Parish News

Our annual remembrance service graced us with a bright and clear day, and it was good to have over 50 people attending. It was wonderful to hear the brief histories of all those whose names appear on the Barley Memorial stone read out by Angela Hargreaves; where and when they died and how young they all were, brought to life the sacrifice they made for us. The local preacher Cath Heywood conducted the short service, and she laid a wreath on behalf of the Parish Council along with representatives of the armed forces, the Borough Council and the Pendle Inn who laid wreaths after the last post had been played on a bugle, with distinction, by our local man, Rod Wilson. Thank you to the chapel for providing tea and cakes for those retiring to the chapel after the service.

The work to improve the toilet block which was going well, soon hit setbacks as layers of the building were peeled back. The building is over 50 years old, and I doubt much maintenance happened in that period until the PC started this project to upgrade the building. Some things only become obvious once you have good access and it soon became apparent that the tiles, battens and felting were far beyond their best and one of the first instructions was to renew the roof followed by another instruction to replace the windows. Being positive we now have new roofs with long guarantees that should mean I will never have to worry about it again. The new windows will delay the project completion until January, but we plan to have the toilets fully open for Xmas.

Last month I reported the improvement works carried out to the access road to Whitehough. It looks great but the new surface could cause horses to slip and so the County Council has implemented an order to temporarily prohibit horses being either ridden or led over the Bridleway for a period of 6 months or until any necessary works are completed within this period.

At the PC we will be considering a planning application to convert a stable block at Whitehough Grange to form one dwelling – see Application 25/0682/FUL. If you have an interest you should respond to PBC by 9th December. The planning application for a glass conservatory at the rear of Meadow View on Barley Green was approved and the application for a two-storey side extension at Bollards Barn, Whitehough is still being considered after revised plans were submitted.

Thanks to everyone who supported the Curry/Quiz night fundraiser at the Village Hall. The next event is the children’s Christmas party (3pm) followed by Barley to Bethlehem (starting at 5pm at the car park), both to be held on Sunday 14 December.

Cross Lane Parking Enforcement update – the formal consultation process was completed on 24th October. LCC had reported that they had received several comments and all were supportive and so a Traffic Regulation Order will now go to LCC members for sign-off. Members will pay attention to the Officers Report and the public response to the consultation.

The village community was saddened to hear of the passing of Maureen Moles who recently lived on Beckside before moving to a care home in Clitheroe. She spent most of her life in Barley living at numerous homes under pendle and was well known to many residents. Our most sincere condolences are with her daughter Cheryl Davies of Narrowgates and the wider family.

I will finish by asking you all to drive carefully now that the winter has arrived. Whilst we will see the Gritters out and about, the road surface can still freeze before they arrive. And on our rural roads we suffer from water flooding across the roadway from wet fields and washing the salt off – then freezing to create ice patches that can be a real danger. Even if you have seen a Gritter, take care, there could be ice just around the corner.

On behalf of the Parish Council, I would like to wish everybody in the Parish a Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year.