Rishton: Labour Candidate 2018

The Rishton Labour Party have re-selected Cllr Ken Moss to stand as their candidate in the 2018 elections. He joined the Council in 2010 alongside former Councillor Harry Grayson and has served two four-year terms. 

Ken said, "I was only intending to stand for two terms but I have been asked repeatedly by my colleagues at HBC to carry on. Ultimately, it has been a rather humbling number of members of the public asking me not to stand down which swung it for me and so I am delighted to throw my hat in the ring again."

Cllr Moss became Cabinet member for Education, Leisure and the Arts in 2014 and has overseen several major Rishton developments in recent years, including the lease of Norden Playing Fields to Rishton Utd, construction of the first ever Rishton cemetery and securing over £30,000 of money for future Rishton play equipment.

Local elections will take place across the borough on May 3rd 2018.

Rishton: Former Albert Mill planning application submitted

A planning application for 43 new houses on the site of the former Albert Mill in Rishton has been submitted to Hyndburn Borough Council.

Discussions with the three Rishton Councillors and County Cllr Miles Parkinson have been ongoing for several years but now the plans have been formally submitted and the case file can be viewed here:

11/17/0401 - Albert Mill, Rishton

However, several points remain outstanding and the Councillors have met with both the developers and representatives from Lancashire County Council regarding highways issues.

Cllr Ken Moss said, "We wholeheartedly welcome this development but it has to be right for the surrounding residents too. The main issue is connecting up the road between Walmsley Avenue and Walmsley Street which has been requested for over 25 years. We have requested that new highways must to be up to adoption standards and the junction with Mary Street is realigned. HBC is willing to work with the developer to ensure that these issues can be resolved without excessive costs. I am pleased to say that LCC supports us on these points."

New highways are expected to be built to adoption standards, which means that they meet certain criteria in order for LCC to then take on the maintenance liabilities. A stretch of Walmsley Street is currently intended to be left cobbled which the Councillors are not in favour of.

The plans are likely to be debated at the HBC Planning Committee in either December or January.

Baxenden: Fencing to be installed at Recreation Ground

 

Cllr Ken Moss, Cabinet Member for Leisure, announced today that fencing is set to be installed at Baxenden Recreation ground, to deter unauthorised vehicle access after a number of recent incidents.

Cllr Moss said; “Baxenden Recreation ground has recently been subject to unauthorised vehicle access, which not only caused damage to the field, but also meant it couldn’t be used by local residents.”

Cllr Moss added; “Grant funding for fencing is very difficult to come by, however, the Council has been able to find some funding internally at the end of the financial year which we can use to install suitable hit and miss barrier fencing to prevent further unauthorised vehicular access onto the Recreation ground.”

The fences are set to be installed later in the Summer.

Fantastic evening at the 2nd Hyndburn Business Awards

LCC: Grass cutting money to be re-assessed

Over the past few years, Hyndburn Borough Council has experienced severe cuts to the public realm budget allocated by Lancashire County Council. This had led to a reduced service and an increased number of emails from the public expressing dissatisfaction.

'Public realm' is the term given to areas which borough Councils do not own but maintain on behalf of other organisations for an annual fee, such as roadside verges, trees and certain grassed areas.

Cabinet member for Parks and Open Spaces, Cllr Ken Moss, has contacted the new Leader of LCC, Cllr Geoff Driver, to see if this decision can be reversed.

Cllr Moss said, "We simply don't have the money to cut certain areas as much as we would like and quite understandably this has led to complaints from residents. I contacted Cllr Driver to point out the knock-on effects such as unsightly areas, increased flytipping and pet fouling and was delighted to find that he agreed with me. He has assured me that he will reinstate the public realm budget as soon as possible and I would like to thank him for his support." 
 

Vote Graham Jones on June 8th 2017

Polls open at 7.00am on Thursday June 8th in a General Election to decide who will be the Member of Parliament for Hyndburn.

The incumbent MP is Graham Jones who has been the Labour representative in the borough since 2010. He lives in Hyndburn and has both grown up and worked in the borough his whole life.

The Hyndburn Labour Group wholeheartedly support Graham and would urge the public to vote him in for a third term as our local representative.

Baxenden: HBC issues legal notices to travellers

A traveller encampment on Baxenden recreation ground has generated many complaints from residents and Hyndburn Borough Council have issued enforcement notices.

Hyndburn MP and Baxenden resident Graham Jones said, "I've been to Baxenden Rec and the travellers have arrived. It's an illegal encampment and I've reported it to the Chief Executive of the Council by phone and asked for swift action. Last time they were removed within a week."
 
Notice of Direction to Leave land was served on Monday 15th May requiring the travellers (3 caravans) to leave as soon as practicable. The travellers have not complied with the notice so they will be summonsed to attend court at which time HBC intend to apply for an Order requiring them to leave the land.

The earliest available court date is next Wednesday, 31 May 2017.

Baxenden: Car park NOT for sale

A notice has been erroneously printed in the Accrington Observer advertising a car park for sale on Manchester Road in Baxenden. Although the advert is scheduled to appear in the newspaper for two weeks, it has been issued in error as part of a wider sceheme to dispose of pieces of land which are of little value to the Council and are not well-used by the public.

The Hyndburn Labour Group wish to apologise for the error and thanks are due to Graham Jones MP for helping to inform residents of the situation.

Barnfield: Regenerating Woodnook

After 13 years of neglect Hyndburn Council in 2011 under a new Labour administration began to fulfil our promise of regenerating Woodnook. We did it by inviting private investors into a long term plan.

We had a vision.

Place First (a newly established regeneration arm of a pension company) decided to partner Hyndburn Council it was a first in the UK. They have now been commissioned to regenerate housing in Morecambe, Colne and Liverpool as a result.

We are proud to be trailblazers (it was done because the previous Tory admin 1998-2011 had left no money) and it has won awards and received national media coverage. Hyndburn Council purchased the properties and transferred them to PlaceFirst on the terms Hyndburn Labour set out.

Here is a 1 minute video.

To find out about renting from PlaceFirst in Woodnook http://placefirst.co.uk/placefirst-announce-plans-for-next-stage-of-woodnooks-regeneration/

Hyndburn Labour Councillor Wins Cohesive Society Award

Hyndburn Councillor Wins Cohesive Society Award

Councillor Noordad Aziz from Great Harwood, was recognised for his work to build better communities in the inaugural Remembering Srebrenica North West Cohesive Society Awards last week.

Councillor Aziz, along with Dr Aidan Stonehouse and Armaan Chohan, won the Best New Event award for organising the UK’s first ever Srebrenica Peace March. As a symbolic end to Srebrenica Memorial Week on the 21stanniversary of the genocide in Bosnia, 21 Remembering Srebrenica Community Champions walked just over 21 miles between Blackburn Cathedral and Manchester Cathedral, visiting different faith venues along the way.

Chair of Remembering Srebrenica’s North West Board, Elinor Chohan, who joined them on the Peace March said:

“The time and effort that Councillor Aziz and the other volunteers have put into commemorating Srebrenica is inspiring. This event brought diverse communities together in remembrance as well as walking in solidarity with the survivors, mirroring the powerful ‘Mars Mira’ peace walk which takes place annually in Srebrenica. The work of our Community Champions really shows that people in the North West want their communities to be stronger and safer by uniting against hatred and welcoming everyone regardless of their race, religion, sexuality or ability.”

Dr Waqar Azmi OBE, Chairman of Remembering Srebrenica, added:

“Never has it been more important for us to learn the lessons from Srebrenica, so it is vital that we have talented and driven individuals like Cllr Aziz bringing people together. The dedication of our volunteers across the UK last year meant that we put on nearly 400 events, attended by over 50,000 people. By working with schools, councils, faith organisations and other community groups we can challenge those who spread divisive messages in their efforts to breed hatred and intolerance.”

Cllr Aziz said of his award: “'The Peace March is a great initiative to raise awareness of what happened at Srebrenica over 20 years ago. I am glad the North West has led the way and I hope it continues for many years. For me, it was also a way of honouring the mothers of Srebrenica, who I met when I went out there a few years ago, and whose quest for justice still continues today.”

Remembering Srebrenica’s volunteers in the North West put on 52 events just in July, which were attended by thousands of people to bring communities together and unite against hatred. The charity’s message in all these commemorations was to embrace difference while remembering the victims of the worst atrocity on European soil since World War Two. 

Event organisers focused on the lost generation in Bosnia who never had the opportunity to celebrate their coming of age. By helping communities to take action now, Remembering Srebrenica wants young people to join older people and help build a cohesive society for everyone.

Local councillors, educators, and Community Champions came together at Sanam's restaurant in Manchester on Thursday evening to celebrate their achievements in bringing communities together.

For further information in relation to the work of Remembering Srebrenica please see below:

Website: http://srebrenica.org.uk/ 

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/rememberingsrebrenica

Twitter: https://twitter.com/SrebrenicaUK

HBC: Conservatives say Hyndburn recycling wheelie bins are 'a waste of money'

At a meeting of the full Council in Accrington Town Hall on 5th January 2017, the Conservative group Leader asked for clarity from Labour regarding statements in the local media concerning changes to recycling collections in Hyndburn.

Labour Leader of the Council, Miles Parkinson, confirmed that as of summer 2018 the waste collection cost-sharing agreement with Lancashire County Council will end. Hyndburn will switch to a full wheelie bin service for recycling which will see two additional bins for each of the 35,000 households in the borough and an end to the blue and white sack system.

Cllr Parkinson said, "To purchase the necessary wagons to fit down back alleys and supply two new bins to every house in the borough will cost in excess of £2m. This will use up our capital grant from the government for an entire year but we feel that it will enable us to provide the recycling collections that residents have been requesting for a long time and streamline the service."

Cabinet member for Waste Services, Cllr Paul Cox said, "Hyndburn currently receives a substantial income from separated recycling but during 2018 our grant agreement with LCC will end and HBC will be around £800,000 per year worse off. At that point we will switch to combined recycling and provide an easier system for residents than the one we have now."

However, the plans were met with an angry response from the Conservative side and the scheme was derided as a poor investment of public funds.

Cllr Peter Britcliffe said, "As the system was only revamped three years ago, all I can say is what a waste of money."

Cllr Miles Parkinson responded, "The system was not revamped, the wagons were replaced as they had come to the end of their operational lifespan and at that time we did not know that the cost-sharing agreement would be coming to an end in 2018. As you had not set any money aside for new wagons during your decade in office, the Council was faced with an additional £700,000 bill in 2013."

The new recycling system will be operational by the summer of 2018.