2 Clitheroe Advertiser & Times, Thursday, January 24th, 2008
INSIDE YOUR CLITHEROE ADVERTISER AND TliVIES
1 Valley Matters............................. 6,7 9 Village News........................14,15,16 a Letters........................................... 12 a Weekendplus........................... 24,25 a Feature page ................................. 17 i Family Notices..........................22,23 S Readersplus................................... 21 3 Motors Today .............................. .50 a Sport.........................................69-72
AT A GLANCE...
Teenager dies in crash - page 68 ‘Centre is a nuisance’ - page 23 Valley weddings - page 9
Young Farmer’s top post - page 14 INFORMATION
Duty chemist: Lloyds Pharmacy, 5 Church Street, Clitheroe: Sunday, noon to 1 p.m. Police: 01200 443344. Fire: In emergency 999 and ask for fire service. Electricity: 0800 1954141. Gas: 0800111999. Water: 0845 462200. Councils: Ribble Valley Borough Council, Clitheroe 425111. Clitheroe Town Council, 424721 Hospitals: Royal Blackburn Royal Hospital: 01254 263555. Airedale General Hospital, Steeton: 01535 652511. Clitheroe Community Hospital: 427311. Alcohol Information Centre: 01282 416655. Aidsline: 01282 831101 (7 p.m. to 9 p.m.). Domestic Violence Helpline: 01282 422024. Cruse Bereavement Care: Ribble Valley 01200 429346. Environmental Agency: Emergencies - 0800 807060. Drugs: Local confidential advice and information line: 01200 444484. National: 0800 776600. Ribbic Valley Talking Newspaper: 01200 428604. Samaritans: 01254 662424. Monthly Volunteer Helpline: 01200 422721. Lancashire Rural Stress Network: 01200 427771. QUEST (specialist smoking cessation service): 01254 358095. Ribble Valley Citizens’ Advice Bureau: 01200 428966.
CONTACT US! News: 01200 422324
Advertising: 01200 422323 Classified: 01282 422331
Family Notices and Photo Orders: 01282 426161, ext. 410 Fax: 01200 443467 editor e-mail:
vivien.meath@
eastlancsnews.co.uk news editor e-mail:
duncan.smilh@
eastlancsncws.co.uk sports editor e-mail:
edward.lee@castlancsnews.co.uk
WEATHER
DUNSOP BRIDGE H
CHIPPING I ■ CHATBURN
CLITHEROE B BWHALLEY .
LANGHO ■ ' ^ 1 ■ BURNLEY ■ ACCRINGTON BLACKBURN ■
WEEKEND WEATHER: Forecasters predict a cloudy weekend with temperatures around 10°.
SUNRISE: 8-07 a.m. SUNSET: 4-33 p.m. LIGHTING UP TIME: 4-03 p.m.
ISLAIDBURN IGISBURN
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Clitheroe 422324 (Editorial), 422323 (Advertising), Burnley 422331 (Classified)
Village bobby and farmers ‘in rescue’
by Faiza Afzaal and Kate Grieves
A QUICK-THINKING village policeman and a farmer came to the “rescue” of school- children as driving rain caused floods in Sab- den. Whalley Road and Wesley Road were hit
the hardest. The reservoir overflowed and, as the culvert in Wesley Street was blocked by rubble, the water was re-directed into the roads. The heavy downpours on Monday also
affected the village schools, as Sabden Pri mary and St Mary’s RC Primary both had to resort to unusual measures to get the pupils out. At the end of the school day, PC Paul
Sherratt, of Clitheroe Police, sought the help of local farmer Chris Ford who came to the rescue with a tractor and a cattle trailer to ferry around 70 youngsters from Sabden Pri
mary across the flooded road to their par
ents. He said: “Although the school was nice and
dry from inside, water had surged around the building outside and it was important to get the children across the flooded road safely. “I based with headteacher Sandra Dundon
and between us we decided that the best option was to get the children out rather than call their parents. “I would like to thank farmers Chris Ford
and Bobby Gill for their tremendous efforts on the day and also to all the villagers who rallied round at a difficult time like this.” Elsewhere in the Ribble Valley, large
amounts of surface water caused problems for motorists trying to drive through Clitheroe, Waddin^on, West Bradford, Saw- ley, Grindleton, Whalley, Billington and Ribchester. As the rain continued unabated, the River Ribble burst its banks in places and flood
warnings were issued by the Environment Agency. Eight schools across the borough were
closed, either due to flooding or a lack of heating. Panic-stricken residents were sand-bags to protect their homes, whileu^ crews were busy pumping water out of sev eral homes and pubs across the borough. Padiham’s River Calder threatened to
break its banks and torrents of water ran do™ School Lane, Trapp Lane and Simon- stone Lane, in Simonstone. Meanwhile, Ribble Valley Borough Coun
cil has issued advice to residents in threat ened areas. They can find help and advice about flood
ing on the Ribble Valley Borough Council website (
wxvw.ribblevalley.gov). Household ers and commercial operations are also reminded that the council is not responsible for supplying sandbags. The Environment Agency’s flood line number is 0845 9881188.
Flood could have been prevented
IN 1992 the culvert carrying Badger Wells Water, which runs round the back of Wesley Street in Sabden, collapsed after a sum mer flood. Ribble Valley Borough Council
(RVBC), the Environment Agency (EA) and United Utilities were all contacted. The EA and United Utilities
did not want to know. RVBC looked at the situation and, fol lowing exhaustive inquiries, they discovered th a t Badger Wells Water is “no man’s land”. So in October, 2003, RVBC
pegged the collapse with barrier tape and placed a 28-day notice on it. The notice stated that if no riparian owner came forward within 28 days, clearance work would be done and the “owner” could be charged for the work and fined for not complying with sec tion 25 of the Land Drainage Act 1991. Residents of Sabden fully
expected RVBC to clear the cul vert, which would prevent any further damage and allow free flow of water. I personally looked up and down the culvert with a powerful torch and could not see through; it should be sb: feet wide and three feet deep. From October, 2003, to July,
2007, RVBC did nothing, mean while the culvert deteriorated more. Following heavy overnight rain. Badger Wells Water backed up and ran down Sabden village, flooding several houses and busi nesses. I believe the clean-up operation cost to RVBC was £2,500. Sabden villagers fully expected
the culvert to be cleared as a mat ter of urgency. RVBC Engineering Services
Manager visited the site and came up with a reasonable plan... but yet again, nothing happened on the ground. This plan went to the Commu
nity Committee and, with their obvious wisdom, the decision was deferred pending inquires as to
who “owns” the culvert (despite previously unsuccessful searches). After a fruitless search i t was decided to spend £10,000 (peanuts) on clearing and repair ing the culvert before March, 2008. Meantime, in the real world,
RVBC has done nothing and Sab den has suffered the worst flood since 1964 and has more water running down the main street than 100 years ago. RVBC ambitions and priorities
are and I quote: “Council Ambitions - To pro
tect and enhance the environmen tal quality of our area. To keep the environment of housing areas safe, attractive and well-used.” “Council Mission Statement:
The Council will identify, develop and promote the social, econom ic, cultural and physical well being of the community of Ribble Valley in the most efficient, effec tive and economic manner consis tent with the rural nature of the area.” “Council Vision: An area with
an exceptional environment and quality of life for all... meeting the needs of residents, businesses and visitors.”
Are these worth the price of the
ink? Can we have some action please? Now.
The RVBC paper exercise so far
includes “reputation” as part of their “risk assessment”... with no mention of risk to residents, prop erty or business. RVBC is the Land Drainage
Authority and stated in July, 2007, that “this debris could block the culvert in future” and “the culvert is in danger of total col lapse”... in view of this would it not be reasonable to expect a flood prevention plan or, should flood ing occur, some emergency plan? Sandbags perhaps? Instead RVBC has nothing in
place, residents phoning at 9-15 on Monday morning being told to ring a builders’ merchant for sand bags. .. something they don’t sell
What does RVBC do?. 1. Send a road sweeper at mid
day 2. Send two men in a van from
the cleansing department at 2-15 3. Issue a small number of
sandbags 4. Do nothing about the actual
cause. More than 29 hours later two-
thirds of Badger Wells Water is running do\vn Whalley road like a high speed canal. Four one-ton sand bags placed across the track below Wesley Street would pre vent all the flooding... simple, quick and effective, not difficult or expensive. The bill now before works and
not including officers’ time will be over £5,000, plus the cost of repair which will now be substan tially more than the £10,000 allo cated. I suggested to the Engi neering Manager last July that work should be deemed as “emer gency work”. This would mean that the Environment Agency are not involved in the planning or works, but are notified after wards; this keeps cost down. I cannot believe in this day and
age that such a basic job cannot be done competently. Why do we pay so much council tax, with a fire brigade without sandbags, and some of the worst maintained roads, walls, drains, car parks,
trees, and water courses in Britain? RVBC Community Committee
and the officers should be ashamed and disgraced, they have a duty of care to residents to which theyjiave failed miserably. Its unbelievable that these people are so short-sighted, they couldn’t
plan an outside tap, never mind run one. Will Sabden’s Badger Wells Water finally see a digger? I can
see it now coming up Whalley road on a barge...
ANDREW COLLINSON, Wesley Street, Sabden
The council
responds WE sought a response from Ribble Valley Borough Coun cil to the points made in the above letter. Its director of community
services, John Heap, said:, “Responsibility for water courses rests with the owmer or owners of the land through which the watercourse flows. “Ribble Valley Borough
Council does not own the land in question and is therefore not responsible, although a permissive power is available to the council as land drainage authority. The council there fore reviewed the situation at the Sabden culvert after the problems last year. “Councillors felt the tax
payers of Ribble Valley should not have to foot the bill, so our officers were instructed to have one final attempt at trac ing the landowner, while exploring alternative sources of funding for the works. “When it was established
that the landowner could not be traced, councillors agreed to foot the £10,000 bill on behalf of Ribble Valley coun cil taxpayers, an amount they do not consider to be ‘peanuts’. “During Monday's storms,
the culvert collapsed com pletely and within two hours of this being brought to the attention of council engineer on Tuesday, an excavator on site and enough debris xvas removed to re-establish floxvs in the culvert. “We are certain that any
reasonable person would regret the problems caused in Sabden and the council xvill do all it can to prevent a future recurrence. Hoxvever, given the exceptional levels of rain fall on Monday and the satu rated state of the ground, there is no guarantee that a fully-repaired culvert xvould have coped xvith the peak
s _____ by Natalie Cox_____
A REAL life fairy tale played out on stage had a happily ever after ending. In front of a packed audience at
the Burnley Mechanics, Nick Booth dressed up as Prince
Charming to propose to Snoxv White star Maria Masterman. For the pantomime’s leading
lady the marriage proposal during the penultimate performance xvas a complete surprise. “During the death scene, after
Siroxv White has eaten the poi soned apple and the prince is about to kiss me and bring me back to life they pulled Kevin Kay off the stage and Nick came on all dressed up as Prince Charming,” said the former St Augustine’s RC High School pupil and member of Clitheroe Parish Church Amateur Operatic and Dramatic Society. “He kissed me and I did not
realise it xvas him so I carried on acting. “Then I realised everyone had
stopped and I thought something had gone xvrong. “Nick then xvalked to the front
xxith a microphone. “He then got down on one knee,
called me his leading lady and said after four years being togeth
www.clitheroeadvertiser.co.uk \/ni ir
Clitheroe Advertiser & Times, Thursday, January 24th, 2008 3 your m u sic gf....
Snow White says ‘yes’ on stage oh, yes, she did!
er he xx'anted to marry me.” In front of a packed house of
480 and the cast and crexv, 27- year-old Maria could only nod in response. “I think the audience realised
before me xvhat xvas going on and there xvere a lot of gasps and then a massive cheer, xve kissed - it xvas lovely,” she said. But then the shoxv had to go on
and the couple had to put their engagement celebrations on hold. “We had to push Nick off stage
and then I had to get back on my death bed and re-start the shoxxx” said the soon-to-be Mrs Booth. Maria, xvho xvorks at Ultra
frame in Clitheroe, and lives in Earby xvith 38-year-old Nick, said: “He alxvays said if he xvas going to propose he xvould go the xvhole hog and be really romantic and he xvas. I t xvas a fairy tale xvithin a fairy tale.” The couple are pictured above
right on stage. Picture by Andy Cam Video Services, and left, “out of costume” (T220108/lc)
Slight glitch, but Julie wins out!
DESPITE forgetting to add a vital ingredient to her dessert, Clitheroe xvould-be Masterchef Julie Hemingxvay xvon a place in the quarter final. Her panfried sea bass xvith fen
nel and tomatoes and apricot clafoutis proved a hit with televi sion judges John Torode and Greg Wallace on Tuesday night. For the first of three rounds
screened on BBC2 this week, mum-of-two Mrs Hemingway chose to make a choux bun with
vanilla cream and blueberries from the ingredients in her mys tery box. Before starting to cook she had taken time out to plan her dish, scoring high marks xvith the judges for her attention to detail. The second round saw the
heat’s top three cooks xvorking in the kitchens of Automat, an American-style diner in London, during a lunchtime service. Mrs Hemingxvay’s ability to stay cool under pressure as she
prepared a salad niqoise xvith tuna steak made her stand out from the croxx’d. In the final round, each con
te s ta n t had to prepare a txvo- course meal. Mrs Hemingxvay had chosen to cook sea bass fol lowed by the apricot dish and although the judges said she under-cooked her potatoes and forgot the sugar she xvas selected for tonight’s quarter final xvhich xvill be screened a t 8 p.m. on BBC2.
Still no solution to centre threat
^ YEAR-LONG delay in c!os- ing Clitheroe’s County Infor mation Centre has not resulted in a long term solution. A report to members of Lan
cashire Local Ribble Valley said the county council had decided to xvithdraw in April 2007. However the decision xvas
deferred for 12 months after members of the public and Lan cashire Local called on the county to investigate alterna tive funding options and explore other outlets.
Mr John Hodgkinson, the
Divisonal Librarian East Lan cashire, told a recent Lan cashire Local meeting th a t alternative funding had not been identified. He also said that as a number of other out lets offer either face-to-face or electronic access to information i t had been considered th a t services provided in Clitheroe could be rationalised and relo cated to other facilities. Coun. R obert Thompson suggested th a t Ribble Valley
Borough Council continue pro viding some form of TIC in the toxvn and Coun. Michael Ran- son urged the county to recon s id er its xvithdrawal from Clitheroe. Lancashire Local chairman
County Coun. Chris Holtom described the s i tu a t io n as “unsatisfactory”. Members agreed tha t their
views against the xvithdraxval be forxvarded to the county’s cabinet for consideration before a formal decision is reached.
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