Roughlee Parish Council
Vacancies, school, Parish Gathering and a fond farewell...
As previously announced local council elections will be held on 4th May. The existing seven members of the Parish Council have all indicated their wish to stand again and as the Council now has places for nine members and there were no new nominations the existing Parish Councillors have been reappointed to serve. This does mean that there are vacancies for a further two Councillors and we would welcome expressions of interest from interested villagers.
As this will be a busy period following the elections and the Coronation weekend, the formal Annual Meeting of the Parish Council will not take place until 18th May. This Annual Meeting will appoint the Chair and Vice-Chair of Council for the coming year.
The other key date to note is the Parish Gathering to be held on 3rd July. The Gathering is open to all villagers and will include a number of presentations on items of local interest followed by wine and snacks and entertainment by The Real Village People. So far we have arranged presentations by FORA, the Bay Horse, the Village Centre Committee, details of the village pantomime, a talk by Claire Milligan about local sheepskin and wool products and one by Mid-Pennine Arts on the Pendle Radicals; the nonconformists and radical thinkers of Pendle Hill. We look forward to a great turnout for what should be an interesting and entertaining evening.
Meanwhile activities in the village continue apace. The Village Centre Committee has a great programme of events beginning with the Coronation Weekend. Please look out for publicity details. The FORA group is now back in full swing sprucing up the village and preparing for the Best Kept Village Competition. We now know that visits from the competition judges will take place in June and July with a final visit on 22nd / 23rd August.
Representatives of the Parish Council were recently privileged to visit Roughlee School to hear about the works currently taking place and intended. The extension to the side of the school will provide space for pre-school and after-school activities. This should help to spread drop off and collection times and hopefully reduce traffic congestion. In due course a canopy over the football pitch will also be installed.
The Parish Council representatives also visited the site of the proposed house behind Crowtrees Cottages. The proposal is for a large single house intended for a couple who have strong local links with the village. Although the decision on the application will be taken by the Borough Council the Parish Council can comment on the proposal. After discussion with applicants the Parish Council have suggested a number of changes which will be considered.
Finally, as mentioned above, the Annual Meeting of the Parish Council will appoint the Chair for the coming year. Having been Chairman for some seven years I have decided that I will not stand again although I do intend to remain on the Council. So I would like to sign off my final Parish News with a thank you for all of the support I have received over many years from my fellow Parish Councillors, from Jon Bailey our financial officer but especially to our Clerk, Mary Reed, who works so hard and has helped me enormously in what has been a rewarding but sometimes difficult job. Good luck to all for the future.