Clitheroe 422324 (Editorial), 422323 (Advertising), Burnley 422331 (Classified) 8 Clitheroe Advertiser & Times, Thursday, December 7th, 2006 Masons welcome their new president


FORTY-TWO members of the Clitheroe and District Masonic Fellowship attended the annual meeting where the new presi­ dent, Mr Derek H. Thornhill, was wel­ comed into office. Mr Peter J. Garnett will remain as chair­


man and the committee will keep their positions. The group was entertained by


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Mr Derek Thornber, with a musical quiz and two hilarious readings, before enjoying tea and cakes made by the ladies. The next meeting is on December 11th,


when members will have a Christmas lunch and celebrate the fellowship’s 25th anniver­ sary. I t will take place at Mill House, Clay- ton-le-Moors, at 11-30 a.m.


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www.clitheroetoday.co.uk Clitheroe 422324 (Editorial), 422323 (Advertising), Burnley 422331 (Classified)


Residents’ anger as village store closes


by Julie Magee


HURST Green’s only village shop is closing down. Owned by Mrs Sarah Leach, who


currently operates Sarah Leach Properties out of a small area of the premises, the shop will now solely run as an estate agency. Mrs Leach, who took over the


shop 18 months ago, has, in recent months, made no secret of the fact the business was in trouble and that it was running at a loss. She wrote a letter to residents


highlighting this and calling for greater support back in September and subsequently submitted a plan­ ning application to Ribble Valley Borough Council to change the use of the building into an estate


agency. A parish meeting to discuss the future of the shop and this application was then staged the fol­ lowing month. More than 60 people attended, at


which, everyone present, including Mrs Leach voted to keep the shop open. However, just last week, the plan­


ning application for change of use of the shop was approved by the bor­ ough council despite objections from the parish council and eight residents. And this week, Mrs Leach con­


firmed to the Clitheroe Advertiser and Times, the shop would close in around a fortnight’s time. “Since the parish meeting four


weeks ago when people said they would support the shop, there’s been no difference at all and people


Fire cuts: decision by end of month


A DECISION on whether to implement proposed cuts at Great Harwood Fire Station, which covers part of the Ribble Valley, will be made later this month. There are currently two retained fire


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engines and crews at Great Harwood Fire Station, but fire bosses want to reduce this to just one. Fire chiefs put proposals to reduce fire


service provision on the table back in July. The proposals followed a study of call­


outs over the past three years identifying which areas had “too much” cover. Fire-fighters from Great Harwood


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cover Whalley, Billington, Langho, Brockhall Village, Calderstones, parts of Wilpshire and the A59. A fire crew from Great Harwood will be


at tonight’s Pickwick Night festivities in Whalley rallying the public to support the station and sign a petition against the cuts. Lancashire Combined Fire Authori­ ty will make their recommendations ready for a final vote on December 18th.


Plans in the pipeline


A PLANNING application has been sub­ mitted to Ribble Valley Borough Council for an application for a Certificate of Law­ fulness for an existing use, that use being that the Rally Field, Worston, has been used for the siting of touring caravans and tented camping accommodation on a con- tiuous basis for the past 40 years. The site has the advantage of supporting


services including toilet facilities as identi­ fied in the appli­


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the proposal at Angram Green Farm, Worston (no. 0917) must be made to the council by tomorrow. Other applica­ tions include: Vari­ ation of condition to extend season to 10 months and six days at Rimingtori Caravan park, Rimington (0932).


cants statutory declaration. Occa­ sional grazing of livestock has been employed. Comments on


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haven’t really risen to the chal­ lenge,” Mrs Leach said.


“I ’m open at the moment and


running the stock down, but will close in the next couple of weeks.” She added: “It’s very disappoint­


ing, but people have had ample time to show they will support it.”


Mr Peter Butterfield, chairman


of the parish council, said: “I think i t’s a big blow for the village and from the feedback I’ve had, I have to say, there’s quite a lot of anger and dismay.


“A lot of people thought it was


going to happen whatever.” He added that a village shop was


a vital facility for a rural communi­ ty like Hurst Green and that the parish council would now be explor­ ing different avenues to see if any alternative could be provided.


Christmas off to fine start


A ROTARY civic carol service with music from Clitheroe Town Band and Edisford Primary School choir will be held at St Mary’s Parish Church, Clitheroe,


on Wednesday, December 13th. Starting at 7 p.m., the service


will be attended by the Mayor and Mayoress of both Clitheroe and the Ribble Valley.


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Clitheroe Advertiser & Times, Thursday, December 7th, 2006 9 Ombudsman backs land use complaint


OFFICERS at Ribble Val­ ley Council were this week considering their response to a report which found fault in the way the council reached a decision not to sell land for


a mosque in Clitheroe. As reported in last week’s


Clitheroe Advertiser and Times, Local Government Ombudsman Anne Seex found faults in the council’s decision­ making process. But crucially she concluded that the council was entitled to make the deci­ sion not to sell land at its for­ mer Kirkmoor Road Depot site for a mosque to be built. Because of the faults she found, the Ombudsman believed the complaint was justified and recommended that the council pays £250 to the complainant “in recognition of his time and trouble in pursuing the com­ plaint”.


The complainant, whose


identity cannot be identified by the Ombudsman, had written to the council in August 2004 seeking to buy part of the Kirk­ moor Road site to develop as a mosque - an idea which met with opposition from many local residents. In September 2004, council­


lors on the Policy and Finance Committee deferred a decision and instead asked for more information, including a report on “the possible effects of the sale on the social wellbeing of local residents”. After considering the matter


again in November 2004, the committee resolved to use the entire site for elderly people’s accommodation, even though the District Valuer had advised th a t they would get £15,000 more for the land if it was sold in three lots for a combination of mosque, business and hous-


ing. The complainant told the Ombudsman that the council had never previously talked of an urgent need for elderly peo­ ple’s accommodation and that when the development actually took place, it included only three bungalows among five family houses and 14 apart­ ments. In her report, the Ombuds­


man found that the “lack of clarity and transparency” in dealing with the sale of the land had given the complainant grounds to believe th a t the council had not dealt with him fairly. She found maladministration


by the council: • in its “asset management”


of the site • in not dealing with the sale


in accordance with recognised good practice • and in reaching a decision that was not supported or jus­


tified by the information before the committee. However, although she was


critical of the council’s decision­ making process, the Ombuds­ man did not find that its deci­ sion was “unreasonable”. The council was entitled to consider the proposed use and take into account issues such as traffic and other impacts on neigh­ bouring residents, even though such matters would be consid­ ered by the council if a plan­ ning application was made, as planning authority. In fact, no planning applica­


tion for a mosque at the Kirk­ moor Road site was submitted once it was clear the council would not sell the land for such a use. The council will discuss the


report’s findings at the next Policy and Finance Committee meeting. Committee chairman Coun.


Story and article did


not help sensitive issue A LIVELY debate about the current outstanding planning application for the former Lappet Manufacturing premises in Lowergate is being conducted in your letter pages and views are being expressed both for and against. I was disappointed there­ fore that your article on Page 2 of the November 30th issue under the headline: “Council rapped over mosque plan refusal” was factually incorrect and therefore misleading. The article relates to an Ombudsman ruling on a complaint


about the decision of Ribble Valley Bor­ ough Council not to sell some of the for­ mer council depot off Kirkmoor land to the Medina Islamic Education Centre and to two local businesses. The first paragraph of the article states, “...... Council has been found guilty of malad­ ministration regarding a controversial planning application...... ”. This is com­ pletely inaccurate - there has never been any planning application to build a mosque at the Kirkmoor Road site. Tliree separate requests for purchase of parts of the Kirkmoor land were considered by the Council’s Policy and Finance Committee who decided to retain the whole site for housing use - a decision which the Ombudsman did not find “unreasonable”. The maladministration finding was


largely a procedural matter on asset man­ agement of the whole site - this was reflected in the award of a relatively minor compensation sum for “.....malad­ ministration causing injustice by giv­ ing [X] grounds to believe that the council had not dealt with him fairly.” I should also emphasise that all the


0 m s.


past decisions taken by the Planning Committee on applications for a Muslim place of worship from the MIEC have been subsequently, when challenged, upheld as correct planning decisions by independent Planning Inspectors. Your headline and associated article


contents are therefore incorrect, mislead­ ing and do not help in what is already a very sensitive situation.


RICHARD SHERRAS, Chairman Planning and Development


Committee, Ribble Valley Borough Council


• WE apologise for the mistake. Infor­


mation about the Ombudsman’s ruling came as we went to press last week and unfortunately the word “planning” was


incorrectly added. A more comprehensive article appears


on this page - Editor


Chris Holtom said: “I am look­ ing forward to the next Policy and Finance Committee meet­ ing. I have read the report which seems reasonably bal­ anced. “I am particularly pleased


that she commented favourably on the way the various meet­ ings regarding the site were handled. I also note in the report that the inspector does not criticise our right to sell the land.”


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