4 ' v ; C l ith e ro e Ad v e r t ise r & Tim es , Thu rsd a y , Ju ly 2nd, 2009 ■ .


•' www.clltheroeadvertiser.co.ulc


: Clitheroe 422324 (Editorial), 01282 426161 (Advertising), Burnley 01282 422331 (Classified) CUTHEROE TOWN CENTRE: THE FUTURE More VIEWS OF TRADERS AND READERS ■ IT is perhaps hardly surprising to find that a .


.property speculator is behind the proposal to pedestrianise Castle Street'in Clitheroe. , We have been here before with the pla.nners, ■ the rot set into Clitheroe back in the 1990s


• when the foolish council installed “traffic calm­ ing”. That removed half the on-street parking spaces and replaced them by bays, road nar­ rowing and stupid imitation cobbled pedestri­ an crossings. Charging for parking on the main town cen­ tre car parks didn’t help either - might as well


■ ■ use the money to buy fuel to go to two-hour free disc parking Accrington or Nelson. ’ Perhaps the first major casualty was Kwik


Save, but many other long standing businesses : are now history. Re-developing the old market was also a mistake, the old auction site would . have been ideal as a car park with several tourist coach spaces. The white elephant new bus interchange only has one coach parking space and this is often taken by “laying over” ' service buses. • Although local, I couldn't tell you what


shops are left in Clitheroe town centre. I do very occasionally venture through, but find myself far too busy trying to negotiate the unnecessary obstacles in the road to see what shops are where. If we want to get really revo- •


■ lutionary let’s remove all the stupid traffic calming and put the roads and pavements back to 1970s standard, complete with the dis­ tinctive red stoned tarmac.


^ There may be a theoretical “market” for ■


pedestrianisation, but for a town to rely on a minority of perhaps wealthy “green trendies” at the expense of the locals is lunacy. GORDON PYE, • Downham Road, Chatburn .


. .


■ RE. vacant shop premises in CliUicroc. . \ NewFormArts, which is a Clilheroe-based ■


group, is constantly seeking opportunities to : showcase the work of ils'members. As a group we are known for our community art projects in and around Clitheroc which is our way of sup­ porting our “home” town. The type of art and craft that we produce'does . not easily fit into the category of work that is dis-


24% .18%-. . @ Free parking q Pedestnanisation of Castle Street □ Half-day closing scrapped on Wed . □More "big name" shops were greatly appreciated, and we did make some


.tentative enquiries about the possibility of expanding the scheme to include mounting dis­ plays in empty premises in Clitheroe Town Cen­ tre.


As this is something we would still hope to achieve, we were very excited by the news of a concerted bid to revitalise the town. Wc have always felt that if vacant shop windows could be used for exhibiting art it would lessen the nega- • tive impact of empty premises and would give a local group like ours the opportunity to showcase its work. We accept that there can be issues around insurance and health and safety, but in the interest of helping improve the image of Clitheroe, we would hope that such problems could be resolved.


, , NewFormArts fully supports the plans to revi-


What you wiant to see to boost trade « 18%


40%


■:, District Council in Devon (a lot of Dartmoor and ;down to the sea) offers free parking 11 to 2 but ■ you must get a ticket, sort of "don't pay and dis­ play". Of course this would have to apply Ribble Valley wide.


• Pedestrianisation of Castle Street - certainly . .10 till 4 Monday to Friday, start the debate. It


I I


will add to the turmoil on Saturdays with the back-up of traffic from Booths to the Kings Arms, but thatcan be remedied. And work in an easy pedestrian walkway down to the market | from Castle Street.


; Half-day closing -. one for the Chamber of | '. ' Trade. Up to the individual trader.


■ Big name shops - in a word, no. Anyone to fill j the voids. ; • Keep up the good work, now let others join the


: debate before the town stagnates. BRUCE DOWLES ■ ’ Whalley Road, Clitheroe


ing the town centre. 'Whilst the article can only • raise the public's awareness of the situation, we feel compelled to point out one aspect of the on-street parking position. Over the past two-and-a-half years approxi­


mately 35 on-street parking spaces have been removed due to a number of Traffic Regula­ tion Orders, in that time no new spaces have been created, either on or off-street. No won­ der your readership is complaining that they. . are unable to readily find a parking space on


; the town centre streets. After reading the article last Thursday:


'■ morning, one of our committee spoke to Ian ' Lloyd about this situation and told him of a" current TRO on King Street which may lead


talisc the town and would be very happy to hear ■ from anyone who would be interested in offering, us the temporary.use of empty shop fronts for-- the purpose of displaying the work of local artists ? and craftspeople. ’ ' ' ■ , ■ Norman Kelly,


' ' ' V ■


, played in the Platform Gallery, and we struggle ■ to find suitabic’venues in which to exhibit in .Clitheroc. In past years we have set up a “prome- ■ ■ nade of art” where a number of shops and busi­ nesses generously gave us some front window space for a two week period: These opportunities


, A . ; S residents of Moor Lane •; : / V and having two business- ' :


..es there we are intrigued - : JL b y Mr Lloyd’s proposals -


not just the proposals but also the - timing of them.


' ■


■ We love living and working in, . Clitheroe. It is a beautiful town'/;,-* with wonderful shops (many of which are different from those found elsewhere) and other facili- ’ ;-' ties. I t is set in picturesque land- ■.


For NewFormArts, . Syke House, Sawley Road, Grindletoh,' • ; r'v 01200441320 ■,


• to the situation being exacerbated.' We will continue to keep him informed of the ongoing situation so that he is up to date when holding


. any. further talks which your article states are in the initial stages. .• .■


■ :■ ■ • Clitheroe town centre certainly needs some - - , Clhheroe Town Centre Parking


assistance and we hope that all interested par­ ties wll rally round and unite for the benefit of everyone.'. ' THE COMMITTEE ,


B WE read with interest the front page of last r-H FURTHER to your front page article, I return


; Thursday's Clitheroe Advertiser, and Times'^ ' your mini questionnaire and add as follows: and the comments from various people regard-;- v'.; Free parking as an example South Hams


•; - the unreliability of the weather, :. if,.Clitheroe is not a continental city ■ where pedestrianisation may be a good idea..'Clitheroe relies a good-.i v:-?: deal on passing trade and on people; ' .who do not want to spend a long v -


.-•..time shopping'and so.want easy-:: .- - access to the shops they are visit- ;


., scape with great views and walks.: -v The people are friendly and s h o p - - keepers hard working and helpful.- ■ We are not sure it helps to give the - impression that it is a run-down ' -


■town on i t last legs. I t isn’t. -' 1


posals individually in the same V order, they were listed in the Adver-: tiser. '•


: Pedestrianising Castle Street: ■


r by various bodies and,-in our-view, ; v; . rightly, rejected; Quite apart froiU !;,': :


--;;ing.:Pedestrianisation of Castle -; . > V; Street also contradicts his idea for. . - .more free on-street parking (to : which we will come later).


, essarily a good thing that shops be .’ open all the time,' without respite?' ■ ■■■fv Revamp of the market: this is ^;; ■ . being looked at and recently there ' : .'was a display in the, library of ideas; . for the, town centre under the Pen- nine Lancashire Town Squares ini-


. tiative.' In our view, the best solu- - tions raise the level of the market ; to Castle Street and have ways ; through the Boots/Rose and


' , - Scrapping half-day closing: . . - ; ' ; Clitheroe prides itself on having' ’ - ;« . good quality independent shops,- - •: often family run; Independent' , - ': . ■


But let’s look at Mr Lloyd’s pro- i: 1


: . retailers tend to act independently v - - ;and often cannot afford to employ - ' :


staff to run their shops while they ■.;' : take time off; Half-day. closing may - . be old-fashioned,- but so long as


this has been looked a t many times ■ ? ' People can only spend so much ■idnd perhaps there should be times'


everybody knows when it is; we see'*; - nothing wrong with it .-


- „,T*. --


.Crown area. The market thus - become's part of .the town centre ' -


■


. and relieves space in the present ■ market for more town centre car parking.


, •• ' ' -


—Tidying up shop fronts: Many. - (though not all) 'of the shop fronts which Me untidy are those which ; are up for sale or to rent: Maybe ; the owners, sellers or letters and- '-'f their agents should be made to tidy


-up shops on being vacated. The '. i ; empty pizza shop on Moor Lane is f in a disgraceful state.


- :. when shops are not open. Is it nec-. -■ / -More free parking facilities: For


' B I STRONGLY object to the cost of parking on the town car parks (mainly from the incon- .venience factor) and seldom venture far from the supermarket car parks.


• My daughter, lives in St Albans and at least


two of the major, car parks offer one hour, or even half-an-hour, free parking, which I think is a brilliant idea. -


- ■ I live in Barrow and have recently been noti­


fied that my banking facilities at the Halifax in Whalley will close in August. I t is suggest­ ed that I use similar ones in an estate agent in Clitheroe, but I won't. Twill use the Halifax Bank in Accrington, where I have free parking and a Marks and Spencer. FREE PARKING : ; ;


,


H PEOPLE arc always saying to me Ihere are too m'any charity shops in Ciitheroe, but I say if.


‘ these shops were empty we would have a lot more.run down premises.


■. AVoolworths, CocoMoyo, Kaydce and Glamour have all closed their doors, but look at the slate they've been left in. If you look through the win­ dows you see an awful mess. A lot of people rely on charity shops for dona­


tions for very good causes. ■ ■ > LAURA BAILEY QUINTON . Hazel Grove, C i i th e ro e - , •


:. not pay business rates, so why are they selling new goods? A READER


B PLEASE no charity shops. I believe they do ,


•


five years we have been part of an • action group to prevent the reduc-


, ,tion of on-street parking on Moor ■ Lane. We failed; but maybe if we : „ . had more support at the time, the ,


result might have been different. Parking in the town centre is a big issue and needs to be addressed on a tovvn-centre wide basis. We can- ■ not lose any more spaces.


. Our view is that if there is a • ■ problem in Clitheroe, the root of ;' ■ the problem is the high level of the cost of buying and renting premis-;


- ■ es (both business and residential) ■ and to a lesser extent the level o f ;


.; ;,rates.'Of course, this is governed; - ■ i largely.by the national economic; : situation but it is also affected b y ; individual sellers,- landlords and


• -.their agents.- These latter, perhaps '■


:,y not surprisingly, want to maximise - their investment and earn larger ■ ^ , fees. But it does not help the to\vn '■ which needs cheaper housing and ^ ■ -, for businesses to be successful and


■ ■ . . - ; .■ to stay for longer. V.: ' .


: : I t does not help the town to have . a property empty for a while, for a


•■


-, business to open in it and then to leave soon after because of the high level of rent or rates and for the ■ •, premises then to be empty again.


■ ' We understand that the final straw for Kaydee was a demand for


: a 60% rent increase. A 60% ■ increase is greedy in good times; it ■is obscene ini difficult times. Hav-


: irig a reasonable and sustainable .level of-rents yvould help the town


V and this is something agents and ■


- . ad'Hsors can directly affect. ’r,; The town needs a unified and ; pro-active voice to build on the ,


- huge benefits of living and working here and for everybody to work together for the long term interest


:v>: of the to'wn arid for all the people of the town, residents, business people and visitors. JO HARDING AND


:v CATHERINE BRITCLIFFE


10 new jobs as store opens second branch


A NEW business in Clitheroe is buck-


■ ing the trend of shops closing. A second branch of the Thorougoods


select convenience store opens in Hay- hurst Street today - creating 10 new jobs. ’


- . . - .


; A new lease of life has been given to the previous “'corner shop”, which closed eight months ago, but thanks to new owner,- Mr David Ainsworth (53), i t has undergone a complete interior and exterior revamp - costing a sub­ stantial amount of money. ■ The business, .which is part of a'new initiative in conjunction with Bargain Booze, offering customere a total week­ ly shopping solution, will sell every-, thing from, newspapers, magazines,-


chocolates, crisps, groceries, soft drinks and alcohol. Mr Ainsworth, who also runs the


thriving .Thorougoods store in Waterloo; Road, Clitheroe, said: “I ’m glad to say . we are bucking the trend of shops clos­ ing in Clitheroe. “The community around the Hay-


hurst Street area needed a convenience store on their doorstep. “While so much is said about town


centre shops, people must not forget that businesses exist on the outskuts of; Clitheroe as well. “These businesses must not be forgotten by customers.” ; ■ ■ Pictured is Mr Ainsworth outside his


new shop, which opens ;today..- (CR290609/1)-. •


r-! by Faiza Afzaal


AN IMPRESSIVE and posi­ tive response has followed last week’s call in the Clitheroe Advertiser and Times to restore the town centre to its former glory. Concerned traders and local


residents have put pen to paper and expressed what action should be taken to attract shop­ pers back into the once-bustling market town. - ■ According to the opinion poll,


40% of people would like to see Ribble Valley Borough Council providing more free parking facil­ ities around the town, while 24% ; of respondents would like to see the scrapping of the traditional


■Our picture shows Castle Street - the heart of Clitherbe Town Centre. As we reported last week, an.


ap p e a l was issued to local traders, shoppers, Clitheroe Town Council and Ribble Valley Borough Council, by local busi­ nessman Ian Lloyd to breathe new life into the town.


lANLLOYD


half-day closing on Wednesday. There was a tie between pedestri­ anisation o'f Castle Street and more “big name” shops, with 18% of people voting in favour of each of them.


• 'With increasingly empty shops blighting Moor Lane and a fall in shoppers coming to the tqwn.due to the economic downturn, Mr Lloyd, of Mortimers estate agents, said something had to be done to increase footfall before it wastoolatei - In order to fill empty shops


and encourage customers back, Mr Lloyd has been focusing on five key areas which are: pedes­ trianisation of Castle Street, scrapping of the traditional half- d ay ' closing on 'Wednesday,


I : 9 ! ^ (Editorial), 01282 426161 (Advertising), Bumiey 01282 4 ^ 1 (Classified), www.clitheroeadvertiser.co.uk : Clith ero e A d v e rt ise r & T im e s , Thursday, Ju ly 2nd, 2009 . - 5 CLITHEROE TOWN CENTRE: THE FUTURE the town centre


‘Wake up’ call from Chamber of Trade...


“IT’S lime lo wake up!” - this is the stark mes­ sage from Clitheroe’s Chamber of Trade. The chamber’s president Nigel Pratt, has


issued a rallying call to town centre shopkeepers to get into action to improve the town’s quality of life, adding: “Actions are much more meaningful than words.”


. Mr Pratt’s renewed plea comes a week after an article in the Clilheroe Advertiser and Times,


. headlined “Let’s revitalise our market town”. ■ He believes more shop closures can be prevent­


ed and trade can return to the town if immediate action is taken.


. . • “It is essential for the town’s tradesmen to pull


revamping Clitheroe Market, tidying up shop fronts and creat­ ing more free on-street parking facilities around the town. Mr Lloyd, who is a Ribble Val­


ley resident and has worked in the town for 37 years, said: “I have been delighted with the response. A lot of shopkeepers


. have contacted me wanting to get involved to improve the look and feel of the town centre. “I hope -with the dialogue that


has been created, all the relevant bodies can get together to formu­ late a town centre initiative com­ mittee. “Once formed, I think the


committee can play a key role in initiating how i t would like to see the town centre develop in the future.” '


SEND MORE OF YOUR VIEWS ONTHETOWN CENTRE TO: THE CLITHEROE ADVERTISER AND TIMES, 3 KING STREET, CLITHEROE, BB7 2EW


together and for any empty shops to be filled as soon as possiblc,”,he commented. “Each new shop draws different customers into


Clitheroc, which is lo everyone’s benefit and will boost business.


: •:. • “Clitheroe and the surrounding villages boast


. an array of excellent shops and services, retailers need support to embrace the challenge of eco­ nomic changes while maintaining the creativity,' knowledge and experience of their local retail expertise.” In a bid for people to work together, Mr Pratt


has announced details of a “summer chill” event, - which is being held at Clilheroe Castle next Tues­ day (July 7th). The networking event is to explore ' ways to improve business in Clitheroe and to urge people to lake action and'turn their thoughts into reality.


Campaign


A flyer campaign is also being launched to actively involve traders and transport providers


i into looking at activities for Christmas and “shop local” schemes.'


' - . - -Mr Pratt went on to reveal how, due to a dip in


member numbers; Clitheroe’s 100-year-old Chamber of Trade organisation was in danger of closure in November last year. V. “A small band of people decided to raise aware-


.’ness to save the long-established organisation in what has transpired to be the worst recession Clitheroe has seen for some time,” he said. “The search for new officers and supporters


began and in the following months we have found a new treasurer, secretary, membership organiser and several new executive members, along with car parking and media/tourism experts. “Bridges have been built and a new. website is


■ currently under construction: 'We have been actively involved in the negotiations with Rihhle


; 'Valley Borough CounciTand Lancashire County . Council to protect the few remaining free parking spaces in Clitherop.” '


• Promoting the positives of Clitheroe, he said: “Major schemes are not needed to fix Clitheroe, ■ just commitment.


. ,


“We welcome shops to stay open on Wednesday - it lakes liirie lo see results, but with effort it will ; be worthwhile. Clitheroe can show it is flexible


- and does deliver great service; communicate with ; businesses around you - they may be able to help your business. '. “Overall, it is felt that pedeslrianisation would not improve the dynamics of Clithcroe as a market town, but we feel it’s time to stop being compla-


,cent and to do something abo'ut revitalising Clitheroe.”


^11


I’' .' ■ ■


■'


Page 1  |  Page 2  |  Page 3  |  Page 4  |  Page 5  |  Page 6  |  Page 7  |  Page 8  |  Page 9  |  Page 10  |  Page 11  |  Page 12  |  Page 13  |  Page 14  |  Page 15  |  Page 16  |  Page 17  |  Page 18  |  Page 19  |  Page 20  |  Page 21  |  Page 22  |  Page 23  |  Page 24  |  Page 25  |  Page 26