Altham 2015: Miles Parkinson

Cllr Miles Parkinson has been on Hyndburn Borough Council for 20 years and is once again standing to represent Altham ward in the 2015 local elections. A long-term supporter of the Labour party, he is not only ward Councillor, but County Councillor for Rishton, Clayton-le-Moors and Altham, plus became Leader of Hyndburn Borough Council in 2011.

Fellow ward Councillor, Chris Fisher, said, "Miles Parkinson is quite simply an outstanding and hard working Councillor, not just for Altham but for Hyndburn as a whole. He is an inspiration to us all and sets a very high benchmark."

Voting in the local and national elections takes place on Thursday 7th May from 7.00am until 10.00pm.

HBC and Police crack down on taxis plying for trade

Accrington Neighbourhood Policing Team recently worked with Hyndburn Borough Council to tackle the problem of private hire vehicles breaching ‘taxi’ regulations and driving vehicles unfit to be on the road.

Hyndburn Borough Council received a number of complaints from local Hackney carriage operators that private hire vehicle drivers were illegally touting for business i.e. plying for hire, at the side of the road or picking up fares when flagged down by members of the public. The Council met with local police to organise an operation to deal with the issue.

This operation was carried out on Friday 15th November, with Council Officers and Special Constables, resulting in a number of private hire drivers being reported for breaching ‘taxi’ regulations. Those drivers were also reported for driving without valid insurance.

PC Graham Hartley, the Community Beat Manager for Accrington Town Centre, said; “The message is clear; unless you have pre-booked the journey or are taking a taxi from a designated taxi rank, do not get in a mini-cab at the side of the road or try to flag one down. The taxi will not be insured, and so, if you do get into an accident, you won’t be able to claim."

Cllr Chris Fisher, chair of hackney and private hire licensing, said "I'm really proud of my licensing team, the police and not least the actors who took part. I observed the operation and everything went perfectly and was hugely successful. At this time we can't go into details because there are prosecutions pending, more will be released in due course.

The shock and awe operations we currently plan and undertake are zero tolerance and hard hitting to rogue private hire drivers to stamp out this illegal and dangerous practice. There is no doubt operators and drivers now know we mean business. Be assured public safety will always be our number one priority. We have many more operations like this planned in the very near future so rogue taxi drivers beware."

HBC conducts taxi safety checks

On 15th July 2013, Hyndburn Council enforcement officers, the Police and Cllr Chris Fisher (Chair of the Taxi Licensing and Private Hire Judicial Committee) led a covert operation to check the compliance of local taxis and private hire vehicles.

Chris Fisher said, "Since the last operation in November, again it was appalling - bald tyres, defective brakes and serious safety defects on seat belts and airbags. Out of 18 vehicles brought in by the police over 50% were deemed unsafe, including one minibus which was prohibited from use by police traffic officers due to a serious brake defect."

Cllr Fisher commented further "It's a shocking statistic, and we are clamping down very, very hard on these vehicles and operators with more operations planned in the very near future. If operators can't maintain their vehicles to be clean, safe, and signed up as per their licensing conditions, it won't happen on my watch,  I'm out to get them and I have a zero tolerance in the interest of public safely, simple as, we'll revoke licenses. It stands to reason and was apparent on the night, that the older the car the worse the defects."

Profile: Councillor Chris Fisher

Cllr Chris Fisher is one of the two HBC Councillors who represent Altham and he was first elected to the Borough Council in 2012. Altham is the only ward with a parish council in Hyndburn and that is chaired by Cllr Rennie Pinder, who is not a member of HBC. Cllr Fisher has been appointed on the following committees at HBC:

• Clayton and Altham Community Development Board 
• Judicial Committee (Private Hire and Hackney Carriage Licensing)  (Chair) 
• Licensing Committee 
• Licensing Sub-Committee 
• Planning Committee

He also sits on the following outside bodies:

• Clayton-le-Moors Old People's Welfare Committee 
• PATROL Adjudication Joint Committee

Chris said, "I am very excited about my recent appointment as the Chair of the Private Hire and Hackney Carriage Licensing Judicial committee. I have a busy year ahead and it is my maxim to inculcate the current policy and demonstrate our commitment to providing safe and compliant taxis and private hire in the borough."

Cllr Fisher can be contacted on 07776 363843 or by emailing chris.fisher@hyndburnbc.gov.uk

On-street drinking clampdown

Altham Councillor Chris Fisher is leading a clampdown regarding on-street drinking this summer.

There is nothing that says summer hot nights more than sitting in a beer garden of your local pub enjoying a well deserved drink with friends. However, there is a darker side to summer, and sadly some individuals think it is acceptable to walk the streets or sitting in the park ‘can in hand’ drinking alcohol in full view of the public. The potential for anti social or disorderly behaviour, however small, is unacceptable.

In Hyndburn, it is illegal to drink outside on the street and public places. At a recent Council Cabinet meeting Cllr Fisher expressed his concern by requesting the support of fellow Councillors to be proactive with a 'zero tolerance' clamp down of alcohol consumption in the street and in public places.

Councillor Fisher said “I was delighted and reassured that I received unanimous cross party support for this initiative. And equally important, Police have given assurances of their full on going, proactive support, with anyone found to be breaking the law drinking alcohol on the street will be firmly dealt with.”

A full story has also been run in this week's Accrington Observer.

County Council Election 2013 - Altham, Clayton-le-Moors and Rishton

Canvassing and leafleting has begun for the campaign to re-elect Cllr Miles Parkinson as County Councillor for Altham, Clayton-le-Moors and Rishton. Miles was elected in 2009 and has since gone on to also become Leader of Hyndburn Borough Council when control shifted back to Labour in 2011. 

Miles has been assisted by Cllr Chris Fisher in Altham, Cllr Tim O'Kane in Clayton-le-Moors and Cllrs Ken Moss, Harry Grayson and Clare Cleary in Rishton. Over the coming weeks they will be out and about in all areas to promote Miles's work ahead of voting day on 2nd May 2013.

The Labour group pay for all their own campaign literature and if you have any further questions then please get in touch by looking under the 'Your Councillors' tab on the homepage of this blog.

HBC & VOSA Taxi safety checks

On Friday 23rd November, Hyndburn Councillors Chris Fisher and Tim O'Kane (pictured below) oversaw a secretly planned operation spot checking the safety and compliance of Private Hire and Hackney vehicles in the borough. 

The multi agency operation involved local Councillors, Police with ANPR (Automatic number plate recognition), VOSA and the councils own proactive licensing enforcement team.

Cllr Chris Fisher said " We asked the Police to target random Private Hire and Hackney Cabs and bring them in for a spot safety check. These checks included brakes, lights, suspension and tyres. Drivers were also checked by our licensing team and insurances by the Police."

"I would like to thank everyone who took part in this hugely successful operation last night.
Out of the 18 vehicles we tested a staggering 9 had serious defects and were issued with PG9 notices on the spot and taxi plates seized. Defects found included broken suspension spring, serious brake defects, no headlights and worn tyres."

"I wish to send out a clear message to operators in the borough that this is not a one off exercise, public safety is our primary focus and the vehicles they hire must be safe and comply with the law. Operators who don't share this view will be pursued and taken off the road"