Hyndburn Conservatives no-show at full Council meeting

The Conservative group boycotted the full Council meeting on March 22nd, citing that there were too many items being discussed which were outside the power of HBC to affect.

Leader of the Council, Cllr Miles Parkinson, said, "I'm puzzled by this because there is nothing on the agenda which is not directly related to Hyndburn Council. It is dereliction of duty to deliberately stay away from this council chamber and represent the public when they are paid an allowance to do so. Political stunts by the opposition to get a headline in the Observer are unforgivable. This is nothing more than an election stunt."

He added, "We live in a democracy, we should not be shying away from healthy debate but asking questions to make sure that this borough moves forward. The Conservatives are not doing the work, they come with glib sentences and smirk at motions such as those brought recently by Cllr Aziz to improve transport links."

Cabinet member, Cllr Ken Moss, said, "They have run away tonight to attempt a cheap headline in the Accrington Observer. Everyone misses a meeting now and then but to take a night off en masse is blatant electioneering, although I'm not sure how it's a positive thing."

St Andrews Councillor Stewart Eaves said, "I think we might be seeing a glimpse of the future here after May's elections. No Tories in the Council chamber."

Rishton Councillor Jeff Scales said, "Many years ago a guest repeatedly failed to turn up after being booked on 'Have I Got News For You' and was replaced by a tub of lard. Are we going to have to invest in seven tubs for the next Council meeting?"

Huncoat Councillor Eamonn Higgins said, "It's a pathetic act with no more purpose than to attract publicity in the run up to an election. Nonetheless, we debated several issues which directly affect the residents of Hyndburn, such as the proposed bus lane in Clayton and the future of Accrington Victoria walk in centre. I am disgusted that these Tory Councillors who are supposed to be representing the public have the bold brass neck to claim their allowances."

Several members of the public were observing in the gallery over the Council chamber.

Milnshaw Labour candidate, Andy Clegg, said, "I think it's an insult that such an honour as representing your constituents can be used as a cheap headline grabbing stunt. I hope that the people who these people are supposed to represent see through this seemingly desperate attempt to bag a few lines in the local press and win a few cheap votes."

St Oswalds Labour candidate, Gayle Knight, said, "Perhaps they were out campaigning and thought that was more important than representing the public."

The full agenda can be seen below:

Huncoat: Dry stone walling skills recognised with awards

Local people who helped to rebuild a historic dry stone wall at Huncoat were recognised by a presentation of certificates on Wednesday 27th January.

Guided by a master craftsman from the Dry Stone Walling Association, volunteers learned how to construct the local traditional Pennine Style of wall that has been used for hundreds of years.

The training days were organised by Hyndburn Borough Council as one of the finishing touches at the Spout House community woodland project in Huncoat.

The wall is one of the boundaries of an historic field system dating back to medieval times. Built by the local community in those days, local people have once again helped to restore the wall as a great feature of the community woodland site.

Cllr Eamonn Higgins, who represents the Huncoat ward, presented the certificates which recognised that the volunteers had achieved a range of introductory dry stone walling skills under the AQA Award scheme.

Cllr Higgins said, “I’m really impressed to see what a good job local people have done. The wall was previously crumbled down nearly to ground level and now its properly reconstructed and looking great. Thanks and congratulations go to everyone involved.”

Other AQA craft skills were presented by Phil Barwood MBE, chairman of the Prospects Foundation. Prospects has lots of great opportunities for volunteers and are a local provider of AQA awards.

The Council is hoping to organise more dry stone wall training days during March 2016. Anyone interested should contact Anne Hourican on 01254 388111.

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!"

Accrington open-air market traders warn of pickpockets

Market traders in Accrington's open market have warned of a pickpocket gang attempting to target shoppers.

Hyndburn Councillor Eamonn Higgins said, "I was shopping in the open market when I was approached by the owner of Greg's Cooked Meats stall. Greg and his staff told me they had witnessed on several occasions a gang of eastern European looking men who seemed to be working in a group, with one of the men marking potential victims with a piece of chalk on their backs while others then move in in an attempt to steal purses and other valuables out of peoples shopping bags."

He added, "They are usually here pretty early from 8.30am onwards and I urge all shoppers to be extra vigilant when shopping in town. Keep wallets and purses in a safe place. This information has been passed to the police."

Anyone with any information should call Crimestoppers anonymously on 0800 555 111.

Huncoat: Flytipping at Water Street

Fly tippers have been in action again in Huncoat, with an old mattress dumped in the back alley of Water Street and Avenue Parade.

Cllr Eamonn Higgins said, "We have had several incidents of fly tipping in the area, there really is no excuse for this kind of behaviour when we have a recycling centre less than a mile away at Whinney Hill. If residents can't get there then the Council will collect items such as these for free."

Anyone who requires a collection of this type of used refuse should contact HBC on 01254 388111.

Huncoat: Four new defibrillators installed

Huncoat ward has now had another four defibrillators installed at strategic locations thanks to the local Councillors and the Rotary Club. Defibrillators have been placed and mounted in hi-vis weatherproof cabinets at The Whittaker's Arms on Burnley Road, Mapleford Nursing Home on Bolton Avenue, The Black Bull pub on Lowergate Road and The Railway pub on Station Road. These compliment the existing one already placed at The Coppice gates at Peel Park.

Cllr Eamonn Higgins, who is also a local Paramedic, said, "These latest additions of defibs to our community in Huncoat are advanced yet extremely easy to use. In the event of a heart attack of cardiac arrest in Huncoat, residents should not be far from access to one of these life saving machines."

Free training sessions will be rolled out soon at all the sites .

Huncoat: Abandoned caravan at Bluebell Way

Residents in Huncoat have contacted their Councillors regarding an apparently abandoned caravan off Bluebell Way and Yorkshire Street.

Cllr Eamonn Higgins said, "The caravan has been parked there for about six weeks now. I visited the site and noticed a telephone number so I phoned it and spoke to the owner who said he had nowhere to store it. Residents were worried that other caravans would appear and turn it into an unofficial caravan storage area. The matter is now being dealt with by Huncoat community policing team."  

Huncoat: Local Councillors organise Remembrance Day parade

The Huncoat Councillors have organised a formal Remembrance Day service following several years of informal arrangements.

  

Cllr Eamonn Higgins said, "In conjunction with former Councillor Dave Parkins and members of the local community we have managed to draw up a proposed sequence of events for the Remembrance Day ceremony. Hopefully the weather will be fine and if anyone has any suggestions or questions please contact Ben Caulfield on 01254 388111 who will be happy to help."

Remembrance Day in Huncoat will run as follows:

• 2.00pm - Meet at The Peace Garden, Burnley Lane
• 2.10pm - Parade from The Peace Garden up to the War Memorial led by representatives from the Royal British Legion
• Distribution of the order of service booklets.
• 2.30pm -Service at the War Memorial by the Reverend Enticott, the RBL chaplain
• Laying of the wreaths
• Minute's silence
• Dispersal

Huncoat: Foxwood Chase housing development objections

An appeal hearing was held in the Council offices at Scaitcliffe House on the 12th and 13th of August 2015 regarding the controversial building of twenty seven new houses at the rear of Foxwood Chase, Deer Park and Badgers Close in Huncoat.

The meeting was attended by representatives from Morris Homes who are the developers, Hyndburn Council officers and members of the public. The hearing was heard by the government planning inspector, who will make the final decision as to whether or not the development will go ahead following objections from residents.

Huncoat Councillor Eamonn Higgins also attended the hearing and said, “The hearing heard arguments from both parties. The original application by Morris Homes was unanimously rejected by Councillors at the very first stage and the inspector visited the site and looked at the residents' objections. We sincerely hope that this development does not go ahead and a decision is expected shortly.”

Huncoat: Crime figures fall in July 2015

The latest crime figures have been released that show a fall in offences committed in Huncoat.

At a meeting of the Police And Communities Together group on in July, community support officer for Huncoat Suzanne Crawford stated,  “Over the last two months there were 173 incidents recorded in the ward. Out of those incidents 14 were recorded as crimes which is a reduction of about 50% from the previous two months.”

Councillor for Huncoat, Eamonn Higgins, stated, “I think the reduction in the crime figures for the ward are very encouraging. We meet with the police on a monthly basis to discuss ways of dealing with local problems and also we have two extra part-time Community Support Officers who work mostly in the evenings to deal with anti-social behaviour. We have two very dedicated members of the police here in Huncoat, PC. Paula Birch and P.C.S.O. Suzanne Crawford who do a fantastic job.By working with local residents, Councillors and the police, we hope we can maintain and even reduce further these fantastic figures."

Huncoat: Speed camera trials on Station Road

 A police camera offensive was trialled on Station Road in Huncoat during early July. It was purely an operation to gather figures and no prosecutions were made.

Huncoat Councillor Eamonn Higgins stated,  “Both Cllr Bernard Dawson and myself have received a lot of complaints from local residents lately about speeding motorists in this area, so we asked the police to attend to see how real the problem was. 495 motorists were picked up by the camera and out of them 68 were committing an offence.

Cllr Dawson said, "Station Road is a 20mph zone and there are already speeding restrictions in place. That’s 13.7 % of motorists. Other offences included driving whilst using a mobile phone, not wearing seat belts and speeding. One vehicle was travelling at 37mph in a 20mph zone. We have already had one fatality on this road some years ago, we must ensure road safety remains a priority in Huncoat so we will be looking to LCC highways to see how we can improve road safety at this location."

Huncoat: New defibrillators installed

Five potentially lifesaving automatic external defibrillators are being installed in Accrington and Huncoat, with the first one already in place at the gates of Peel Park, at the foot of the Coppice in Accrington. Others will be installed outside the Whittakers Arms Pub on Burnley Road, The Black Bull Pub on Lowergate Road Huncoat, The Railway Pub at Huncoat Railway Station and the Mapleford Nursing Home on the wall facing Bolton Avenue.

The devices, famously used to help Premiership Footballer, Fabrice Muamba, who suffered a sudden cardiac arrest during a football game, deliver an electric shock to the heart after it stops pumping blood around the body. Statistics show that over 75,000 lives could be saved each year in the UK by having defibrillators immediately available.

Speaking about the move, paramedic and Huncoat Councillor, Eammon Higgins, said, “It’s fabulous that the first of the defibrillators is now in place. I’m only too aware with my work as a paramedic that sudden cardiac arrest can happen to anyone at any time and without these machines the survival rate drops 10% for every minute. Sudden cardiac arrest is the world’s biggest killer, with around 140,000 deaths in the UK alone."

He continued; “These state of the art defibrillators have been bought from the North West Ambulance Service, with funds from Huncoat Neighbourhood Management Board and the help of former Cllr Dave Parkins who has been a key player in their installation, thanks to all of them.”

Cllr Higgins concluded, “We’ll be arranging a one hour training course in basic life support and the use of the community defibrillators, which residents are very welcome to attend. It will be delivered by NWAS Paramedics and promoted when details are finalised.”

Huncoat 2015: Labour gain

Eamonn Higgins has won the Huncoat local election to secure his first term as one of the two ward Councillors. The count took place in the newly-refurbished Town Hall at 11.00am on 8th May 2015 and Eamonn will now hold his position until 2019.

The results were as follows:

• Eamonn Higgins (Labour) - 933
• Nick Whittaker (Conservative) - 809
• Janet Brown (UKIP) - 539
• David Daly (Green) - 106

The total percentage of voters who turned out in Huncoat was 65.55%.

Eamonn replaces outgoing Independent Councillor Dave Parkins, who supported Eamonn throughout his campaign. Dave is very well respected within the ward and the Hyndburn Labour group would like to thank him for all his work alongside us over the years.

Huncoat 2015: Eamonn Higgins

Eamonn Higgins is the Labour candidate for Huncoat in the 2015 elections and already has considerable support from within his local community. He has been campaigning for months and the response on the doorsteps is very positive, with almost three-quarters of responses indicating they will vote for him.

Eamonn works for the health service and is proud of it, saying, "As a local NHS worker, I'm worried that our NHS is in danger. We campaigned to keep Accrington Victoria walk-in centre open but how long will it last under the Tories?"

Independent Huncoat Councillor, Dave Parkins, is retiring from the Council in May and is supporting Eamonn as his replacement. He said, "I support Eamonn as the Labour Party candidate for Huncoat. I am sure he will be as committed as I have been over the years and I give him my total support."

Photos of Eamonn canvassing around Huncoat can be seen here.

Voting takes place on 7th May 2015 between 7.00am and 10.00pm.

Huncoat: Eamonn Higgins completes Labour line-up for 2015

Hyndburn Labour are pleased to announce that Eamonn Higgins (pictured with rosette) has been selected to be the Labour Party Candidate for Huncoat for 2015 Local Elections. Eammon actively joined the Labour party recently and has been a big help to several Councillors.

The local Labour party now have a full slate of candidates for 2015 and Eamonn has been out canvassing and delivering leaflets around Huncoat already.