Accrington: George Slynn Bus Station now open!

Accrington’s new £6.4 million ‘George Slynn’ bus station has been officially opened. Councillors past and present joined with dignitaries and relatives of George Slynn to commemorate the opening of the long awaited transport terminal on Crawshaw Street.

Hyndburn Council leader Miles Parkinson said he was delighted that the town can now boast a ‘fit for purpose’ station.

He said: “We had some senior councillors from a number of years who are no longer on the council and can remember the long wish to have a proper bus station within the town. We would’ve liked to have had lovely summer weather but it was a day of heavy rain.

“However it makes the point that people previously had to queue in the wet and windy weather under a shelter which didn’t give them much protection. Now we have a modern purpose-built bus station in the heart of the town to bring people in.”

The station, which began operating yesterday, is open seven days a week and the facilities include free wi-fi, information desks, public toilets, bus and train timetable displays, interactive journey planners and support for the deaf or visually impaired.

Coun Parkinson said the station is the first piece of a ‘multi-million pound’ jigsaw of investment for the town centre over the next two years.

He said: “Shortly the new police station will be opening on Broadway, we will then be moving forward with public realm works along Blackburn Road and Peel Street an engaging with businesses and stakeholders in the area to come up with the final plans for the dedication of a square to the Accrington Pals.

“This is one part of a multi-million investment in the town and we will continue investing in the next 28 months.

“Of course we can’t provide everything and it’s up to residents where they chose to shop and chose to go and spend their money but we are doing our utmost to work with all the key stakeholders.”

The bus station was named in memory of former Great Harwood councillor and transport campaigner George Slynn.

Coun Parkinson said: “George’s brother Jimmy and his wife Denise were there which was very poignant.

"Being a non-motor vehicle driver George travelled extensively by public transport and it’s only fitting that the bus station which he long wanted for the town is named after him.”

The new bus station is part of the £40 million Pennine Reach public transport scheme which aims to improve transport links between Accrington and Blackburn.

County Councillor John Fillis said: "Accrington's new bus station will make a real difference to the town, offering passengers a comfortable place to wait for their bus and, with the train station being much closer, making it much quicker for people to switch modes as they travel across the area.

"The new bus stations in Accrington and Blackburn, combined with the numerous improvements to bus shelters and traffic signal junctions along the Pennine Reach corridor represent a vastly enhanced public transport network for the wider Hyndburn and Blackburn with Darwen areas.

"The introduction of new bus lanes, bus priority measures, and all the fantastic technology that can be seen inside both Blackburn and Accrington Bus Stations really has brought the bus network in this area into the 21 Century.

"The overall aim of Pennine Reach is to help kick start the regeneration of these East Lancashire towns and already that can be seen in both Accrington and Blackburn with heritage initiatives aiming to improve large areas of the town centres.

"This creates the conditions to attract further commercial investment to really transform the area and people's opportunities.

"Whilst the bus stations are the most visible aspect of the Pennine Reach project, the wide range of investments which have resulted from the scheme really do make this a far reaching project which will benefit East Lancashire for many years to come."

Oswaldtwistle Civic Theatre: The Giant's Loo Roll - Saturday 6th August, 2.00pm

Look out for the biggest loo roll ever on stage in this GIANT of a children’s musical.

The villagers living in the town below the Giant’s house had better watch out, that loo roll has gone bouncing down the hill and straight towards them! Luckily, the townsfolk find lots of uses for runaway loo paper – one sheet provides a huge canvas for an artist, a tailor uses another to fill her shop with paper pants and a school class makes a huge dart that can fly. But what about the Giant himself – doesn’t he need any loo paper? The townspeople have an answer for that, too!

Watch out for some frightened sheep, lots of excited children and a fantastic amount of toilet paper in this rip roaring new musical by TaleGate Theatre Productions.

This musical has been put together by the team than brought you the festive musical ‘Father Christmas Needs a Wee!’ which has seen success in a sell out run at the Edinburgh Fringe Festival and a sell out UK Tour. With ‘The Giant’s Loo Roll’ TaleGate Theatre Productions have yet again hit the perfect combination of witty humour, fantastic music and the extra sparkle for which they have become known in this fabulously funny and brilliantly bouncy musical adaptation of Nicholas Allan’s much loved book.

Tickets: Adults £12, Kids £9, Family £38

Rishton: Methodist Church Pet Service - 24th July 2016

A special church service will be conducted on Sunday 24th July at Rishton Methodist Church for pets. All residents are invited to bring their pets along for a blessing to the service which starts at 10.30am at the church on Albert Street.

For more detail please ring 01254 491850.

Scam Awareness Month

Scams Awareness Month 2016 (SAM16) aims to create a confident community of consumers; people who get timely advice from trusted sources; people who report scams and share their experiences so that others can benefit.

Scams are not a minor inconvenience; they cause distress and misery, they ruin lives in some cases and , even where the losses are comparatively low, they lead to widespread loss of consumer confidence.

Throughout July, local Citizens Advice and Trading Standards Services together with other partners will aim to get the key messages out to consumers across the County.

As part of this awareness raising it would be really useful if you could circulate the information in this email to any of your staff/contacts who may come into contact with vulnerable clients who may be at risk from scams.

The information in the attached booklet is of use to both clients and to the staff members who may work with them. Ideally we would like a version of the attached poster to be displayed in relevant offices and reception areas to encourage reporting of scams by victims or their friends and relatives.

There is further information about the campaign at

https://www.citizensadvice.org.uk/about-us/campaigns/current_campaigns/scams-awareness-month/

There will be regular features about scams on our Trading Standards Facebook page – Scambuster Stan

https://www.facebook.com/StanleyDards

HBC: Summer Fun 2016

A booklet packed with fun activities for children and young people to enjoy in Hyndburn over the summer will be given out to all pupils in Hyndburn schools soon.

The booklet, produced by Hyndburn Borough Council, in partnership with the Hyndburn, Rossendale and Ribble Valley’s Children’s Partnership Board and Lancashire’s Children and Young People’s Trust has a whole host of things to keep young people entertained over the summer; including swimming, badminton, table tennis, performing arts, gymnastics and free running.

The booklet provides a calendar with hundreds of activities for children and young people to take part in over the summer holidays. Featuring the Quid a Kid Club at Hyndburn Leisure Centre, drama projects at the Civic Arts Centre plus a range of activities for younger children.

Councillor Ken Moss, Cabinet Member for Children, Young People and Families said; “The Summer Fun Brochure is back once again to help keep you happy, active and busy over the summer break. We are delighted to be able to produce this handy booklet again and whatever you’re into we’re sure that there’s something for everyone to enjoy.”

The Summer Fun Booklet will also be available to collect at libraries, children’s centres, leisure centres and other public buildings.

Somme Commemorations 2016

Council Leader, Cllr Miles Parkinson, today thanked everyone who attended and all those involved in planning last week’s Somme Centenary Commemorations in the Borough.

Council Leader, Cllr Miles Parkinson, said: “The Pals’ huge bravery and sacrifice and that of their comrades who fought and fell in World War One, must never be forgotten, it was wonderful that so many people came along to the many commemorative events which took place across the Borough to mark the centenary of the Accrington Pals' devastating losses and to mark the sacrifice of all those who fell in the Great War.”

Somme Commemoration events included the March to the Front, replicating the march of the Accrington Pals to the front on 30 June 1916. Part of this event was 'Falling'- a stunning visual art performance at 7pm in Oakhill Park, featuring local people representing the Accrington Pals.

The Pals Memorial in Accrington was the site of a number of poignant and moving commemorative events. A candle lit vigil was held by the Royal British Legion on the eve of the Battle of the Somme Centenary, followed the morning after by a Civic Commemoration, led by Rev Ian Enticott, to mark one hundred years since the Pals went 'over the top'. The whistle was blown at 7.30am by Corporal Oliver Gillibrand of the 4th Battalion Duke of Lancaster’s Regiment.

A similar service, led by lay reader Cllr Judith Addison, took place at the Pals memorial in Serre, France at the same time. It was attended by the Mayor Cllr Tim O’Kane and Mayoress Mrs Melanie Storey and a party including members of the Great War Society, nine year old Emily-Rose Hughes, representing the Royal British Legion and six year old Luke Holmes, the grandson of Pals Historian Walter Holmes and great, great nephew of Accrington Pal, Walter Holmes.

Cllr O’Kane said, “The service on the Somme was poignant and well attended. We could hear the skylarks singing and moving about at the start of the service and you could have heard a pin drop when the whistles sounded to advance into no man’s land.”

Lois Broderick laid a wreath at the Commemoration and later read names of the Pals at the roll call in honour of her father, the late Bill Turner, renowned historian and author of many books about the Pals.

Jeremy Harvard, who had travelled from Australia for the Commemorations laid a wreath in honour of his Grandfather, Accrington Pal, Sgt George Haynes, at the Civic Commemoration and also read his name at the roll call.

Jeremy said; “It was a very touching and poignant ceremony, sending us a message from the past that we can take to the future. We need to keep their memory alive.”

Cllr Parkinson added; The Pals centenary events were a chance for everyone, to recognise and commemorate the Pals and their sacrifice and their place in the borough’s rich history, so it’s great that so many people came along and supported the events.

Cllr Parkinson concluded; “The commemoration events are the result of a lot of hard work of Council staff, the Royal British Legion and volunteers involved with the Accrington Pals Centenary Commemorations Group, which is made up of members of the community including Pals experts; historians; local craftspeople; people involved in drama; local voluntary groups and the Council, and a huge thank you should go to them.”

EU Referendum: Hyndburn results by ward

A full list of the results of Hyndburn voting in the EU referendum has been released by the Returning Officer and can be seen in the table above.