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; Ciitheroe 422324 (Ediloriai), 01282 426161 (Advertising), Bumiey 01282 422331 (Classified) ■ Clrtheroe422324(Edrtorial),01282426161 (Advertising), Burniey 01282 422331 (Classffied) 4 Clitheroe Advertiser &Times,'Thursday, June 11th, 2009 wwiv.clitheroeadvertlser.co.uk, as county set by Duncan Smit)i ■


TWO recounts, with the ■result swinging this way • then th a t , ; meant- tense moments for the candi-


. dates vying, to become ^ Clitheroe’s county coun­ cillor.


• . The seat was previous­ ly: : held -b y ,-L ib e ra l


■ Democract Stephen Sut­ cliffe, but he decided to stand down at this elec­ tion. Trying to retain it for the Lib-Dems was.


; Allan Knox, who already serves on Clitheroe Town Council and Ribble Val­ ley Borough Council and was going for the hat- trick. : Doing his best to stop


him was fellow borough councillor and immediate


'past Ribble . Valley Mayor John Hill, who was fighting to take the Clitheroe Division oh the county council for. the Conservatives.' V Standing for Labour,


but with little realistic chance of a win, was the


••youthful Tomas Thuro- good-Hyde.


^ ' -


. As the ballots were counted last Friday a t


■Clitheroe’s n.Roefield Leisure Centre, the piles for Knox and Hill looked; evenly matched.; After the first count jus t 2 2 , yotes' separated them,


■ with Knox ahead, but by , such a slim margin that a recount was inevitable. It; came back with Knox 23 votes ahead, but'then it appeared that a bundle.of 50 ballot papers for Hill: had been mistakenly placed in Knox’s box.


: .^Taking those votes off ■ Knox’s total arid adding them to Hill’s would put the Tory.'73 votes-in. front, so, with the result again in doubti a second recount, was ordered. .-. I t appeared John Hill


: had snatched victory from the jaws of defeat and he seemed elated...' but i t was short-lived as the recount showed there had been no error and it was Allan Knox’s turn to breathe a sigh of relief.


.. winning with the slim 23-.; vote majority.


: Speaking itenvards he • ■ said: ,‘T m pleased that


, despite the Tory swing . across Lancashire, the': people of. Clitheroe have kept faith with the Liber­ al Democrats. I am- determined- to put ; . Clitheroe first and ahead ,


; of party.politics for the : ■' next four years.”:


i- In to ta l, there were ■ four Ribble Valley coun­ ty council seats up for-


- grabs and in the other three nothing could spoil the Tories’ day. .. j In Ribble Valley North.


East, Sabden’s Albert Atkinson romped home with a 2,021 majority, • beating Li-De'm David ' Berryman and UKIP’s -


:• Bernard Hough. . . , In Ribble Valley South. ■ West Chris .Holtom (Cons) took the seat well


' ahead of John Theak- stone (Lib-Dem) and UKIP candidate Rose-. mary Wickenden, and in .


: Longridge ■with Rowland, David Smith had a com-


THE successful Conservative candidates in the county and borough elections celebrate at (he Valley MP Nigel Evans (second left) and Ribble.Valley council leader Michael Ransnn (right). (CR0,i0G09-l)


fortable 2,014 majority ahead of Lib-Dem candL date Simon E ntw is t le . and Labour’s Niall Mac-: Farlane. - • I t was a similar story across the county, with Labour taking a pasting as the Tories seized con­ trol of the county council for the first time in 28-. years. They took 51 of the


au th o r ity ’s 84-; seats. Labour plummeting from' 44 seats to just 16 and


the Liberal Democrats making gains to take 10


' seats. The rest are split, ■ between three Indepen­ dents,, two Green Party, one IdleToad and the


■first county seat for the British National Party, representing Padiham and Burnley West. , Voter turnout across


the county was low a t just 38%, well down on the turnout at the last: election in 2005. .:


V Also at the Clitheroe


count was the Ribble Val- ley>;,Tory-;;MP Eyaris,';’supporting his


party’ candidates. With results still coming in, but a Tory landslide, apparent, he told the Clitheroe Advertiser: “I am delighted th a t the Conservatives have taken control of Lancashire County Council after 28 years and delighted for our candidates in the Ribble Valley, three of: them elected with huge,


majorities and another just a wafer’s edge away from' taking Clitheroe.. ■


- “These, are historic


results and a clear mes-' sage to Gordon Brown th a t people don’t want him reshuffling the Cabi­ net as if rearranging the deckchairs on a sinking ship. , ' “They want a General Election now so that we can have a new ship with a new captain at the helm.”


...but it didn’t all go Conservatives’ way ; VOTES were also cast last Thurs-


. day for two vacant seats on Rib­ ble Valley Borough Council and one on Clitheroe Town Council. In the Littlemoor Ward for Clitheroe Town Council, Stephen


m


: Suitcliffe (Lib-Dem) polled 542 votes to win ahead of Maria Pun- chard (Cons) on 374. Coun. Sut­ cliffe has just stood'down from the county council and now joins his county successor, Allan Knox,


I on the town council; Both men also serve as borough councillors.- ; In the Langho Ward election


for the borough council, winner Mike Thomas (Cons) polled 530 votes to beat Susan Knox (Lib-


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■ Dem) on 263. In Chatbum 'Ward Gary Scott (Cons) polled 439, easily beating Howard Douglas, (Lib-Dem) on 144. In both wards the Tories retained the seats so there is no change to the political.


balance of the borough council, where the Conservatives hold 29 seats, the Liberal Democrats 10 and there is one Independent. Finally, votes were cast on


Thursday in the elections for the European Parliament, with eight


• MEPs elected to represent th e . North West under a system of proportional representation. The big news was the election of British National Party leade r. Nick Griffin as one of the eight. The other seven winners, and


, many of the crowd, walked out in protest as he made his victory speech at Manchester Town Hall.


PuUresulta: .The North West MEPs elected were:‘ . CoD3(three scats) - Robert Atkins, Saj-


. , la b (twoseats)-ArleneMcCarthyand- Brian Simpson.


jad Karim and Jacqueline Foster.: ’ ■


■ -Lib-Dems—Chns Davies.


■ UKIP-PaulNuttall.-.-.: BNP-NickGriffin.


' -'S'/'*'


Lancashire County Coundl. Clitheroe Division: Allan Knox (LD),


1,864; John Hill (Con) 1,841; Tomas Thurogood-Hyde (Lab) 416; Maj. 23; turnout 36.03%; 74 spoilt ballots. - Ribble Valley NE: Albert Atkinson


. (Con) 3,273; David Berryman (LD) 1,252; Beamard Hough (UKIP) 757; Maj. 2,021;.


■ turnout 45.06%; 42 spoilt ballots. - ^ b l e Valley SW: Chris Holtom (Con),


2,788; John Theakstone (LD) 946; Rose­ mary Wickenden (UKIP) 633; Maj. 1,842;: ; tumout,41.91%; ^


spoilt ballots, . Longiidge with Bowland: David Smith


(Con) 2,820; Simon Entwistle (LD) 806; ■Niall MacFarlane (Lab) 413; Maj. 2,014; turnout 37.5%; 45 spodt ballots.


Ribble Valley Borough Coundb Langho Ward: Mike Thomas (Con) 530; Susan Knox (LD) 263; Maj. 267; 17 - spoiltballots.


-


Chatbum Ward: Gary Scott (Con) 439; -= Howard Douglas (LD) 144; Maj: 295;3


■ spoilt ballots. ■ .- Clitheroe Town Coundh


..; Littlemoor Ward: Stephen Sutcliffe , .(LD) 542; Mar ia Punchard (Con) 374;., • Maj. 168; 24 spoilt ballots.. :


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T H E funeral of one of R ib b le Valley ’s b e s t-


. k n ow n b u s in e s sm en w i l l ta k e p la c e la te r today.


■ ■ Shock and sadness has been expressed at the sud­ den death of p ro p e r ty tycoon Mr Gerald Shimon Hitman, pictured, who was the man behind the luxury Brockhall Village development.


. The 58-year-old proper­ ty developer collapsed and


' died of natural causes at his unique home. The Old Zoo, last Thursday (June 4th). The East Lancashire Coroner was informed of


. his death, but a spokes­ m an confirmed th a t an inquest was not necessary. • - Described as a kind,


. generous and a larger-' than-ljfe.character, Mr


; Hitman raised thousands of pounds for charity over the years, particularly for


. Ribble Valley Crossroads. Born and brought up in


■ London, he attended the • City of London School. On finishing his educa­ tio n , he worked for his


■ father in a firm of char­ tered surveyors.


;


: ■ Howevei; he very quick­ ly decided th a t rather: th a n working for the


■-' client, he wanted to be the client himself and then-


: . there was no looking back. . .. The successful business­ man made his fortune in the North East by estab-


. lishing an estate agency. He bought out a number' of small independent


■: estate agents in the area ' and opened one big one, ■ P a rk Estates; selling a


UOOPiNri rangeofhoraes. -


■ i' Tie eventually sold the ■ business and in, 1982


: vbought a package of deeds to-sproperties in ;L an - cashire.for £750, among


Langho. - 'When the hospital was ■ closed a decade later he


- launched his scheme to redevelop-the site as.a


■ them a 999-year lease ;for: the-:42-acre. Brockhall ■'Hospital',-site,:,: at,.Old


gated residential commu­ nity of around 400 homes. He also created a hotel


and the training ground of Premiership football team Blackburn Rovers. . If'often brought him


into conflict with the local planning committee and existing residents of the area, b u t many : more admired his efforts to regenerate Brockhall and boost the local economy. . A big man in every


sense - he cut an imposing figure a t 6ft 5ins - he was always opinionated and ■ often outspoken, but his views were grounded in good sense and long expe­ rience, and earned him many friends. Often controversial, he


thoroughly enjoyed the cut and thrust of debate in many arenas. He also had a secret


identity, writing a weekly column in the Clitheroe Advertiser and Times under the pen name of “Contrarian”. The forth­ right views expressed in the column on a ivide vari­ ety of ■ issues always sparked lively debate,^ which is, of course,- the acid te s t for any good newspaper columnist. ■. .. Outside work, he en-


. joyed reading and watch- : ing the BBC’s coverage of . Parliament. '


. - ..


' Greatly distressed by his father’s death, his son, Harry, said in a moving


.Tribute: “He was a loving, caring father and had a fierce intellect, as well as a real thirst for knowledge. “A perfectionist in every


■ way, he was constantly seeking to learn new


things.


; ' “He was a lovely per- V son, although he could be quite difficult at times. He,


■ liked , things done his own 'way and he had no time for small talk. He had a 1 great sense of humour and


very dry wit. ' “He loved talking to, people and being,around,


, them, but in a way he was a very isolated man.’’, - - Harry added: .“He:


worked very hard indeed and made'a huge impact ,


everywhere he went. He xvill be sorely missed by all who knew him.” . . : Similar sentiments have


been echoed by Mr Tom McLean, chairman of Ribble Valley Crossroads, caring for carers, who said: “,We have been very sad­ dened to hear of Gerald’s death. ■ “Gerald had been a very


good friend to Ribble Val­ ley Crossroads. About, four years ago, we were the first charity to benefit from an open garden ini­ tiative at his home in Brockhall. “I remember an evening


party was held where fish and chips and Cham­ pagne were served. This was in conjunction with an open day at the gar­ dens. “The event raised a


magnificent £27,000-to support our charity. Each year since then the gar­ dens have been opened and more money raised to support us.”


• . He recalled another instance of Mr Hitman’s generosity: “In 1995, I was the director of nurs­ ing services at the Calder- stones and Brockhall Hos­ pital Unit and at the time we were very busy closing hospitals for people who were leaving offices and transferring services to the community. ■


“Part of th a t transfer


included the disposal of the Brockhall site. Gerald found himself the owner


■ of not only a large estate . of hospital-type buildings) but also of a cemetery. :' - “This cemetery.con-


•tained'.the remains-of approximately. 630 people


(who had died over the years while patients a t


i Brockhall.' : • ■ “Only one or two of


• those had marked graves and Gerald personally financed and designed a


■ memorial to these 630 people.in-bla'ck granite, .which included the name and age.of every single person; It cost him almost £30,000, but this was typr


V ical of his sudden ou t­ bursts of generosity.’.’ .. :


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will take place at 2 p.m. a t Brockhall Hospital Cemetery, in Old Lang­ ho Road today. He is survived by his


father, Tony, his son,, Harry Isaac Hitman, his sister, Jacky, and family.


0 THE recently-retired editor of the Clitheroe Advertiser and Times, Mrs Vivien Meath, has also paid tribute. ■ She said: “A giant of a


man, Gerald Hitman often seemed to have more enemies than


Legion total a record


friends. He was certain­ ly complex, clever and a character. Gerald p u r - : sued his goals with drive and passion and some two years ago, writing became one of them. “Having submitted


his first ‘As I See It’, we agreed on the pseudo­ nym “Contrarian”-. “There was no finan­


cial reward, but he was a gifted writer, could write to deadlines and length and, during a difficult time in his life, immersed himself in his new-found craft. Monday’s e-mails


occasionally revealed lip to six alternative columns - some totally unsuitable - while others left me in tears of laugh­ ter. “Only once did I incur


his wrath by rejecting the week’s offering. ■ “A few days later, he


rang to apologise having read and re-read his arti­ cle and accepted my. point.


■ “A small circle of fami­


ly and friends around ■ the globe were also party to his column. He wel­ comed their criticism


A RECORD amount was raised through ■ Clitheroe’s Royal British Legion Poppy Appeal.


■ The grand total of £11,636 was donated by Ribble Valley residents to the appeal, held from late October to Armistice ■ Day on November 11th.


and opinions. 'Wednesday nights saw


Gerald a t his local newsagent waiting for- the Clitheroe Advertiser and Times to arrive.


. “Via his writing, we


became friends. Certain topics were never dis­ cussed - politics being one .- h u t his often lengthy end-of-week calls left us both smiling. “He had hoped to con­


tinue his writing and to develop it professionally. . “I t was not to be.


“Gerald, God bless.” Brian White, vice-chairman


of Clitheroe branch of the Royal British Legion, said: “We would


.like to th an k everyone,who helped with the poppy appeal whether they stood out on the streets with the poppies or took them to their factories.” ■


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ClitheroeAdvertiser&Times,.Thursday,June11th,2009 . ’5


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