Barley Parish Council
Village Hall improvements, Playground, Pendle Inn...
Over the last month, visitors to Barley Village Hall will have noticed the new wooden panelling works that have now been completed in the lower main hall. This is part of the Committee’s ongoing improvements to the Hall, and the second project to be completed after the new air conditioning that was installed in the two main rooms. The work was completed by Andrew Read Bespoke Joinery Ltd who did a fantastic job from start to finish. We hope you all agree that it looks superb!
The next phases of our improvement plan will include some new flooring in the downstairs corridors and new lighting throughout. We can’t do this work without our dedicated Committee Members. We are only a small committee consisting of 5 members. We all give a few hours a month to help manage and maintain the Hall and we are always looking for new helpers, especially for some of the bigger projects we have planned – if you think you can help out, we meet every first Tuesday of the month at 7pm, at the Hall.
The Parish Council held a pre-letting meeting with Kompan Ltd last week to discuss the final details of the design, prices and contract terms and conditions etc. All went well and the Council has now entered in to a formal contract to refurbish the playground and works are expected to start in May.
The rebuilding of a masonry wall next to the Cabin was completed in March. The wall was in a poor and dangerous condition in parts but it is now restored to a stable and attractive boundary wall with new stone copings. Funding was provided jointly by Pendle BC and the Parish Council who managed the project. Some repairs have also been completed to two other short sections of wall that had collapsed on the car park.
It came as a surprise, but Thwaites have now put the Pendle Inn up for sale. They took over the pub in January 2020 just before Covid started to put the pub trade through a long period of turmoil. However, I for one was optimistic that Thwaites would start to invest in this popular venue and bring it up to the standard of other pubs in its portfolio that are in tourist locations. That is not to be, so we must wait and see who the new owners will be.
Finally, the Council wishes Bernard Kirk a speedy recovery and return home and please be advised that there is a Fell Race in Barley on Saturday 6 April centred around the Village Hall – it will be a busy day for traffic and visitors.