Great British Spring Clean

As a consequence of the foul weather the annual village Spring Clean organised by FORA, originally arranged for 4th March, was postponed to the following weekend. Even so the event was well supported by villagers and a huge amount of litter collected. Thanks to all involved.

Planning appeal

We learned recently that the planning appeal to extend Pendle Leisure Park to provide additional caravan plots has been dismissed. The proposal was to extend the site towards the south-east which would have meant much greater visual intrusion into the Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty. The Parish Council submitted a strong objection to the proposal and it is pleasing to see that the Planning Inspector agreed with our concerns.

Footpath Repairs

Attempts to repair a key local footpath route have made some progress. The route in question runs along the west bank of Pendle Water and is an important link between Roughlee and Barley. It is heavily used by both local people and visitors. The section between Thoneytholme (in Roughlee) and Whitehough (in Barley) has suffered major collapse in three areas due to the river undermining the retaining walls and repairs could well be costly. There are a number of bodies involved in looking after this route with the danger that nobody takes responsibility and nothing happens. To make progress we have suggested a joint approach with Barley Parish Council. This has been well received and is being supported by Councillor James Starkie. The aim is to bring together the responsible bodies and potential funders to put together a package which will see the footpath repaired.

Council tax & Annual Meeting of the Parish

Most of you will have received your Council Tax demand from Pendle Borough Council. This includes the precept for your Parish services. The aim this year was to achieve a stand-still budget which has resulted in a modest decrease in the precept charge for Roughlee. For future years the Parish Council intend to review our level of services and improvement schemes at an earlier stage of the budget cycle. The Annual Meeting of the Parish (reminder, 11th June 2018) is your opportunity to engage with this process.

— Andrew Walker – Chair, Roughlee Parish Council