Barnfield: Friends of Arden Hall

Barnfield Cllr June Harrison has been working together with the Friends of Arden Hall to restore the gate at the top of Plantation Street. Residents have been looking after the corner garden there and all the flowers are now in bloom to give a spectacular display.

Great Harwood: Farmers Market - 7th July 2013

Great Harwood Farmers Market, run by the Council in Partnership with Gaskell Motor Bodies, is going from strength to strength, with more stalls and more visitors coming along each month to Towngate.

The next market, where once again all the proceeds will go to charity, is set to take place on 7th July at Towngate and will feature  a whole host of stalls selling a wide range of locally sourced products including meats, fish, scrumptious cakes, and pies plus a range of cheeses, plus plants and artisan jewellery, to name a few.

Cllr Clare Pritchard, Cabinet Member for Town Centres, said; “The market is proving really popular now with more stalls exhibiting and lots of people visiting the event each month.  It’s also raised over £800 for local charities, so please come along on 7th July and enjoy this traditional community event.”

Nick Gaskell of Gaskells Motors said; “The Farmers Market is getting a real buzz around it now and people have been telling us that it’s great to see the Town Square so busy with such a variety of stalls.”

If you’d like to book a stall  visit http://www.hyndburnbc.gov.uk/farmersmarket.   For more information call Rob Grigorjevs, Town centre Manager on 01254 388111 or email rob.grigorjevs@hyndburnbc.gov.uk.

Milnshaw: Labour Councillors organise successful Skip Amnesty on Laneside estateAccrington

Saturday the 29th of June saw the first of two skip amnesties arranged for Milnshaw take place, the next being the 27th of July on the Milnshaw estate.The skip drives were organised by both the labour ward Councillors, Paul Cox & Clare Pritchard, with funding obtained from the Church & Milnshaw Community Group. The skips, located on both Ribblesdale Ave and Thornyholme Road were a chance for local residents to get rid of any unwanted rubbish. 

Head of Enviromental Services and Milnshaw Councillor Paul Cox said "these skip days are a real chance for the local community to get rid of that clutter that's has accumulated and just allows us to give the area a good clean"  Chair of Laneside Residents Association Mr Malclom Sommerville added "it was really good to see everybody out and through the course of the day we ended up filling the skips three times over"

The skip amnestys were also supported by Hyndburn Homes, working in cooperation with both Hyndburn Borough Council and Laneside Residents Association, with letter drops and posters produced to advertise the day. All three organisations hope that this type of connected working can produce results that see Laneside estate remain a vibrant part of the Church & Milnshaw community. 

Cllr Clare Pritchard stated, "In Milnshaw we have acted on reidents requsts to offer a skip drive for this area however residents should be aware that Hyndburn Council operates a bulky waste removal service free of charge simply ring 01254 388111 to have your domestic items removed"

Central: Weekly Surgeries

Cllrs Abdul Khan (pictured) and Mohammad Ayub are conducting surgeries from Monday to Thursday between 10.00am and 1.00pm for any resident who has an issue they would like help with.

Cllr Ayub can be contacted on 07866 472011 and Cllr Khan can be contacted on 07773 877245.

Profile: Councillor Tim O'Kane

Cllr Tim O'Kane is one of the two representatives for the Clayton-le-Moors ward and was first elected to HBC during the 1990s. He has been appointed to the following committees at HBC this year:

• Audit Committee  
• Clayton and Altham Community Development Board  
• Communities and Wellbeing Overview and Scrutiny Committee (Chair) 
• Health and Communities Working Group 
• Judicial Committee (Private Hire and Hackney Carriage Licensing)

He also sits on the following outside bodies:

• Clayton-le-Moors Old People's Welfare Committee 
• Clayton-le-Moors Youth Club 
• Hyndburn Homes Industrial and Provident Society Limited Board 
• Hyndburn Homes Repairs Limited Board 
• Lancashire County Council Health Scrutiny Committee 
• Lancashire Waste Partnership (Substitute Representative) 

Cllr O'Kane said, "I have been reappointed as Chair of the Communities and Wellbeing Overview and Scrutiny Committee, which involves having a close look at issues concerning health, education and policing. I am also the Council's representative on the Health Scrutiny Committee at County Hall in Preston. The main health issue we are tackling at the moment is the transition to Clinical Commissioning Groups against a backdrop of privatisation of the NHS. In education, the hot potato is the expectations of schools opting for academy status then finding the funding not matching the promises. On policing, it is how to maintain manning levels against a backdrop of massive cuts in funding and with a change in operating procedures brought about by the introduction of the new police commissioners. Separately, I am trying to adapt the Community Roadwatch scheme to improve road safety, particularly enforcing the 20mph speed limits.I have also been reappointed onto Hyndburn Homes board where the immediate problem is implementation of the bedroom tax which is causing major headaches throughout the borough."

Anyone wishing to contact Tim can do so on 07865 684412 or by emailing tim.okane@hyndburnbc.gov.uk

HBC budget to be 60% lower than 2010

Following the recent spending review outlined by the Chancellor of the Exchequer, George Osborne MP, the Labour group have been examining the figures and are calculating the ongoing effects for Hyndburn.

Cllr Joan Smith, portfolio holder for Finance at HBC, said, "The Chancellor's finance statement last Wednesday informed Local  Government that there would be further cuts in budgets for 2015/16. This means that budgets will have reduced by 60% since 2010. This year Hyndburn was one of 7 Local Authorities who had the largest cuts in percentage terms in funding from the government and it is becoming increasingly difficult to sustain high quality services in the face of the cuts. However the Labour administration is committed to providing the residents of Hyndburn with well-run front line services."

A BBC News report on the statement from Downing Street can be found here:

http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-politics-23053693

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