sug­ gest that they are in no way prepared for the deluge of extra work the new rules will involve. I t will become a criminal offence for householders to carry out most electrical work without getting council approval. From January 1st it became an


offence, punishable by fines of up to £5,000, to sell a property without a certificate for any electrical work car­ ried out after the new law came into


force. Stand by for a nationwide howl of


outrage at yet another shambles cre­ ated by Mr Prescott and the EU. I wish I could encourage your readers to


A year out on these


programme notes ALTHOUGH I thoroughly enjoyed this year's operatic society production (“My Fair Lady”), I was surprised to see in the programme th a t 1964 (“Annie Get Your Gun”) was the first operatic production to be held at the parish church hall. In fact it was 1963 when they first


held a production there. I t was “Carousel”. My late husband. Jack Waterhouse, took the lead alongside Rosemary Cook, now Lancaster, of Ultraframe. I hope in future they will put this right in the programme.


VANESSA WATERHOUSE, Clilheroe


How can a club WC


be unnecessay? AS a loyal senior member of Mytton Fold Golf Club for five years, I wish to make an objection to the decision of the Ribble Valley Borough Coun­ cil Planning and Development Com­ mittee to turn down the club's appli­ cation to build a small toilet on the course. The committee turned down the


application on the grounds it was "an unnecessary structure in open green belt countryside". Unnecessary! Does the committee realise the


practicalities of being "caught out" on the far side of a large golf course? I hate to mention this, but it is not


so bad for the male members, but spare a thought for the lady mem­ bers, please. Most golf clubs in the area now


have such a facility, so why turn down the application for Mytton Fold Hotel Golf Club? I t is one of the most prestigious


clubs in the area and such a facility is both necessary and hygienic. Glancing at the letters page I was


amazed to find that we may be sub­ jected to the monstrous eyesore of a "Neoscope". If th a t is not "an unnecessary


structure in open green belt country­ side", then I'm a scratch golfer with a 10-gallon bladder.


GORDON WATTS, Havhurst Close, Wliallcv


Clitheroe Advertisers, Times, February 24th, 2005 19


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