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Clltheroe Advertiser & Times,Thursday, February 24,2011


www.cmherooadvertlser.co.ui,


FINAL agreement has been re a c h e d on L an c a sh ire County Council’s budget, in the wake of swingeing cuts in its g ran t from Central


county council’s part of the council tax - the largest part of the annual household bill - will be frozen next year, with any increases in the following two years limited to a maximum of 2.5%. Ribble Valley Borough


Government. Despite those cuts, the


' j


cuts in its Government grant - amounting to around a quarter of its annual budget - Lancashire County Council has taken the unprecedented step of setting its budget for the next three years. It intends to save £179.1m.


remains optimistic it can make the necessary savings without any compulsory redundancies. In order to cope with the


over that period, with new investment totalling £218.5m. in the next four years. County Councillor Geoff


Driver, leader of the county council, said: “We have had to make some tough decisions, but it has given us an opportunity to look at how we can reshape


tax bills for 2011/12 will be around the same as last year’s. The county council also


Council has already said it will freeze its share of the council tax, leaving only the relatively small amounts which pay for the Police, the Fire and Rescue Service and local parish or town councils still to be set. In other words, most council


Zero rise on council tax leading councillor


by Duncan Smith


, ' share of the council tax has • •'been welcomed by its deputy^;: leader and Ribble Valley ' j


- A ZERO increase this year in Lancashire County. Council’s


S annual budget meeting for i j k 1


:;s reducing its budget of £803m, i by £33m. this year. . “In 28 years of Labour ’ . control, there was never ^ ,


the second year running,'." ’


- a time when the council tax was not increased two' ; ■


' in its grant from Central , Government, the county council set a zero increase in the council tax at its >, . ■


;T' councillor Albert Atkinson.'^ ® ' : Despite significant cuts V


aby a minimum of changes r*-: , and aiming to avoid any ’ ' ; i compulsory redundancies; ?*. ' “We were all surprised at


r Atkinson ” “We have achieved this ' '


years running,” said Coun.‘


••' Amongst chief officers we : years and reduce by 25% the


• will save £lm. over three 0


the budget meeting when ... no alternative budget was put forward by the Labour councillors. .


•: twere put forward for debate . • by'the Greens and Liberal •,, Democrats.


“Alternative budgets


• burdens upon already economically stressed


. .“We did not want to increase the financial


,,, ,


.■'households in thecurrent ?•• ■; ; • debt crisis. The overall . i spending of the council will , be reduced by £179m. over a three-year budget cycle. ■ ; . “This will be achieved


V


some of our services without compromising the quality. “We will be protecting


frontline services as far as possible and will spend £133m. less on management and administration over the next three years. ” The county council will also benefit from an additional


;The major savings are being made in management and: ■ 1 administration of £133m.


' Reductions have been made in the bloated bureaucracy we inherited from Labour.


mainly by efficiency savings and reorganisation.


£1.14m. of Home Office funding tha t will go into community safety. The funding will come in


; number of managers earning . more than £50,000 a year. .“This will be achieved. - by natural wastage,


~ ,


• service. Our fron line services will continue to be delivered .


the routes to avoid loss of . to the public with minimal


changes. “Major areas where we


' been taken up by staff and included in our calculations. Other staff members are considering the council’s ; offer and we aim to avoid any .'compulsory redundancies.


. s Goun. Atkinson added: ’ “By outsourcing some of our services through the strategic partnership with British Telecom in IT and H,R we have been able to save £10ra. per year. •


: ,“We have not closed any libraries, swimming pools, restart centres, schools or public toilets. It is riglit to say we have reduced the number of mobile libraries from 11 . to nine, but reorganised


. •


to the county council who will distribute it to district councils towards the work of Police Community Support Officers. The county council h a s ' also agreed new investment


£123m. will be invested in improving school buildings across Lancashire over the next four years. County Councillor Driver said: “From ensuring our


totalling £218.5m. over the next four years to improve the road network and road safety. It also estimates more than


- redeployment and offering ■ generous retirement packages of which many have


are considering savings and. ■ ■ changes in funding, such ; as recycling centres and ; reducing respite centres, will


: be will be subject to public • consultation.


. “Beware of Labour ,


politicianswhoare - scaremongering about cute as


, these are the very people who . have got us into the economic: mess at local and national level. '


' “They spent when they should have repaid debt, failed to regulate the banks::. and operated a credit card economic policy. “These were tough


decisions which we did not want to make, but.in the light of the economic crisis the • Government has inherited, there was no alternative.”


existing roads are in good repair, to pushing forward with major new road schemes and economic development initiatives, we aim to create the conditions for businesses to bring jobs and prosperity across the county.” During 2011, it is likely the co'uncil will formally agree a


www.clitherocadvertIser.co.uk


Clitheroe Advertiser &Time8,Thursday, February 24,2011


AN illustrated talk on Clitheroe in the 1930s was given by Mr Gordon Taylor to the Ribble


strategic partnership with BT which could lead to savings nf £400m: over 10 years. ^


services such as HR and payroll, ICT support for council services and schools- how people contact the council and procurement.


This would involve council


network planned by Lancashire County Council will be running by 2014.


A new super-fast broadband ®


It will play a key role in securing economic recovery


next three years, the council is seeking to give clarity about its future by planning for a £71.7m. saving in 2011-12, followed by a further £50m. in 2012-13 and another £57.4m in 2013-14.


there is no doubt the workforce will.be smaller in the future, but we remain confident we can achieve this through voluntary redundancy and redeployment.”


remain a large organisation responsible for hundreds of vital services and we need to ensure those services will be effective even when there is far less money available. “As we have said before,


of the county council, said: “The scale of the challenge is considerable, but we intend to establish a clear and steady path towards a financially sustainable future. “The county council will


Phil Halsall, chief e.xecutive


council will look to sign up a commercial partner to deliver this ambitious project. By setting its budget for the


and growth across the county During the next year, the


A ROMANIAN woman who targeted a Clitheroe jewellers and escaped with gold items worth £1,200 has avoided an


immediate prison sentence. Blackburn magistrates echoed


the views of a district judge, at an earlier hearing, that Seina Sava and another woman had travelled from Manchester with the express intention of stealing. - The judge had described the


theft as “a deliberately planned, sophisticated con-trick which was professional”. Seina Sava (23), of Enva Road,


Manchester, pleaded guilty to theft from Nettletons in Castle Street. She was sentenced to 16 weeks in prison, suspended for


one year, and made subject to a curfew to operate between 8 p.rh. and 6 a.m. for 60 days . She was also ordered to pay £500 in com­ pensation. The other woman is due to be


stopped on the M6 two days later and they were arrested. Miss Allan said when they were


sentenced at Manchester Juvenile Court. Miss Catherine Allan (pros­


ecuting) said the two women went into the shop at 3-30 p.m. and Sava took one assistant to part of the shop while her associate asked another to show her some items. She expressed an interest in a pur­ chase and left a £20 deposit and said they would go to the bank and get the rest of the money. Both women were captured in


the area on CCTV and seen to get into a car. That vehicle was


Judge Ward said that if the women_ had previous convictions he would have sent them to prison. “I take the view this is deliber­


arrested both women were wear­ ing underskirts which had been altered to form an inside pocket. At the previous hearing. District


ate, targeted and professional,” sad Judge Ward. “It merits a cus­ todial sentence, but I am reluctant to do that without a report.” Mr Andrew Church-Taylor (de­


FRIDAY 15TH APRIL - “THE FORTH & TAY BRIDGES EXPRESS”


To DUNDEE via th e Forth & Tay Bridges (by direct charter train) Running From: BLACKPOOL NORTH {around 5.30am), POULTON LE FYLDE (around 5.40am), PRESTON (around 6.15am), BLACKBURN (around 6.40am), ACCRINGTON (around 6.50am), BURNLEY MANCHESTER ROAD (around 7am), HEBDEN BRIDGE (around 7.25am), SOWERBY BRIDGE (around 7.35am) & BRIGHOUSE (around 7.50am). All times currently estimates. This one-off day excursion is entirely by direct train formed of traditional Intercity carriages, with pre-reserved seating and a buffet service. Our charter train also returns you to your boarding station in the evening.


fending) said Sava did not accept that she was a professional shop­ lifter. “Her role in the shop was the lesser of the two women,” he said.


ROUTE: We take a pleasant run through West Yorkshire over to York, where we join the E^st Coast mainline via North Yorkshire, Darlington, views of Durham and Tyneside, Morpeth, Alnmouth Bay, Undisfarne, sea views of Berwick and the Scottish Borders. North of Edinburgh we cross the famous Forth Bridge and follow the beautiful Fife coast, which runs via Kirkcaldy and the miles of Scottish countryside that take us up to Cupar and Leuchars, eventually hitting the banks of the River Tay. From here we cross the second of Scotland’s grand rail bridges the ‘Tay Bridge’, which is over 2 miles in length affording passengers further spectacular views of Tayside and the ‘Kingdom of Rfe’ at a fairly sedate speed.


DUNDEE: A break of up to around 2 hours can be taken at Dundee. The station is fairly handy for the main shopping areas cis well as plenty of excellent pubs, bars, cafe’s and restaurants. Dundee’s most famous attraction is the research Snip ‘Discovery, the very ship in which Captain Scott and Ernest Shackleton sailed to Antarctica.


TICKETS are available at £65 each (STANDARD CLASS - adult), £50 (child under 16 - STANDARD CLASS) & £95 (RRST (^LASS - all ages). These are only available from “Compass Tours”. Call 0151 722 1147 (10am-6pm weekdays) for enquiries, seat reservations and debit/credit card bookings, visit www.compasstoursbyrail.co.uk send us an SAE or email info@compeisstoursbyrail.co.uk for further details. PLEASE NOTE Mondays are usually our busiest so please consider contacting us on other days too. Postal bookings are to “Compass Tours”, 46 Hallville Road, Uverpool, L18 OHR. BooWng conditions available upon request, by sending SAE or check our website..


Si| i __I d


*z i o ^ in


^ (Q 2 ? , by Katie Hammond


A COMEDY with a timeless mes­ sage, set in a disused Methodist church, was the latest offering by the members of Trinity Drama Group. . Georgina Reid’s comedy “Cler­


cleverly made use of the whole of the “church”, and though much of the main action took place on stage, the characters frequently weaved among the audience. A highlight of this was when'


ical Errors”, produced by Stuart Robinson, played for four nights, to audiences at the Trinity Meth­ odist Church Hall, Clitheroe. The well-designed set recreated


U J l CL s


perfectly the atmosphere of a well worn church hall, complete with discarded hymn books and damp walls, with members of the audi­ ence sitting in the “empty” pews. The story unfolded around the;


the matriarch of the family. Gran, rolled up the centre aisle of the “church” singing drunkenly and confessing to robbing the family of theiFsavings from the poor box to pay for her latest tipple.


as the lights went down and the minister joined in as Gran went on to sing the hymn “All Things Bright and Beautiful”. ■


The poignant scene concluded --


central characters,, the Briggs family. Down on their luck, they had run out of money, and when, threatened with eviction set up temporary home in an old church building. As the storv unfolded, the actors


• whose main aim in life vvas to en­ sure her family stayed together through the hard times they faced. Played by Carol Baird with hon­


Other characters included the feisty mother of the family, Julie,


■


esty and vigour, she was joined by Julie’s brother Pete, .nlaved with


ON STAGE: The cast of Trin­ ity Drama Group’s produc­ tion of “Cierical Errors”, (s)


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WINTER SALEH OFF


Dramatic triumph for Trinity


understated effect by Chris Cox. Hazel Hailwood took the role


■ Briggs family “knight in shining arrhour’k Pat Bowker;played the part of


of Gran and Kim Croydon played the church minister James Mar­ tin, who eventually became the


■ their history. Although at times comic, the


Martin’s frustrated fiancee, Syl­ via, with Helen Coles taking the role of Mr Martin’s, mother, and Madeline Adey in the guise of social worker Miss Pearson, who had an intimate knowledge of the family and the truth surrounding


as&n


.provided a timeless reminder of those who have hit on hard times and the little help - often from unlikely sources - which can go a long way toward making a difficult situation just that little bit more bearable.


production was by equal measure utterly thought provoking, as it


O' - . ' "


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SPECIAL TRAIN EXCURSION TO SCOTLAND


taken by Mr Fred Goodman, a surveyor in the 1930s, showing Clitheroe roads at the time and


Gordon’s talk puts spotlight on Clitheroe in the ’30s Barn blaze drama .


Valley Family History Group at their Febru­ ary meeting. The presentation featured photographs


after they had been surfaced. Mr Taylor in­ formed his audience that Ribblesdale School and Pendle Prima^ School were built in 1932, a 30 m.p.h, speed limit was introduced in 1935, and in 1936 lime trees began to be planted on Chatbum Road. Mr Taylor also showed up-to-date photos of


the same localities, showing the development of houses and the increase of traffic oyer the past 80 years.. The group’s next meeting, on Tuesday


March 8th at Clitheroe Cricket Club is the AGM, to be followed by a talk by Brenda Hus­ tler on “Getting The Most Out of Ancestry”.


after 6-30 p.m. to find the barn, which contained 100 tonnes of baled hay, well alight


Firefighters rushed to the blaze in Nook Lane just ' :


’k _


There was severe damage to the bam, hay and ma­ chinery stored there, as well as the barn roof.


5


A DUTCH bam in BoIton-by-Bowland was badly^dam- aged by fire on Sunday night


ALL ORDERS


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