Barley Parish Council
Christmas, Thefts, Trees, Planning...
Well Xmas arrived when the Xmas lighting decorations arrived. We were able to get some new lights on the Village Hall which are a warm white glow and they do look well. The tree on the Turning Area looked great and the Santa & Sleigh on top of the bus shelter is a good centrepiece for the village. Thank you for all who made this happen and to the Women’s Institute for bringing festive lighting to the car park again. I must also add a “well done” to Newchurch who have done a great job with Xmas illuminations in their village centre.
For a second year Barley held a Christmas party for local children in the Chapel. A very impressive Father Xmas (John Connor) handed out presents and party games were played throughout the afternoon before Barley to Bethlehem. The weather on the day was very wet, but it fined up in time for the procession meaning there was another good attendance by residents. The Pendle Inn also hosted a pensioners and a children’s Xmas party adding to the festive spirit and the PC handed out gifts to Pensioners just before Xmas.
The toilet block improvement project had a further setback with a delay in the delivery of the new toilet cubicles, they arrived just too late to be fitted in both toilets so it will be early January before they are fully installed, at the same time as the new windows and the external cladding. We also suffered damage to the Gents toilet door by thieves trying to force their way in, I am sure they were not after the toilet paper in there, so I assume they thought the contractor had tools stored inside – the room was empty as the contractor does not leave any tools overnight as the premises are not habited. We are hoping the toilet project will be substantially completed and open by mid-January 2026, but some external pointing and painting may take a while longer depending on the weather.
If you are on Facebook, you will be aware that we have had a couple of recent visits from thieves leading to the theft of a quad bike from the foot of Pendle Hill and of tools from the village centre, plus damage to property as they tried to gain access to properties (such as the toilets above). I know many of you are vigilant and report suspicious vehicles on the residents Facebook page etc and that is great, but we could all do a bit more and make a note of any behaviours that seem shady or vehicles that seem shifty – it might help catch the culprits.
The PC have again undertaken works to remove dead trees and branches and have cut back more of the large laurel bushes on the car park area. Some of the laurels were particularly big, in excess of 15ft high, and in danger of toppling when it is windy. Our colleagues from Pendle BC spent a day on site and have removed a lot of dead or dying timber and the pruning will allow more light into the car park landscape allowing other plants to thrive.
Planning Matters – At the PC meeting we considered an application (25/0682/FUL) to convert an existing stable block to form 1No Dwelling House which will be linked to a previously approved, but not built, 2 storey garage and games room building (which the developer claims have extant consent from 2016) by a new build joining section. The combined property, within the grounds of the Grade II listed Whitehough Grange, will form a house with dimensions circa 28m x 7m. Members were somewhat confused by the developer’s application and could not come to an agreed understanding of what was proposed and thought detail was missing. Questions were raised with PBC, but no clarity received, so the PC stood neutral.
Planning was approved at the Pendle Inn for a single storey side extension and replacement of the conservatory. Planning was refused for an extension at Bollards Barn in Whitehough, by reason of scale and design causing damage to the Conservation Area.
The Chapel are still working on raising funds for the essential repairs for the building and an encouraging announcement is expected soon, let’s hope so.
On behalf of the Parish Council, I would like to wish everybody in the Parish a Happy, Healthy and Prosperous New Year.