Clitheroe 422324 (Editorial), 422323 (Advertising), Burnley 422331 (Classified) 16 Clitheroe Advertiser &Times, Thursday, November 9th, 2006 www.clitheroetoday.co.uk Clitheroe 422324 (Editorial), 422323 (Advertising), Burnley 422331 (Classified)


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Clitheroe Advertiser & Times, Thursday, November 9th, 2006 17 Youngsters boost for Macmillan Letters to the Editor Wrile lo: The Editor, Clitiicroc Advertiser .md Times, 3 King Street, Clitheroe BB72EW Editorial e-mail: vivien.mealh@eastlancsnews.co.uk — Traffic concern is a


> regarding the proposed development of Lappets/Mount Vale. Mrstly, traffic congestion during the


day and early evening is a nightmare! There have been times when the closest place I have been able to park my car has been Church Brow to Lowergate. Mornings are horrific and there are days when there are cars double parked the length of Highfield Road and on the double yellow lines on Lowergate. I see there are plans to redevelop the


road, but the further chaos this would cause would grind the whole road to a standstill. I still cannot see what would stop people visiting the new educa- tion/community centre, parking where they liked. Double yellow lines do not stop most at the moment. With small children, I see this issue as a matter of life or death, not just an issue of car parking. Lowergate is used as a rat-run for young drivers in the early evening- speed, extra traffic and road chaos is an accident waiting to happen. Secondly, I have a real fear that no


one can give me real assurances on the depreciation in value of our property, which I suspect will be huge. We have not lived here long and have a very large mortgage to pay. To be looking at possible negative equity is stomach churning. Who is going to make up the difference in house values if the assur­ ances so far given prove to be wrong? I feel let down that my local council­


lors have not written to ask our opin­ ion. We do not even know where they stand and, clearly, they cannot repre­ sent my views as they have not asked for them. Is this proposed development going to go ahead even if it is proven the majority do not want it? Do we live in a democratic society or


not? Will the “if i t is proven to be” minority win the day regardless of the cost to the majority?We are worried about the potential for trouble around here too. On Friday, Saturday and sometimes Sunday, we are subject to crowds of people filtering out from local pubs and clubs worse for wear. Is there going to be a high police presence to ensure no clashes take place between the two communities? I do not want our children growing up to witness this potential behaviour. If other sites have been rejected on


the grounds of disruption and traffic congestion, why is Lappets seen as dif­ ferent? A town centre location is even worse. Another more suitable location would be the Trinity Centre. I have heard that the Trinity Community Partnership will be moving to St Mary’s Centre, leaving a purpose-built community building with a car park and access, empty. Owned, I think, by the Methodist Church, it could be leased to the Medina Centre. The whole area could be seen as a communi­ ty place of worship and learning and would show that differing religions could co-exist together. There have been many meetings already at Trinity Centre by the Muslim community and maybe it is time this was seen as a potential site. We understand that


life and death issue I AM a concerned resident, council tax payer and parent of several small chil­ dren living at the top of Highfield Road/Lowergate and I wish to raise a few points of real concern that I have


there is a need and a place for a Mosque/education centre in the Ribble Valley, but the place is most certainly not in the centre of an already congest­ ed busy town. Let us have a proper public consulta­


tion and not just another “not in my backyard” argument. Let us look for­ ward and work progressively and find an out-of-town venue.


CONCERNED RESIDENT • We are told there is no long-term


plan to move all the activities from Trinity Centre to St Mary’s Centre - Editor


Good luck to those


behind this plan I WTRITE as a practising Christian to say how much I hope that the council will find in favour of the application for a place of worship for Muslims in the former Zion Chapel. How appropriate it will be for this


historic building to revert to being a place of worship rather than a factory. Your correspondent should know by


now that there will be an adjacent car park and provision has been made for those few attending dawn or late night prayers. Muslims, like Christians, are not always at prayer when they might be. We Catholics are not found fighting for parking places at 9 a.m. Mass dur­ ing the week. Why does your correspondent imply


that she/he is offended by a Muslim place of worship yet not offended, apparently, by the Roman Catholic Church or the United Reformed Church close to which she has chosen to live? For myself I find it totally unaccept­


able that any citizen of any faith should not have access to a suitable place of worship, and an industrial site is only a suitable place for a factory. Let us not forget that Catholics,


Quakers, Baptists and others have suf­ fered discrimination in times past. Let's have no more of it. Finally, I note that the correspon­


dent does not have the courage to sign his/her letter. Is this acceptable?


LILY PERRIN (MRS), Clithcroe


Far better uses for


such a large site I AM writing in response to the propos­ al of a new Muslim place of worship at the former Lappet manufacturing site in Lowergate. Do not get me wrong, I am all for


multiculturalism and tolerance within our society, however I am doubtful that this idea of a Muslim place of worship would benefit Clitheroe or its residents and visitors alike. What will come next, a Halal butch­


ers in Moor Lane? I do not believe that there is a large


enough Muslim community within Clitheroe to justify this proposal. Britain as a whole is very tolerent


and accomodating to members of other faiths - more so than many other coun­ tries. Yet recently, especially after the whole wearing the veil issue, we have been hearing how intolerant we are etc., and quite frankly I am sick and tired of it and would be devastated if a Muslim


place of worship in Clitheroe meant that Muslims from other areas such as Blackburn and Burnley came to Clitheroe to worship, increasing the risk of our town becoming a place of segre­ gation and racial tension. The proposed area for the site suffers


from road congestion a t the best of times and, as far as I am aware, there are more than 12 mosques within a 14- mile radius of Clitheroe. Surely this is enough! With the current climate as it is with


such issues as veils and segregation in towns like Blackburn, I am pleased that Clitheroe does not suffer with the same problems and it would be nice if the town could avoid such issues. I would be interested to know exactly


how this would benefit the town of Clitheroe and those who live here. I cannot help but feel that the site


and building would be put to far better use catering for the town’s young peo­ ple, such as a youth and activity centre or, if possible, maybe some more afford­ able housing for the many young peo­ ple of Clitheroe being forced out of the housing market.


MOOR LANE RESIDENT, Name and address supplied


Listen to the views


of local people I SINCERELY hope the decision makers in the Ribble Valley Borough Council plaiming department will con­ sider the wishes of the majority of resi­ dents in Clitheroe when deciding on the application for a “place of worship and community partnership centre” in Lowergate, Clitheroe. If a referendum was taken, I know


without doubt that the people would be against it. Surely our wishes have to be given consideration, regardless of any other issue. Should permission be granted, then faith in our local council will be severely diminished. Our image as a tradition^ English market town is at stake here and we all know it, so I urge the general public to let your voic­ es be heard and make your objections known. Our parents and grandparents before us worked extremely hard to make Clitheroe the wonderful town it is and we do not wish this to be jeopar­ dised in any way, for the sake of our children and grandchildren.


NAME AND ADDRESS SUPPLIED A major revenue


verted into a factory, car ownership in Clitheroe was significantly lower. The council therefore needs to take this into account when considering any propos­ als that may arise in connection with this site. Another concern is the noise that will


be generated by the arrival and depar­ ture of worshippers, particularly in the summer when meetings wilt begin just after 4 a.m. The applicants’ claim in their proposals that around 20 people at any one time will use the building


loss to the council THE site of the proposed Mosque in Lowergate/Highfield Road is already suffering problems of congestion caused by double parking and traffic to the local primary school via Bayley Fold. When the church was originally con­


raises the question of why such a large three-storey property is needed. In its current state the site would generate £23,750 (2005) in business rates, as a place of worship it will not be liable to pay business rates or council tax; this poses a significant loss in potential rev­ enue for the local authority.


CONCERNED RESIDENT In defence of a level


playing field... REGARDING the letter from a con­ cerned resident objecting to a mosque, I have no objections to a mosque in Clitheroe... in the future when, and only when, Christians are given the same rights as Muslims in Islamic countries such as Saudi Arabia and Pakistan. I write in defence of equality and a level playing field.


BERT HARDWICK, Queenswaj’, Waddinglon


Heaven help us in


an emergency I AM writing to object to the proposed mosque being situated in Lowergate, Clitheroe (the former site of Lappet Engineering). My concerns are the increased


amount of traffic that this would cause on an already very busy area of Clitheroe. Lowergate is already on a major bus route out of Clitheroe. There is also the added fact that there is a pri­ mary school in Lowergate and cars bringing the children to school already use Bayley Fold to get on to their car park. If the mosque was' to go ahead and build its car park, there undoubt­ edly would be queues waiting to get off Highfield Road at least twice a day. Buses and emergency vehicles could also be held up. Sainsbury’s delivery entrance in


Highfield Road is opposite the entrance to Bayley Fold, there could also be problems with the delivery wagons being held up due to the Muslim com- mumty going to one of their services. How can we be assured that our lives


would not be disrupted, with the increased amount of traffic starting coming round at 4 a.m. and continuing until 11 p.m?


To have a car park situated by the


school would be very dangerous and no doubt other peopole not using the mosque would try to use it, once again increasing more traffic to use Bayley Fold and Wilkin Square. There is already double parking down Highfield Road, excess traffic would add to these problems. People also try to use Bayley Fold to park during the day instead.of having to use one of the public paying carparks.


in Blackburn and Accrington. Why can the Muslim people not use these? They have chosen a place in Clitheroe which has great problems already with traffic. The proposed site in Holden Street was turned down due to noise and disrup­ tion to the residents thera I strongly r^mmend that the coun­


There are already numerous mosques


cil looks at this application very care­ fully and looks at why Holden Street was turned down. Lowergate, Highfield Road and Bayley Fold are much more


Editor’s decision on


anonymity is final PLEASE explain your inconsistency in accepting the unsigned letter objecting to a new Mosque site in Clitheim What possible justification in this instance was there in not printing it?


DOREEN GATHERCOLE, CUtheroeRoad, WhaUey • As readers are aware, this continues to be a contentious and emotive subject. Names and addresses have been verified for all those wishing to remain anony­ mous. A number of letters have been withheld due lo content and others pub­ lished here have, of necessity, been edit­ ed due lo content. As editor, I reserve the


right to agree lo requests for anonymity -Editor


Letters Extra - see paqe 18 M


congested already than Holden Street. Should this application go ahead, I dread to think of the consequences increased traffic would cause should there be any emergencies. There is a church in Lowergate already. Extra traffic could bring delays to weddings and funerals.


CONCERNED RESIDENT OF BAYLEYFOLD


Some questions


must be answered REGARDING the proposal for an Islamic/multi-cultural centre at High­ field Road, this looks like a good and worthy project at first glance, but on further reflection it could turn out to be a can of worms in the offering. Looking at it, I have some doubts


over how it can work without it being dominated by the males of the Islamic group. My concerns are as follows: 1. Will the Islamic prayer centre be


opened up to include all family mem­ bers of the Clitheroe Muslims when their prayers are held, or - as in most cases at present in the surrounding area - will it be a male-dominated prayer meeting excluding all females? 2. Will this multi-culture centre be


opened up without any restrictions to other faiths to use, such as the Hindu and Jewish faiths? 3. Will there be restrictions imposed


by the Muslim male members on what any females will wear when attending this centre, bearing in mind that most other faiths have adopted our English style of dress code? 4. Will this centre be a focal point for


extremist foreign priests from overseas or will it be a modem English-bom one conducting the prayers and meetings held there? 5. Will any religious faiths that hold


any services submit to close scrutiny on what is conducted inside the centre? There are possibly more questions on


how this centre m i^ t be run, so I hope, as other Clitheroe folk do, that our paid officials and elected councillors in the Ribble Valley borough will not go head over heels in passing this application without full consultation with the folk of Clitheroe.


RONLOEBELL, „ Edisford Road, Clitheroe


Police appeal for witnesses


by Faiza Afzaal


D E T EC T IV E S have renewed their plea for wit­ nesses a f te r a te r r ify in g armed robbery a t a village


store. Two masked robbers wielding


a crowbar burst into the Spar shop in Mellor and threatened two members of staff before escaping with £150 from the till. The robbery took place at 6-


35 p.m. on Tuesday, October 31st (Hallowe’en night) at the shop in Carter Fold. One of the offenders is


described as male. Oft. 2in. tall, particularly thin and he was wearing a black tracksuit with hood attached, a black balacla-


va with holes cut out for the eyes and mouth. The second is described as


male, smaller than the first, wearing a light grey tracksuit possibly with a black motif or writing on the back and wearing a dark green balaclava. He threatened one of the


female members of staff who was stacking shelves. Police believe both males were


wearing gloves. Anyone with any information


or who may have witnessed the offenders is asked to contact the. CID at Clitheroe on 01200 458741 or alternatively Crimestoppers on 0800 555111.


Plenty of spooky goings-on


A SPOOKY fun event held in Clitheroe Castle Museum was enjoyed by lots of children who attended the workshops. Elliott Goff, helped by brothers Thomas and Daniel, of Waddington, won "The Black Cats Trail" around the museum


during Hallowe'en. There were 11 correct entries for this com­ petition. Chloe McGrath, of Clitheroe, correctly guessed that the "Skull on the Pendle map" was buried at New- church. Both won prizes of Hallowe'en items.


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YOUNGSTERS at a rural Ribble Val­ ley school held a coffee morning with a difference and raised almost £85 in an hour. Junior children at Thomeyholme Pri­


mary School, Dunsop Bridge, put their fund-raising skills to good use when they sold biscuits to staff and fellow pupils at lOp each. The youngsters also served pop


drinks instead of coffee to boost funds for the annual Macmillan Cancer Sup­


port “World’s Biggest Coffee Morning” event. Miss Emma Pickering, Key Stage 2


teacher, said all the children enjoyed themselves and did magnificently well to raise a total of £84.32 in the space of an hour. Pictured are two of the pupils pre­


senting a cheque to Macmillan Nurse Justine Whitaker on behalf of the school.


(B091006/6) Sale date at the library


A SALE of new and nearly new clothes will be held on the top floor of Clitheroe Library on Saturday, November 11th, from 10 a.m. till 2 p.m. A percentage of the money raised will be


donated to Brookside Primary School and St Michael and St John’s RC Primary School, both in Clitheroe.


We’ve got Christmas all wrapped up! See pages 22-26


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