HBC: Staff and Councillors make donations instead of Christmas cards

The staff and Councillors at Hyndburn Borough Council have once again decided to make donations to two random charities instead of sending each other Christmas cards. Everyone at HBC was asked for suggested charities and the two which were drawn out of the hat are:

“Fundraising for Paul Turnball” –  Paul who is 26, was in a horrific accident in March this year and is currently at Salford Hospital in the Rehab Unit. Paul has a long way to go and he needs support to assist with ongoing care that he will need for the remainder of his life.

“Community Solutions Man with a Van Appeal” - The Community Solutions Van with a Plan Appeal will help the most vulnerable people in our community. One of their principle needs is a mini bus to deliver food parcels and collect donations. It would allow families easier access to their family events or sporting projects, to transport people to allotments or to volunteer events. The mini bus would mean that lots more people get access to their projects and services they provide for local people, as people already benefiting have found the support they offer to be life changing.

PCC: Conservative U-turn is not the end of assault on the police

Lancashire PCC Clive Grunshaw said the Chancellor’s U-turn on Comprehensive Spending Review (CSR) cuts did not mean the “age of austerity” was dead.

Mr Grunshaw claimed the ‘Cut the Cuts’ campaign, started in his region, was a “great victory” for the people of Lancashire and “common sense” – but there are still worrying times ahead.

He told Police Professional: “I wrote to the Home Secretary and the Prime Minister, spelling out exactly why police budgets should not take any more cuts, particularly in the light of the recent terrorist attacks.

“It seems they have listened and put public safety ahead of spending cuts."

But he added: "We haven't seen the end of the assault on police budgets by any means, but we have a reprieve.”

The decision by Mr Osborne to freeze police budgets until 2020 came a huge surprise to many but police forces and PCCs will have to wait until the middle of the month to hear from the Home Office how much they will receive in the provisional police grant settlement.

Unison General Secretary Dave Prentis said the dark days were not yet behind the police service – warning more jobs are still at risk.

And he stressed that one in three police community support officers (PCSOs) have already gone in England, along with one in five police staff.

He said: “It would have been unthinkable to cut police budgets in light of the dreadful events in Paris.

“But the threat of cuts has not gone away. Many forces around the country are planning to cut staff in scientific services and investigative roles in the coming months, and those jobs may still be at risk.

“Given that the Chancellor had an extra £27 billion of income this was a missed opportunity to use some of that money to start to reverse those cuts, and give extra cash to the police so they are equipped to deal with any threat to national security.”

A week on, reaction to the CSR is still coming in.

Sir Bernard Hogan-Howe, Commissioner of the Metropolitan Police Service said: “The Met is highly effective at protecting the public, but we can still be more efficient and reduce our costs.

“We have a big task to modernise our technology to support digital transformation. So there will still be some tough choices to come.

“Change won't stop because that's how we continue to get better.”

The Mayor of London, Boris Johnson, added: “Keeping London and Londoners safe is my number one priority as Mayor. That's why I welcome the focus on keeping officer numbers high. It's absolutely the right thing to do.

“The Government's commitment to counter terror funding, neighbourhood policing and the protection of frontline officer numbers in London is of vital importance.

"Further savings will be necessary, as we continue to streamline and reform the Met Police, but this settlement allows us to maintain those neighbourhood teams, whilst keeping officer numbers high.”

Voice of the PCCs

Avon and Somerset police and crime commissioner Sue Mountstevens said: “Clearly, money will need to be found to fund on-going national security and counter terrorism work and this may have an impact on local police budgets.

“We shall have to wait and see.

“I am clear that I will still be prioritising greater collaboration with neighbouring police forces in order to fund the significantly increased complex and time-consuming crime on our most vulnerable in society such as child protection, safeguarding, domestic abuse and cyber-crime.”

Bedfordshire PCC Olly Martins added: “However, whilst it is good that we shouldn’t face further cuts to our already anaemic police strength in the county, Bedfordshire Police is still chronically underfunded and that hasn’t changed.”

John Dwyer, Cheshire’s PCC said: “I’m absolutely delighted that the Chancellor has listened to what I and my colleagues have been saying to him privately over the last few weeks.

“The headline message appears to be no real terms cuts to policing budgets, and a major increase in funding for counter-terrorism, which – given recent events and our own experiences over the last few years – is very welcome.”

Essex PCC Nick Alston said: “I didn’t doubt that the government would listen carefully to what PCCs and chief officers have been saying but I am delighted that it has responded by keeping the overall budget for policing at the present level through to 2020.

“We will need to see the detail of how Essex will be affected, which we won’t know until mid December.

“However in anticipation of the need to make tough savings we have worked hard to truly understand what matters to our communities: tackling the changing crime types that cause such dreadful harm; delivering much better and more modern ways for the public to contact the police; and providing the best possible response to emergencies among many other issues.

“I am also currently reviewing what the option to raise the precept by more than two per cent might mean. I am likely to argue that any additional money raised through local tax is used specifically for local policing.

“In light of the announcement today I am aware that many people will be asking whether the current proposals to reduce the number of PCSOs employed by Essex Police will be reversed. The chief constable and I will take time for reflection before taking any decisions.”

Hampshire PCC Simon Hayes commented: "Here in Hampshire, we are recognised as leading the way with efforts to share resources with key stakeholders such as Hampshire Constabulary, Hampshire County Council and Hampshire Fire and Rescue Service.

“Greater partnership working will ensure that we can rise to the financial challenge imposed by previous Comprehensive Spending Reviews since 2010, which have resulted in the Constabulary having to make £80 million savings.

“We have yet to see the detail of the Chancellor’s announcement; in the past we've found that all is not what it may first appear.”

Julia Mulligan, North Yorkshire PCC, agreed. “We now need some time to assess the impact of the news.

“Whilst very welcome, we still face significant challenges, which will not be easy. However, the hill we have to climb is not as steep as before.”

Dr Alan Billings, South Yorkshire PCC, said: “The Government still does not recognise the way the demand on the police service is changing.

“Overall crime has gone down, but the crimes that are going up are more serious, organised and complex and require greater not fewer resources to solve.

“In addition, non-crime demand on the police rises, not least because of the growing number of vulnerable people – including children and elderly dementia sufferers – who go missing. Finding them takes up huge amounts of police time every day.

“The cuts to neighbourhood policing in recent years have also weakened the response to the threat of terrorism. The security services rely on intelligence that comes through neighbourhood police and PCSOs.

“South Yorkshire will retain PCSOs though there will be fewer of them.

“Although the devil may be in the detail, on the face of it, the Chancellor does seem to have accepted that cuts to policing had to stop before public safety was put seriously at risk.”

Surrey PCC Kevin Hurley added: “In Surrey, as everywhere else in the country, we are experiencing dramatic and extreme changes in the nature of crime.

“Increased resources are needed not only in public protection, but also in online crime and visible policing. Child protection cases are up 450 per cent this year, child sexual exploitation has risen by 115 per cent and honour-based violence is up by 400 per cent.

“The proposal to cut our ability to fight these evils in our society was never justifiable, and now we can breathe a great sigh of relief at this change of heart from George Osborne.”

West Yorkshire PCC Mark Burns-Williamson, said: “What I do know is that West Yorkshire Police has already had to face significant cuts – and the organisation has reduced from one with over 10,000 officers and staff in 2010 to one with fewer than 8,000 officers and staff now.

“We must still find at least £5.8 million of savings by 2017 and deliver the substantial savings already identified.

“It is also important to remember that keeping our communities safer and feeling safer is done in partnership with other organisations. Many of those have seen their budgets cut too and will see them reduce further after today’s CSR.”

Lincolnshire PCC Alan Hardwick said because the provisional police grant settlement would not be known until mid December it would be “misleading to comment” in the meantime.

Letter to the Accrington Observer - 3rd December 2015

I read Nick Whittaker’s letter on Labour talking the town down (27/11/15) with some surprise, largely because the Conservative campaign in recent years has been unrelentingly negative about how a lack of investment has turned the borough to rack and ruin. The Tory candidates for last year’s general election rode into town crying how awful it was to live here but now it seems that life is quite good after all.

I’m at a loss as to where the supposedly negative comments from the Labour Councillors have been published as all 25 of us are proud of where we represent and there is very little gloom in the Council offices. Things can always be improved but the level of investment currently taking place across the borough is a shining example of how partnerships between the Council and the private sector can bear fruit. In the past year alone, HBC has invested £1m in capital projects across Hyndburn which has yielded over £9m in additional outside funding. There is nothing negative about that, it’s simply prudent practice and getting the most from what little money we have.

Accrington itself has been accused of being little more than a town of charity shops and pound stores, but the truth is very different. The Market Hall is fantastic and you can get pretty much anything you need (if you don’t believe me, try it out), the town centre itself is filled with interesting little curio shops and the transport links are very good. We have a dazzling array of very good cafes and pubs, banks, clothing stores and there are more major chains than people care to realise. For all those who still believe that Accrington is a dump and no one ever goes there, try finding a parking space at weekend.

In contrast, we have had to listen to Cllr Britcliffe’s feeble opposition attacks on Council departments, streets supposedly strewn with litter and badly-parked post vans putting people off shopping in the town centre which don’t actually stand up to much scrutiny. I’ve trotted out my view many times but if everyone found just one shop that they really liked and recommended it to their friends then trade would increase overnight. Instead, it has become fashionable to talk elements of our borough down when the simple fact is that Hyndburn just ain’t that bad.

Mr Whittaker has far more to say about the state of the borough than he ever did whilst in office but my advice would be not to try to rewrite history or treat the electorate like goldfish. They have longer memories than you think.


Cllr Ken Moss
Rishton

Rishton: Councillors fight to save public services from government cuts

The Rishton Councillors have been lobbying against proposals to cut the number of public buildings across the region such as libraries and community centres.

Labour candidate for 2016, Jeff Scales, said, "This is really bad news for Rishton. The Children's Centre is regarded as outstanding and the Library is a key local resource, especially for older people and families. It's another consequence of the disproportionate cuts that Lancashire is faced with as a result of this government. I'll be working with local Councillors to explore every opportunity to try to keep these facilities open."

Warner Street Dickensian Christmas - 10th December 2015

On the Thursday evening of the 10th of December from 5.00pm, Warner Street travels back in time for its first Dickensian Christmas Event.

Visitors can revel in delight at the musicians, street entertainers, a vast array of market stalls and traditional street food, mulled wine and roast chestnuts . There will also be a candle light procession leading to a outdoor nativity play and carol service at St James Church Yard, where you will also find Victorian Fairground rides. 

An event not to be missed!

A Facebook event page can be found here. 

Great Harwood: Farmers' Market - 6th December 2015

Great Harwood Farmers' Market takes place on the first Sunday of each month and has been developed to encourage, promote and invest in the skills of local Food, Art, and Independent traders. 

The aim of Great Harwood Farmers' Market is to provide an enjoyable, safe and productive market, along with raising funds for local charities and encouraging trade in our town.

Apply for a stall at Great Harwood Farmers Market 

Graham Jones MP: No 10 blocks a review of FOBTs

 News emerged this month that David Cameron had blocked a review of addictive fixed odds betting terminals (FOBTs).

The story broke in the Times – and made reference to fellow Tory Boris Johnson and his public concerns around the £100 a spin machines.

It revealed that the The Department for Culture, Media and Sport had proposed a review of the machines, which made £1.6bn for thebookies in the year to September 2014, a £45m rise on the previous 12 months.

However, the proposal was blocked by the Cabinet Office, in a move that Tory MPs say was sanctioned by Number 10.

Charles Walker, vice-chairman of the 1922 committee of backbench MPs, said the decision flew in the face of mounting concerns among fellow Conservatives.

"There are a growing number of colleagues on our benches who are concerned about FOBTs," Walker said. "I would have very much welcomed a review. I don't like the idea of them, I don't like the way they operate and I don't like the way that the betting industry tries to defend them.

"We all know what they are — they are a way of extracting vast sums of money from people who can mostly ill- afford to lose it."

The story also made headlines in Totally Gaming, BBC Kent and the Christian Institute.

Get set for Christmas in Hyndburn

 

Township switch on events are set to take place across the borough and started last Friday in Baxenden following the Accrington spectacular on Thursday. The line-up for the remainder is as follows:

• Monday 30 November - Huncoat
• Tuesday 1 December - Clayton-le Moors and Milnshaw
• Wednesday 2 December - Church
• Thursday 3 December - Oswaldtwistle
• Friday 4 December - Rishton and Great Harwood 
• Saturday 12 December - Altham

Santa's Grotto opens on Saturday 5 December, so take the children for a traditional Christmas treat to see Father Christmas and his elves in the winter wonderland grotto at Accrington Market Hall.
  
Warner Street is set to travel back in time with a Dickensian Event, organised by Evonne Harwood of Pink Magpie with the Hyndburn Chamber of Trade, on Thursday 10 December from 5.00pm featuring festive food, market stalls and a candle light procession leading to an outdoor nativity play and a carol service at St James' Church.

Cllr Clare Cleary, Cabinet Member for Town Centres said, 'The big switch on in Accrington was a fabulous event with a great programme of entertainment and a spectacular firework display which heralded the start of lots of festive events and community light switch ons during November and December for all the family to enjoy.'

HBC: Council supports White Ribbon campaign

Hyndburn Council is again showing its full support for the White Ribbon Campaign, as White Ribbon Day heralds the start of 16 days of action to stop violence against women and girls.

The Council was proud to achieve the White Ribbon Award earlier this year, supporting the White Ribbon Campaign’s global drive.

Ambassadors gathered in Accrington Town Hall to unveil the White Ribbon plaque, whilst wearing a white ribbon, displaying a personal pledge to never commit, condone, or remain silent about violence against women.

Cllr Munsif Dad, Cabinet Member for Health and Communities, said; “We are proud to achieve the White Ribbon Award, as White Ribbon Towns aims to rally entire communities to end violence against women. We have a long history of raising awareness and supporting services aimed at reducing and supporting victims of domestic violence and we’re pleased to back the campaign again this year.”

Cllr Miles Parkinson, Council Leader, added; “Getting the White Ribbon Award shows our resolve to do all we can to raise awareness about domestic abuse, whilst supporting services to help victims.”

To sign up to the White Ribbon Campaign visit www.whiteribboncampaign.co.uk

Baxenden: Free family workshop on 29th November 2015

The next free childrens/family workshop at the Haworth Art Gallery in Baxenden is on Sunday 29th November from 1.30pm to 3.30pm with ‘Mrs Maker’ Susan Watson where you can create tree toppers and garlands.

No need to book – just turn up!

Lancashire Day 2015

Lancashire Day takes place across the county on Friday 27th November.

The Town Crier, Rawden Kerr, will read the Lancashire Day Proclamation outside Accrington Town Hall at 10.00am, along with the Worshipful the Mayor of Hyndburn, Councillor Marlene Haworth, followed by the raising of the Lancashire Flag.

Free traditional Lancashire fayre, kindly supplied by Baxenden based Holland’s Pies, will be available outside Accrington Town Hall until lunchtime.

Later the Town Crier will read the Lancashire Day Proclamation in Great Harwood at 10.45am by Churchfield House in Great Harwood, accompanied by the Mayor and members of the Civic Society.

The Mayor Cllr Marlene Haworth, said; ““As a proud Lancastrian and this year as Mayor of Hyndburn I'm looking forwarding to commemorating Lancashire Day on 27th November. Please come along to either of the proclamations if you can, everyone is more than welcome to help us celebrate.”

For more details about Lancashire Day, visit The Friends of Real Lancashire website at www.forl.co.uk.

Leader's Viewpoint - Cllr Gareth Molineux - November 2015

The Council is about to embark on its Annual Budget round. This starts each autumn and concludes in February when the Council makes its budget decisions and sets the Council Tax for the following financial year starting on the 1st April.

This year, as in previous years, we face an uphill struggle to identify further savings and improve services.

In general our costs of operating the Council are well under control and due to tight financial management and constantly driving our improvements in value for money, we expect to see costs only grow by around 1% over the coming year. However, we are expecting a large reduction in the funding we receive from Government again this year which will see the total amount of core Government funding drop by almost 45% since 2010/11. As yet we have no details on the actual reduction we face and the Government is remaining tight-lipped about telling us this, until some point in December when it will make an announcement. However, as many of our savings plans take time to identify and implement we are already on with the task of ascertaining what steps we can take to generate further savings and the monetary value that stems from these decisions.

Currently we are working on a plan that we will need to save 10% of our spend. This is a significant challenge for any organisation, whether in the public or the private sector, especially on the back of a number of years when similar savings have had to be produced.

We also recognise that the target of 10% could rapidly shoot up in December, if the Government reductions in our funding are larger than we are currently anticipating. All Managers have been asked to examine every area of spend and activity to see what savings can be found. Where possible we have asked that they avoid making savings were this would impact on the public, but after 5 years of large reductions in our funding this is becoming increasingly difficult, so we might now be entering into an era in which some service delivery has to sacrificed, as we simply don’t have the funding to keep providing services in the way that we would want.

What I can tell you is that we remain committed to not increasing council tax for the Hyndburn element of the overall council tax bill. This will be the fifth time in succession that we have ensured that local people do not have to pay anything more for local services and Council Tax has been effectively frozen since we took control of the Council in May 2011.

If you have any suggestions on how the Council could save money, I would always welcome hearing them and you can get in touch with me at gareth.molineux@hyndburnbc.gov.uk or call me on 07814 370117.

The Council’s Overview & Scrutiny will be reviewing the Budget in detail on the 16th February 2016 and everyone is welcome to come along and ask any questions that they might have at this meeting.

Christmas presents for our elderly in Hyndburn

 

 Over 6,000 elderly people are living alone this Christmas in the Hyndburn area. Lisa Murry and over 75’s NHS nurses need your help Can you give a small gift for the elderly of our community so they have something to open this Christmas morning. Gifts labelled Lady/Gent of all shapes and sizes (not to in clude alcohol) will be collected from multiple locations. no later than 4th December, and distributed to individuals as a small token this Christmas.

Organiser Wayne Fitzharris said, "Lisa Murray has featured in Accrington Observer and Channel Four News has put together an incredible initiative called 'Christmas Gifts for our Elderly in Hyndburn' which you might be aware of, we have an extremely well organised noble cause which is going extremely well. We know you are hosting christmas fayres and there will be gifts left over as well as possibly putting this flyer onto your websites and mailing it out to your students and staff."

He added, "We are not asking for the world, we are just asking that our elderly in our community are not forgotten, we can think of no better place to seek help that with the young of our community who are often full of energy, ideas and initiative, who all have grandparents and relatives who they can relate to."

A full list of drop-off points in each ward can be seen above and the closing date is 4th December.

PCC: Clive Grunshaw on Police cuts

Clive Grunshaw, the Police and Crime Commissioner for Lancashire, has been contesting the formula used for calculating the scale of cuts to each force and has written to MPs, peers and ministers requesting that it is urgently reviewed.

He said, "In simple terms, Lancashire will be disadvantaged by having an additional £24.8m removed from our annual budget, the equivalent of 600 police officers being transferred into other forces, with Lancashire still picking up the bill. For the record we have already seen a reduction of over 700 police officers and nearly 500 police staff since 2010, and by 2020 this will rise to over 1100 police officers and approx. 800 police staff – and this doesn't include the changes to the funding formula."

Clive added, "These changes will be disastrous for Lancashire residents. Lancashire is an outstanding force, with outstanding efficiency. These cuts are being forced upon by an intransigent Conservative government, who either do not know, or do not care, of their consequences."

Rishton: Promotional video for Frontier Park

The developers who are looking to start work on the new Frontier Park at Whitebirk have released a new CGI video to demonstrate how the complex is expected to look when it is completed.

The short film can be seen by following the link below:

http://frontierpark.co.uk/

Former County Councillor Doreen Pollitt passes away

Long-serving Labour party member and former County Councillor, Doreen Pollitt, has died.

Doreen was born and brought up in Coppull and became involved in politics at the age of twenty when she was elected Shop Steward with the Transport and General Workers Union at the Royal Ordnance Factory in Chorley.  She was the youngest Shop Steward at the Factory.

Her first political campaigning was alongside Barbara Castle, then MP for Blackburn, on the issue of equal pay for women workers.

In the 1970s Doreen moved to Accrington and became active in the local Party. She was a very successful campaigner, motivator and fundraiser.

She was elected to Lancashire County Council in 1989 and was Chair of Social Services for four years before becoming Deputy Leader of the County Council in 2001. She served for eight years in that position and was an integral member of the team that took the Council to excellent status.

Doreen served in many roles in the Hyndburn Labour Party most notably as Agent for the former MP, Greg Pope, working with him in three successful elections. In 2009 she was Agent for Greg’s successor, Graham Jones, who held the seat for Labour.  Doreen was secretary of the constituency Labour Party for many years until she retired in February 2012.

In September 2010, Doreen was recognized for her services to the Labour Party and was presented with a national award at the conference in Manchester by Ed Miliband and Harriet Harman.

In July 2011 Doreen was recognized for her contribution to life in Lancashire and eminent services rendered to Lancashire County Council over a long period and was awarded the title of Honorary Alderman.

Hyndburn MP, Graham Jones, said, "Doreen was a fantastic party secretary for many years. From tackling militants in the 1980s, she helped build the local party up as well as go on to become Deputy Leader of Lancashire County Council, serving the county for over 20 years. Her great passion was children and she was head of Children's Services at County for many years. She also ensured that there was huge investment in her division of Accrington West to build up broken communities following the Thatcher years. She stood up for ordinary people. She was a big supporter of mine in my Parliamentary selection in 2009 and I cannot thank her enough for that. She is sadly missed."

Doreen's funeral service is on Thursday 5th November at 2.00pm at:

Southport Crematorium
Southport Road
Southport
Merseyside
PR8 5JQ

followed by light refreshments at:

St Stephens Club
12 Hoole Lane
Banks
Southport
PR9 8BD

Family flowers only
Donations to the Alzheimer’s Society

HBC: Still time to have your say on Council Tax Support

There’s still time to have your say about how the Council should fund Council Tax Support from next April, as the consultation runs until 29th November.

There are three options available for Hyndburn residents to consider, option 1 is to raise the minimum Council Tax contribution paid by working age benefit claimants from 20% to 27%, option 2 is to raise Council Tax for all Hyndburn residents by 1%, or option 3 is for the Council to make savings by cutting or reducing other services. Whichever option the Council chooses after the consultation, changes to Council Tax Support will not affect any pension age benefit claimants, which from April 2016 includes anyone over the age of 63.

Council Leader, Cllr Miles Parkinson, said; “If you haven’t already, please take this chance to have your say about the how the Council should fund Council Tax Support from next April. These are difficult decisions and we want all Hyndburn residents to have your say and let us know which of the three options you think is best before the consultation closes on 29th November. It’s easy to take part; you can complete the questionnaire on line, on paper or over the phone, whichever is best for you.”

Cllr Parkinson added; “The background to this is that in 2013 the Government abolished Council Tax Benefit and reduced the funding available to local Councils to fund its replacement, Council Tax Support. Here in Hyndburn, after an extensive public consultation, we asked working age Council Tax Support claimants to pay a minimum contribution of 20% towards their Council Tax Bill. Next year the Council faces even further reduced funding from Government, so along with many other Councils, we must now have to decide how to fund our Council Tax Support scheme from 2016 and need to know which option local residents would prefer.”

The implications of the three options are:

Option 1: Raise the minimum Council Tax contribution paid by working age benefit claimants from 20% to 27%. This would increase an annual Band A Council Tax bill for a working age CTS claimant by £56 for a single person and by £74 for a standard bill. This option would affect all working age claimants of CTS – currently 5,014 households.

Option 2: Raise Council Tax for all Hyndburn residents. The funding we need to find is £34,429. Raising this money via Council Tax would require a 1% increase to Hyndburn’s element of Council Tax in 2016. An annual Band A Council Tax bill (with no CTS applied) would rise by £1.19 a year for a single person and £1.58 a year for a standard bill. This would affect all households in Hyndburn, including those claiming Council Tax Support.

Option 3: Make savings by cutting or reducing other services. Lancashire County Council, Lancashire Police and Lancashire Fire and Rescue all receive funds from Council Tax and together we need to find an additional £229,531 in savings. Hyndburn’s proportion of this is 15% or £34,429. Depending on which services would be reduced to find this saving, this option could affect all households in Hyndburn.

To have your say on the future of Council Tax support in Hyndburn visit www.hyndburnbc.gov.uk/counciltaxsupport, email enquiries enquiries@hyndburnbc.gov.uk or call us call on 01254 388111 to request a questionnaire, or we’ll be happy to help you complete it over the phone.

The deadline for returning the questionnaire is 29 November 2015 and results will be published in December 2015.

Graham Jones MP opens Accrington Pals Cafe

Hyndburn's MP Graham Jones, along with Hyndburn Council Leader Miles Parkinson and other senior Councillors, attended the official opening of an exciting new eatery within Accrington Market Hall on Saturday 17th September. 'The Accrington Pals Cafe' opened its doors to customers this week after an extensive refurbishment of the former 'Peggy's Café'.

Owner Karen Moxham said, "The opening day was a fantastic success. We wanted to bring an exciting new eatery to the heart of our home town with a nostalgic theme for the people of the Borough and there can be no greater theme for this café which is dedicated to the Accrington Pals. We love the people of Accrington and will be serving to them a selection of traditional Lancashire fayre, breakfasts and delicious homemade favourites that were previously popular with the former Peggy's Cafe. Thursday will be a special day for senior citizens with 30% off menu prices, our food is sourced locally and served heartily at very competitive prices in an ambience which takes you back to the era of The Great War."

Huncoat Councillor Eamonn Higgins, Ms Moxham's partner, said, "Karen and myself would like to thank everyone who came down today to officially open 'The Accrington Pals Cafe' and special thanks are due to Miles Parkinson and Clare Cleary. We have had a fantastic response from the public who all seem impressed with the Pals theme, the public are rightly proud of the Pals heritage in this town . Hope you enjoyed your brekkies so do feel free pop in for a brew and a bite!"

Working people set to lose £1,300 a year under the Conservatives

Shocking new research by the House of Commons Library shows that Tory changes to tax credits will leave working families in average £1,300 worse off a year.

The Tories are breaking their promise to stand up for working people. Over three million families will be affected by this cut to tax credits.

In HYNDBURN alone, around 5500 families will be hit. Instead of helping working people, the Tories are pushing through changes which will hit working families in the wallet. The Tories have not planned any transitional changes to protect affected families.

2.7 million families with children will be left out of pocket, and there is a real risk that children will suffer directly as a result of these changes.

Labour has launched a campaign to call on David Cameron to stop the tax credit cut.


Please sign the petition at www.labour.org.uk/taxcredits.

Rishton: M J Gleeson Homes consultation meets with positive reaction

A consultation event to showcase a proposed development at the vacant land along Parker Street attracted plenty of interest from Rishton residents and the plans were generally favourably received.

The event was hosted by M J Gleeson who will shortly be submitting a full planning application for 75 houses on the site with access off Parker Street and Wheatfield Street. The Rishton Councillors have previously made it clear that social housing would not be welcome and this has been incorporated into the designs which were on display.

Cllr Clare Cleary, Cabinet member for Housing and Regeneration, said, "Almost everyone who has seen the plans today thought that they were good and it seems to have allayed a few fears about what will eventually be built there. I'm also glad that we have taken the time over the Canal Masterplan because it has not only generated renewed interest in the vacant sites but is shaping the plans which are being put in front of us to suit the people of Rishton."

Cllr Ken Moss said, "The plans were for 100% affordable housing costing between £80,000 and £120,000 with various help-to-buy schemes put on the table as well. The costings have been drawn up so that 90% of working couples who currently live in Rishton will be able to afford ones of these properties. These developers clearly believe in home ownership rather than rented housing and that can only be a good thing."

Cllr Harry Grayson said, "There is a lot of thought gone into this and I am pleased to see that the site won't be crammed full of houses. They are all good sized family homes with front and rear gardens and driveways plus the development will incorporate enhancement along the canalside. Thumbs up from me."

County Councillor Miles Parkinson, also Cabinet member for Planning, said, "As with all developments, detailed studies will be done concerning the impact on the roads and utilities, plus schools, doctors and emergency services. It is standard in these cases for considerable contributions to be made to accommodate services for an increased population."

Prospective Labour candidate, Jeff Scales, said, "I was impressed with the plans the development makes much more sense than simply leaving an eyesore. The developers said they will be using local tradesmen to do all the work as they are more reliable and it will also provide increased tax revenue to the Council at a time when investment is badly needed. I hope it also gives a boost to trade at the Free Gardeners Club and the local shops." 

A full planning application is expected to be submitted within the next month or so.

Rishton: Gleeson Homes consultation - 7th October 2015

Gleeson Homes are proposing to build a new homes development on the site of the old Gaskells Carpets factory in Rishton.

As part of the planning process, they will be holding a consultation event on Wednesday 7th October 2015 from 3.00pm - 6.00pm at the Primetime Centre, Norden High School.

The purpose of this event is for local residents to come and see the plans for the development, look at the type of new homes they propose to build and let them know what they think.

The Rishton Councillors will also be meeting with the developers to discuss the plans and explicitly state what residents have indicated is unacceptable, for example a social housing development.

All residents are invited to attend and have their say.

Milnshaw: Flooding issues on local play area resolved

A new drain has now been installed at the play parks located at Highams playground area on the Laneside estate. The drain work was approved by local Milnshaw Councillor, Paul Cox, after several residents expressed concern that a steady stream of water seemed to flow from the edge of the play areas. 

Local Labour Councillor Paul Cox said, "Earlier this year both residents and members of Accrington Cricket Club approached me about this stream of water that flowed from the edge of the park across the footpath. After I looked at the area it was obvious that this water would become a serious safety issue when the weather deteriates." 

Cllr Cox instructed Hyndburn Borough Council Parks department to investigate this issue.  They concluded that over a period of time a underground water course had diverted to the surface on the edge of the footpath, between the two playgrounds. This was causing the stream of water to flow across the footpath and pool on the cricket pitch at the bottom of the embankment.

Cllr Cox added, "The Council has undertook a large amount of work on the playing fields of Highams within Laneside estate. Which have included extensive drainage work. I suggested we should install this drain to feed into the new system and so prevent this becoming a slip hazard and take away a sizeable flood risk to Accrington Cricket Club."

Work was completed earlier this month on the project by taking advantage of the new drainage system and constructing a small slit drain to divert away this excess water flow.

Family open day at Hanson Building Products

Hanson Building Products are hosting a family open day on 3rd October at Accrington Brickworks so that the public can get to know more about what they do.

For more information, please see the flyer above.