Clayton-le-Moors: Footbridge at Woodlands

A footbridge in Woodlands at Clayton-le-Moors recently had chicken wire fitted to it by HBC in order to prevent slippages but this has been damaged and is now loose.

Cllr Miles Parkinson has requested that this is repaired as soon as possible.

Baxenden: Successful wedding fair at The Haworth Art Gallery

Shown above is a report and photographs of the first 'in-house' Wedding Fair at the Haworth Art Gallery by the Co-ordinator, Yvonne Robins. The response from the exhibitors was excellent with bookings made for a variety of services - including another ceremony for the gallery itself!

LCC: Work begins on Pennine Reach in Rishton

Works on the Blackburn Road/Harwood Road/High Street junction at Rishton started on Monday 16th February and are expected to continue until mid-April 2015.

There are expected to be heavy volumes of traffic in the area and delays as a result of the works. The works will be carried out as quickly as possible in order to keep disruptions as low as possible.

The work includes minor road widening to improve the left turn from Harwood Road to High Street, resurfacing of the road at the junction and relocation of the southbound bus stop on Blackburn Road to move it further away from the junction.  These works will be carried out under three-way temporary signals.

During the works period Eachill Road will be closed from its junction with Blackburn Road to its junction with Noble Street for the entirety of the works. Mary Street will also be required to be closed for one week during the works, however it is not yet known when this will be. Both Mary Street and Eachill Road can be accessed via Haworth Street off Station Road or Knowles Street off Walmsley Street.

No bus stops in the area will be closed as part of these works, however the Southbound stop on Blackburn Road (stop no.2500156) will be removed during the works and replaced by a new stop further away from the junction. It is hoped that the new stop will be in place before the old stop is closed and removed from site.

HBC: Recycling calendar replaced with online version

The HBC recycling calendars will no longer be produced due to cutbacks within the Council as government grants have now been reduced to the authority by several million pounds a year and this will save tens of thousands from the Waste Services budget.

An online version has been produced instead and this can be downloaded direct from the HBC website by following this link and entering your postcode:

http://www.hyndburnbc.gov.uk/mycalendar

A simple A4 paper copy can be also requested from the Council by phoning 01254 388111.

The Rishton calendar for 2015 is shown above. Several dates are highlighted in red and should be noted as this indicates temporary alternative collection dates to accommodate bank holidays.

Pennine Lancashire Film Festival - March 2015

Excitement is building as the ninth annual Pennine Film Festival is set to start in March.

The week long festival, which has attracted interest from across the globe boasts an impressive line-up of film submissions, activities and guests that include the director of Flash Gordon and Get Carter, Mike Hodges.

Festival Director, Stephen Murphy said, “Our 9th Year is going to be the biggest and most exciting year. We are particularly looking forward to delivering events for so many different audiences. In particular, Mike Hodges will be special.”

Due to the rapid success of the premiere event, this year’s festival will be taking place across the town, with events being held at Accrington and Rossendale College, Accrington Town Hall, The Church of St James and Grants Bar.

A special screening of the iconic 1984 classic, Ghostbusters will be taking place at the Church of St James Church, Accrington. This free event, which is suitable for all the family will have stalls based around the film including meet the Ghostbusters and see the Ecto1 car.

If your more of a horror fan, A screening of cult classic The Exorcist will be taking place at Accrington Town Hall where guests will be able to enjoy the film alongside spooky cocktails.

There will also be a premiere showing of ‘A Pal’s Tale’, a Heritage Lottery funded film produced by students from AccRoss College about the heroic WW1 East Lancs Brigade, The Accrington Pals.

Owner of local filmmakers Shooters Media and former student Paul Coppack, who have had a big role in the development of this year’s festival explained; “Being a former student, I have seen the Pennine Film Festival grow year on year. Being able to be a part of this prestigious event has been a pleasure.”

Cllr Clare Cleary, Hyndburn Council’s Cabinet Member for Town Centres said;  “We are looking forward to being a part of the ninth annual Pennine Film Festival. The event has continuously thrived and this year’s is going to be no exception. It’s set to not only showcase the town of Accrington, but will also give aspiring filmmakers the chance to come and see what it’s all about as well as network with like-minded people. ”

For more information about the Pennine Film Festival including copies of the programme and ticket booking, please visit http://penninefilm.com

Spring Hill: Woodlands improvements on the way with £110,000 grant

A beautiful woodland area close to Accrington town centre is set to be improved, thanks to a
£110,000 grant from the Forestry Commission. Local people are invited to a drop in session on Tuesday 24th February, any time between 4pm and 8pm, at Globe Bowling Club, Bullough Park, off Willows Lane, Accrington to find out more about the planned improvements to the nearby woodlands.

 The woodland area, linking Bullough Park and Woodnook Vale and running right up the hillside to Rothwell Heights is one of the biggest woodland areas in the district, with spectacular views across the valley towards the Coppice and Hameldon Hill. It’s right on the doorstep of thousands of homes and the work there will make it much more accessible and attractive for residents and visitors to enjoy as a  network of surfaced footpaths will meander through the woods and a completely new path will link to a lovely riverside walk along Woodnook Water.

Other plans include woodland thinning and habitat enhancements to improve the condition of the woodlands along with new signage, waymarking and leaflets to help people find their way around.

Council Leader Cllr Miles Parkinson said, “This beautiful landscape is well used by local people already and we know there’s a lot more potential there.  The improvements will help everyone, including families with pushchairs and people with reduced mobility, to enjoy these attractive spaces. Everyone is welcome to the drop in session on 24th February and there’s also a programme of interesting activities for families and local volunteers to get involved, learn more about the area and have some fun, so please come along and see for yourself what it’s all about.”

The large investment is coming from a national organisation, the Forestry Commission, through the English Woodland Grant Scheme. Barnfield Councillor June Harrison has also secured £1,000 from Area Council funding to help towards this bid and assist with development at Royds Street.

Additional projects will be developed in the hope of attracting even more investment to this lovely area of the Borough.  Possibilities include an environmental education space at Rothwell Heights, a heritage project at the site of Woodnook Farm, near Rose Place, and more path linkages to key locations around the area.
The informal drop-in session will take place on Tuesday 24th February any time between 4pm and 8pm at Globe Bowling Club, Bullough Park, off Willows Lane, Accrington.

If you’d like more information about the project or to discuss your ideas, please contact Anne Hourican, Senior Environmental Initiatives Officer on 01254 388111 or anne.hourican@hyndburnbc.gov.uk

Clayton-le-Moors: Woodlands set for further improvements

Clayton Forest Park, the woodland area surrounding Wilson’s Playing Fields in Clayton-le-Moors, is set to be improved after the Council and Prospects Foundation secured around £150,000 in grants from the Forestry Commission and the Lancashire Environment Fund.

The money will fund a whole host of improvements there, including improvements to the footpaths to make them more accessible, installation of waymarking and interpretation boards along with improvements to the boundary and the woodland habitat.

In this first year of the two year project, work has started on tree thinning to decrease the overall tree density to allow sunlight to penetrate the canopy which in turn encourages the development of ground flora, which attracts more wildlife to the area.

Coppicing work will also take place, where most trees within the area will be cut to ground level, and their regrowth used to produce furniture, artwork, fencing, and charcoal. Watch out later in the year for a public charcoal making event to be organised by ‘Woody’ – a local community interest company.

The thinning work is done by horse logging, a traditional method of woodland management, used extensively throughout the country until mechanisation meant the use of larger and larger machines. The technique gently manipulates the ground surface which encourages the regrowth of seeds that have for many years been shaded out by the dense tree cover. Everyone is welcome to come along to public demonstrations of horse logging on the morning of Saturday 14th February.  However please note that no parking will be available on site, so it would be best if possible to travel to the site on foot.

Cllr Ken Moss, Cabinet Member for Leisure, said “This new funding boost is great news and will be used to carry out lots of improvements including making the area more accessible, by improving footpaths which was the biggest issue people talked about during public consultations in 2013 and 2014.”

For more information about the event this Saturday, or to get involved in volunteering in woodlands within Hyndburn, email philip.johnson@hyndburnbc.gov.uk