7th July 2010
HOSEPIPE BAN ANNOUNCED
Source: United Utilities

We have announced that we will impose a hosepipe ban following the driest start to a year since its records began. It is the first hosepipe ban in the North West for 14 years.

The ban will come into force on Friday July 9 at 6am.

More...

4th July 2010
BANKS PARK
Reported By: Cllr David Vickers

Readers may be aware that Banks village has been allocated £104,000 of ‘106 monies’ to create a park on the Hesketh Avenue open space.

The project will be overseen by a working group made up of Charles Evans, Jimmy O’Hare, John Baldock and Cathy Marland from the Parish Council, Sheila Bond, a village resident and Julie Lathom of the Residents’ Group.

The company Groundworks Ltd have been engaged as project managers at a cost of approx £14,000 leaving £90,000 to spend on the park.

Consultations will start on the 13th July with a presentation being given to the two primary schools and the consultation will continue with public and private meetings to ensure that everyone in the village has the chance to put their views forward as to what should be in the park. It would appear that youth of the village have shown great initiative by jumping the gun somewhat and approaching us with their proposals. Good for them!

It is hoped that the consultation will not only bring ideas for content of the park, but ideas as to how we can ‘stretch’ the money allocated by donations of trees, benches etc. Although the project is being overseen by the Parish Council it is not a council project. This park belongs to the village not the Parish Council or the Borough Council.

Please respond to the consultation and make this a park we can be proud of!

Ideas can be dropped into the Community Centre on Hoole lane, emailed to bankslink@btconnect.com, or given to any member of the controlling group.

9th June 2010
Rufford Tip To Close
Source: BBC

Lancashire County Council has announced the closure of Rufford recycling centre.

A total of four recycling centres are set to close; Langho, Padiham, Rufford and at Everest Road in St Annes in a bid to save £1m every year.

Councillor Geoff Driver said it should not lead to rubbish being dumped illegally as several other recycling sites are nearby. He said: "The average person goes to one of these centres between one and three times a year. "The fact that they might have to go an extra three, four or even five miles to a site is not going to lead them to fly-tip." More...

21st May 2010
SCHOOL ANNOUNCES SWIMMING POOL REFURBISHMENT PLANS
Source: Tarleton High School Press Release

Tarleton High School’s popular swimming pool will be given a much needed refurbishment this summer.

A major water leak had threatened the closure of the pool due to the cost of the repairs needed. The school has worked closely with Lancashire County Council’s Property Group to jointly fund the refurbishment that will cost over £250,000.

The Hesketh Lane school pool closes on Sunday 30th May with the works continuing through the summer. The pool has a target reopening date in early September if everything goes to plan. Most of the work will be underground and so will not be obvious to swimmers.

The refurbishment includes; excavating the existing pipe work on the pool side and replacing it, replacing the filters, pumps and pipe work in the plant room and retiling the pool itself. This will stop the water leak, increase the water quality for bathers and reduce the energy costs by making use of available technologies. The swimming pool is used for swimming lessons by hundreds of children from the surrounding areas and is a valuable local resource in an area surrounded by waterways and canals.

In addition, local swimming clubs and groups use the facility for training. The pool is also popular with locals who can hire the pool for swimming parties or use the pool during the public access sessions.

14th May 2010
ORMSKIRK MARKET DAY BUS SERVICE TRIAL
Source: Hubmaker Media

It has been decided to introduce a Thursdays Only bus service to for a trial period of three months starting Thursday 3rd June:

BANKS Hoole Lane 0930
HESKETH BANK Shore/Chapel Roads 0938
TARLETON Cock & Bottle 0945
MERE BROW Legh Arms 0951
HOLMESWOOD Methodist Church 0956
RUFFORD Hesketh Arms 0959
BURSCOUGH War Memorial 1005
ORMSKIRK Bus Station 1015

The return journey will leave Ormskirk around 1300-1330 allowing for approximately 3 hours in Ormskirk.

The service is a trial and the uptake will be assessed. The continued operation of the service is estimated to need a minimum of 15-20 passengers on the service.

12th May 2010
TRADING STANDARDS WARNING - INTERCOM SALES
Source: Lancashire County Council Trading Standards Service

Please be advised that a number of complaints are being received relating to cold calling by men selling intercoms systems to residents of sheltered accommodation and local authority housing throughout the Leyland, Preston, Lancaster and Burnley/ Pendle areas.

Various reports have been received and there are believed to be two companies currently operating in this way. One company, which gives a Blackpool address, advises residents that the cost of the intercoms is usually £80 but will cost £40 if purchased through the Council. Sometimes residents believe the intercoms are linked to police schemes, or to their housing provider, none of which is true.

A second set of two salesmen, sometimes giving Lancaster addresses, are operating in the east of the county and appear to be charging around £250 for intercoms systems. Residents are led to believe the company is connected with the housing provider and are shocked at then having to pay. Please be aware these companies have no official links, the products may not work, and damage may be caused to doors etc when a drill is used during the fitting.

We would be grateful to receive any further intelligence on these salemen, especially if they are currently trading in an area. Please refer any complaints to Lancashire Trading Standards Service, 55 Guildhall Street, Preston, Lancs PR1 3NU via Consumer Direct tel 08454 040506 and ask them to pass the information to trading standards straight away. If there is any fraud or criminal damage the matter should also be referred to the police.

24th March 2010
BNP TO STAND FOR ELECTION
Source: Champion News

The British National Party has announced that BNP activisit Rosalind Gauci will be fighting for the South Ribble seat, which covers the Banks, Hesketh Bank and Tarleton areas, at this year's election. More...

25th February 2010
GREENFIELD HOUSING ProposAL
Source: Ormskirk Advertiser

West Lancashire Council is looking to allow more housing in rural settlements and provide more affordable homes. The new policy aims to maintain a five year supply of housing land as required by the Government.

It proposes that housing development will be allowed on brownfield sites of any size, and on greenfield sites for up to 10 units in the following villages: Tarleton, Up Holland, Parbold, Hesketh Bank, Banks, Appley Bridge, Halsall Village, Haskayne, Newburgh, Rufford, on New Cut Lane and Segars Lane (Halsall), Brown Edge (Scarisbrick) and Tontine.

Other plan policies will remain the same, for example the very tight restrictions on new development in the Green Belt. The greenfield sites are sites that have not been built on previously but are within or adjacent to exisiting developments. More...

15th February 2010
SCAM UPDATE
Source: Lancashire Trading Standards

Residents are advised that there are several scams and possible unfair practices hitting Lancashire at the moment.  

South Ribble- consumers have complained about a cold caller who phones, saying that he is from British Telecom, and that he is offering a new service called "Do Not Call".  For a one off payment of £9.95 the consumer can take advantage of a life-long service banning cold calls.   Financial information to pay for this service is then requested over the telephone.  Consumers are warned that these phone calls are not made on behalf of BT, and asked not to give personal information to companies they do not know over the phone.

South Ribble, West Lancs- "Supporting Arms" bags have been left for collection at various locations, asking for unwanted goods.  These are not left on behalf of a registered charity, and unfortunately the collections sometimes coincide the collection of other bags left by properly registered charities.  Please be aware that the profits from sales of goods given to such companies as Supporting Arms are likely to go to support private businesses rather than charitable enterprises. 

Throughout Lancashire- consumers selling goods on ebay are warned that after notification by ebay that a sale has been successful, you may receive a fake email, very official in appearance and purporting to be from Paypal, requesting that you post the item and send them the tracking number.  The email states that payment has been received but is in a holding account till paypal receives the requested information, at which point they will release the money.  Believing that the email is genuine, the seller then posts the item abroad, only to find later that the paypal email is fake when no payment is received.   Please be very careful when sending any goods abroad, especially to Africa where many of these scams originate.

Throughout Lancashire- Businesses, schools and nursing homes across the county are being warned to watch out for bogus invoices that claim to be from directory publisher Yell in relation to its products and services.  The warning comes after a number of complaints, including one from an Accrington primary school that recently received a bogus £500 invoice. The scammers seek to mislead Yell customers into signing up to fake advertising contracts which sometimes result in repeated requests for payment by phone. Some people may be duped into thinking they are taking out Yell advertising or renewing existing advertising programmes. Bogus order forms are sent by e-mail or fax and contain look-alike "Yellow Pages" branding. Customers who return the form subsequently receive invoices and requests for payment. Some have even received threatening telephone calls. In one instance, scammers set up copycat websites resembling Yell.com. Yell customers should be particularly alert to any correspondence they receive containing contact or bank account details in Holland or Germany. Some of the names to beware of are:
• Yellow Page UK or Yellow Page AG, which displays an inverted "walking fingers" logo.
• Yellow Pages 24.
• UK Yellow Guide.
Anyone receiving contact from these traders or anyone similar should ignore any order forms and should not pay any invoices.

Throughout Lancashire-  Another lottery scam apparently based in Italy- the name given is Chic Express, giving an address in Piemonte- the unsolicited letters claim the consumer has won £66,000 but needs to send a £20 administration fee in the envelope provided.  The letters purport to come from Collins & Partners Practice, so-called experts in security & financial transfers.

Residents are strongly advised never to give out personal bank details in response to an unsolicited call or mailing.

Please refer any complaints to Lancashire Trading Standards Service, 55 Guildhall Street, Preston, Lancs PR1 3NU via Consumer Direct tel 08454 040506. If there is any loss of money the matter should also be referred to the police.

Warning issued by Dawn Robinson, Lancashire County Council Trading Standards Service, please call 01772 532763 for further information.

17th January 2010
COMMUNITY WORKS TOGETHER ON GRIT CHALLENGE
Source: Hubmaker Media

North Meols Parish Council teamed up with community spirited local businesses and residents to solve the snow clearance problem in Banks.

Whilst the residents and parish council are aware that snow clearance is the responsibility of Lancashire County Council they also recognised that the County Council would not have the resources to clear the roads of Banks let alone the footpaths.

The parish council sourced the grit and ordered 20 tonnes for immediate delivery and also passed a motion to authorise the purchase of 10 grit bins that will be sited conveniently around the parish. The £3,697 + Vat bill for the grit and the bins was taken from the Parish Council ‘environmental projects’ budget.

Mr Godfrey Crook offered the use of a spreader, small tractor and driver and facilities to store the grit. Mr Bill Abram, chairman of the resident’s group, then came up with two more spreaders, one from Baxters, and several volunteers to spread the grit.

Dr David Vickers, Chairman of North Meols Parish Council, said "We recognise that as there is a high proportion of more mature people in the village and we have a responsibility to ensure their safety when out and about. It was for this reason we took the decision to source the grit and do the job ourselves."

"The whole exercise is a joint partnership between local business, the resident’s group and the parish council all working together for the benefit of the village."

"We hope that LCC will supply us with more grit through the summer months so we can be ready if we have another winter like this one. We also need details of anyone else who is willing to help with the spreading should the need arise".

10th January 2010
SCHOOL CLOSURES UPDATE
Source: Hubmaker Media

Tarleton High School will open on Monday 11th January for ALL PUPILS. Parents are asked to ensure the conditions of opening are observed.

8th January 2010
SCHOOL CLOSURES UPDATE
Source: Hubmaker Media

Tarleton High School will open on Monday 11th January for year 11 pupils.

The suituation regarding school opening for years 7, 8, 9 and 10 TBA

7th January 2010
SCHOOL CLOSURES UPDATE
Source: Hubmaker Media

Tarleton High School will be closed on Friday and a decision on opening next Monday will be advised as soon as possible.

7th January 2010
BORROW ATTACKS HOON IN LEADERSHIP ROW
Source: Hubmaker Media

Two former Cabinet ministers, Mr Hoon and Ms Hewitt, have called for a Labour leadership contest claiming that unless the issue of the leadership was resolved, it could undermine Labour's general election campaign.

In a reply to the email South Ribble MP David Borrow responded:

"Dear Geoff,

Thank you for your e-mail. I am very disappointed and I disagree with you in every detail. I do not believe that the Parliamentary Labour Party is divided over the question of leadership, other than by a very few malcontents. I did not expect you to have become one of them.

Any leadership ballot (whatever the result) would be seized upon with glee by our political enemies and be immensely damaging to the Labour Party and our prospects at the forthcoming election. I believe you and Patricia have misjudged the mood in the PLP and I feel there is no pressure for a ballet only months before the General Election.

I would suggest, for the best interests of the Labour Party and your Parliamentary colleagues, that you now provide us all with a period of silence until after the next election."

6th January 2010
FURTHER SCHOOL CLOSURE ANNOUNCED
Source: Hubmaker Media

Tarleton High School have announced they will remain closed tomorrow, Thursday the 7th January.

5th January 2010
SNOW JOKE FOR BRETHERTON SKIER
Source: Mirror.co.uk

Bretherton's Dave Ryding might be one of our big skiing hopes for this year's Winter Olympics in Vancouver - but he isn't happy when the snow began to fall in Britain.

He grumbled: "I wanted a break from my normal routine - I did not want to see any snow."

"I'm sick of the stuff. I was slipping all over the place. Transport was carnage.

Dave, 23, spends several months of the year training in Austria and is now rated as the British No.1 for slalom. More....

If you have anything to report in or around Banks and Crossens let us know! Please email us with your news, events or articles.

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