Baku Eurovision 2012?

Baku Lounge


Baku, the land of fire and silk, the host city for Eurovision 2012, the scientific, cultural and industrial centre of Azerbaijan, or is it a bar on the A49, Charnock Richard?

Baku Lounge, which is planning to be the latest venue at the Hunters Lodge, is advertising that it will be opening on 22 June. With some more careful planning the opening night could have coincided with the final of the Eurovision Song Contest and an opportunity for a Eurovision party on 26 May has been missed!

The Hunters Lodge, many years ago

Whilst not obvious from the outside I have been told that a considerable amount of refurbishment has taken place inside, my opinion is that it will be good to see the building being used once again and any renovation can only improve the appearance of the building. Hopefully the venture will be successful and will contribute to, rather than adversely affecting, the community.

There has been some speculation and concern over the licence application which is for 24/7 eating, drinking and dancing and several concerned residents have contacted me, including one resourceful person who, thanks to the wonders of social media, tracked me down at my desk at work. I have contacted Baku and they have stated that plans are to be open Friday and Saturday evening and on a Sunday, so not 24/7, though specific times have not been provided. The times advertised for the opening event are 19:00 to 02:00 so it is possible that these might be the evening opening hours.

Having had discussions with the Public Protection Officer at Chorley Council a 24/7 application provides the proprietor with the greatest opportunity to make the venture a success, as the opening hours will be dictated by economics. The officer was adamant that any breach of the licence conditions will be treated seriously and action will be taken, with a 24/7 licence the conditions are the same regardless of the time of day.

Anyone with any comments to make (in support of, or opposition to the application) can do so, by contacting Chorley Council please note that any objection must relate to the licensing objectives and include facts not supposition of what might happen. The Department for Culture Media and Sport (DCMS) “Guidance issued under section 182 of the Licensing Act 2003 Consolidated Version published 10 December 2009” is relevant and is linked here.

There remains much rumour over the exact type of venue this might be, I know no more than anyone else and can only go off the licence application. Whilst not directly connected to this application, the same applicant intended to renovate New Southworth Hall (which many will remember as Campions) on Cuerdale Lane, Samlesbury, into an Upmarket Cocktail Lounge called Baku and gained Listed Building Consent in 2010 for a single storey extension to the rear, formation of a covered seating area and outdoor area enclosed by a 3.2m high perimeter wall (07/2010/0356/LBC), for whatever reason this has not happened and the property has since been sold.

Baku not, in this instance, the largest city on the Caspian Sea but a bar on the A49 in Charnock Richard and hopefully in harmony with the community, not causing residents to be fired up but running smooth as silk.

http://www.homeoffice.gov.uk/publications/alcohol-drugs/alcohol/guidance-section-182-licensing

http://www.chorley.gov.uk/index.aspx?articleid=2398

Make It Happen

Heskin Skatepark

Enjoying a short family break in Portstewart, last week meant that I, unfortunately, missed the meeting of Heskin Parish Council where the request for a Skatepark on the Meadows, close to the football pitch, was considered. From what I have been told, the decision made at the meeting was to send the request to Chorley Borough Council to determine costs and availability of grant funds.

Disappointed does not describe how I feel, as this is not good enough. The proposal will need to be sponsored by the Parish Council, as they lease the land off Chorley Borough Council. I would have expected that a Parish sponsor would be needed and that there would have been at least one member of the Parish Council willing to put themselves forward to identify costs and determine what grant funding may be available (including such as land fill grant aid and section 106 monies). I have offered to do the work on behalf of the Parish Council, however my offer has been ignored, which I find frustrating as the suggestion will improve the area and will provide a facility to encourage children, especially teenagers, to be fit and healthy. I just hope that Heskin Parish Council has the impetus to make this happen, or at least try and I hope that a Parish Council content with a football pitch having only one set of goals, has the energy to invest some time in trying to satisfy this request from a young resident. The words of the song Make It Happen, by Selena Gomez, are pertinent here.

In the meantime I have offered to set up a service to transport people from Heskin to Coppull, Eccleston or any other venue, to use existing skateparks, this requires a community effort and parents’ support, the offer is there and hopefully it will prove successful.

Traffic Regulation Orders

Two Traffic Regulation Orders, affecting Chisnall Ward, are currently being advertised by Lancashire County Council.

One of these is to introduce “No Waiting At Any Time” just north of St John’s School on the A49 in Coppull.

Typical Parking at the Church Lane Charter Lane Junction

The other being to introduce junction protection measures at the junction of Charter Lane and Church Lane, in Charnock Richard, which is the result of an issue I raised with Lancashire County Council in June of last year. People park their vehicles right on the junction causing congestion, restricting line of sight and generally contributing to an unsafe situation for children attending both school and Pre-School.

Footpath Diversion

An application for diversion of footpaths 10 and 11 Charnock Richard which pass through Crook Fold Farm, Brook Lane in Charnock Richard has been submitted to Lancashire County Council. Looking at the plans submitted with the proposal, if approved, this will divert a path away from the applicant’s residential property which seems reasonable as it will improve their privacy, however the path moves closer to another property, which is perhaps not so reasonable, time to walk the dog and have a look.

Planning matters related to Chisnall Ward are covered in my blog Chisnall Planning www.chisnallplanning.blogspot.com

Sun Sun Sun

Portstewart Northern Ireland

The Easter school holiday break coincided with a respite in formal council meetings so we went on a short break to Portstewart in Northern Ireland, which also turned out to be the week of the 100th anniversary that the Titanic set sail and sank. We set off early on the morning of the ferry crossing (11 April) to allow for several stops to feed Frank, these were not required as he slept all the way to the Little Chef at Collin, then again from there to Cairnryan, where we were the first to arrive at the port. The ferry crossing from Cairnryan to Belfast was uneventful and we arrived safely in Portstewart, being greeted by the Nicholl family around 8pm, after stopping off, for our evening meal, at the York.

Being April we were uncertain of what the weather would throw at us, it turned out that the weather was superb, blue sky, sunshine and little wind for the entire five night visit, still a tad chilly mind. Other than a walk through the woods at Downhill from Castlerock, where Frank enjoyed looking up into the trees, and a visit to Ballycastle, we spent all our time on White Rocks Beach and the Portstewart Strand play area, as that is what Roxanne wanted to do. Roxanne thoroughly enjoyed herself as she paddled in the sea, climbed up and slid down the large sand hill, dug holes and made sandcastles on White Rocks Beach and played on the swings and in the sand at Portstewart Strand play area, Roxanne was pleased to see Anna once again and they spent much time talking and giggling.

Roxanne and Frank at White Rocks Beach

One thing Gill commented on was the amount of dog fouling on the pavements and in public places, though people did, generally, tidy up after their dogs on White Rocks Beach. Confirmation, as if was needed, that this is a national problem and more so in Portstewart and Castlerock (Coleraine Borough) than in Charnock Richard, Heskin or Coppull West. A further issue was the parking of vehicles blocking dropped curbs, something I would probably not have noticed had we not been pushing a pram.

2012 is the 21st year that I have been going to Portstewart, staying at Chez Nous (1 Victoria Terrace), with Mervyn, Sharon, Richard, Anna and Grandad (who I think is called Tommy and I know is 89 years old), with my first trip being for the North West 200 motorcycle road races in 1991. I think this was my most enjoyable trip to date, good company, good food, with the food in The York, The Ice House and Shenanigans being as good as ever, with top of these three being The Ice House. The weather was faultless, especially considering the time of year. We would go more often were it not for the ferry cost being high and the travelling (especially home) being tiring. Portstewart has changed significantly in these 21 years, Bed and Breakfast and hotel accommodation has largely been replaced by apartments, there are several empty buildings, presumably waiting to be demolished and replaced by apartments some things do remain constant such as the Sunday promenading of cars along the front and, of course, Morelli’s Ice Cream Parlour. One thing we have always had here is, in the words of Noah and the Whale, fun, fun, fun, and we will still be going there in 5 years time.

Shot the Sheriff

Another glorious weekend; followed by a week full of weather, then the less than glorious weather of the Easter weekend. The garden is looking tidy, for now, roses pruned and only time will tell if I got a little too enthusiastic with the three older roses in the front garden.

On Monday, the week of Tom Finney’s 90th birthday, I attended a Public Health Conference, run by North West Employers held at Preston North End football stadium. Once again North West Employers organised a relevant event. Later was the group meeting in Chorley Town Hall, as always a useful forum for discussion.

Later still Charnock Richard Parish Council meeting in the Old School Room, where I provided a summary of the previous Police and Communities Together (PACT) meeting, update on the Fish Salesman, information on the Tree Preservation Order on the footpath alongside Pole Green Nurseries (TPO 12) and that I had requested the presently unprotected trees and hedgerow be considered for protection. I also mentioned that I had received several complaints about the driving skills of the Dutch Flower Waggon driver, especially along Church Lane.

During the meeting residents’ requested the hedges either side of the M6 on Mill Lane be cut, I mentioned that I had contacted Lancashire County Council and nothing was seen to be being done, I agreed in public to do the job myself. Of concern was the presence of a couple of loose terrier type dogs on Delph Lane, these have been reported as having attacked other dogs and were the cause of the school having to divert a walk. I agreed to bring this up at the PACT meeting later in the week. John Taylor the deputy chairman arrived late as he had been held up by a reporter from the Chorley Guardian asking questions about him having been shot, more about this later.

Following the Parish Council meeting I made a visit to the Hinds Head to meet the new tenants. Hopefully they will be successful, as they are trying to improve the general feeling of the place and have started to offer food. The new tenants did express concern about the food hygiene rating they inherited from the previous tenant. I followed this up and have provided the new tenants with advice on what to do, which will result in a status of awaiting inspection and the existing rating being removed.

Tuesday was Full Council, nothing controversial on the agenda and had the potential to be an amenable meeting. However a notice of motion was tabled (which wasn’t actually a notice of motion as no decision was required) where the opposition questioned why Chorley Council had not supported an employment fair, even though the venue and staff on the day had been provided free of charge, which is support in itself and no advance notice had been given, had I known about it then I would have taken some time off work to attend.  The discussion was, in my opinion, pointless other than watching Pat Case, the mayor, take control. I find it difficult to imagine that the next mayor would have had the same command in that situation. Pat is standing down from local government at the elections in May; it has been a privilege to have met her and seen her in action, even for such a short time.

I took part in the Licensing and Public Safety Sub-Committee, on Wednesday, requiring deliberation on a taxi driver who misunderstood the requirements for answering a question asking whether he had ever had any convictions. On this occasion the driver was issued with a warning and a full explanation of the question.

Later on Wednesday was the monthly Police and Communities Together (PACT) meeting, held at Park Hall Hotel. Reported on the night were one crime in Heskin, that being a burglary, where two people had been caught and cautioned, and 3 crimes in Charnock Richard, these being 2 burglaries and one assault. The assault, as referred to earlier, was the shooting of John Taylor on Saturday 31 March, in his garden. John is fine but now has an air gun pellet lodged in his chest, of concern was the fact that this is not the first, as a child had also been shot earlier in the week, no suggestion was made as to whether these incidents are related, or not. With John being deputy chairman of Charnock Richard Parish Council the Bob Marley Lyric springs to mind “I shot the sheriff, but I didn’t shoot no deputy”, not that the chairman has been shot, I might add! I brought up the report of loose and dangerous dogs on Delph Lane and some discussion followed, I was assured that this will be followed up by the Police.

During the week I wrote to the Pre-School accountants requesting that they review the tax position of the Pre-School. This is a follow up to the Community Futures meeting and the finding that, as the Pre-School is involved entirely in primary purpose trading it should not be liable to tax on its profits, as they are used entirely for the benefit of the Pre-School.

With no formal meetings on Thursday and the Easter weekend ahead, I looked forward to some time with Gill, Roxanne and Frank, at home, just pottering, which I did…

…On Friday I delivered election addresses on behalf of Debra Platt, along Runshaw Lane and the estates to the south side of that lane. On Saturday morning I cut the hedges either side of the M6, they do look better and now pedestrians can walk past safely. The remainder of the weekend was some general gardening, a trip to Cheshire Oaks, well TGI Friday really, which is a long way to go for Jack Daniels ribs, Gill had her usual chicken, whilst Roxanne was, once again, sleeping over at her cousins’ house. On Easter Sunday my mother came to our house for tea (that is the evening meal), an enjoyable lazy afternoon with Roxanne enjoying playing clock patience, Gill excelled with the meal. Sunday I installed some of the new Pre-School noticeboards, whilst on Monday we all had a trip to Preston, followed by dinner (that is the mid-day meal) at the Farmers Arms, Heskin. Later on Monday I had a go at revamping the appearance of this blog – let me know what you think (I have included the QR code image for access to this page).

Hubris

The Charities Act 2011 (which repeals and replaces the Recreational Charities Act 1958, the Charities Act 1993 and many of the provisions of the Charities Act 2006) is now in force and will have an impact on the Pre-School. I have been involved in commenting on potential improvements to the legal and regulatory framework for charities, as part of the consultation phase of the Charities Act 2006 review, which is being undertaken by Lord Hodgson.

Monday’s learning hour by Chorley Council on Social Media was a good overview of some of the social media that is available. The learning hour was primarily aimed at those councillors who are not using, or have concerns about using, social media. Whilst not being in this category it was, nonetheless, useful to sit in, listen and contribute.

On Tuesday the National Planning Policy Framework was published, which was timely as the Development Control Committee met that night. I attended the pre-application presentation for proposed development of Withnell Fold Mill. Development Control committee meeting was straightforward; it was however strange having no members of the public present. Tree Preservation Order Number 12, Charnock Richard, was confirmed protecting 5 trees along the path between Meadowlands and Pole Green Nurseries. I raised the question of protection of other trees and hedgerow along this path and, as a result I, will now be finding out how to raise a Tree Preservation Order.

Purdah, or the pre-election period, began on Tuesday and marks the beginning of the lead up to the local government elections on 3 May. The word originates from the Persian: پرده‎, meaning "curtain" and is the practice of concealing women from men, so might not be considered, by some, to be entirely politically correct! During the purdah period, candidates and other politicians involved directly in the election should not be involved in proactive publicity, especially that dealing with controversial issues. Chorley Council, during this period, are restricted in the publicising of issues that might identify it with individual members or groups of members, the authority can respond to events and service enquiries provided that their answers are factual and not party political. Chisnall ward is not being contested at the elections in May, so I am, possibly, affected less than some. I will still be attending public meetings, such as the one discussing Charnock Richard Community Centre on Wednesday, PACT meetings and Parish Council meetings and will continue to work with residents on existing and new issues brought to my attention.

On Wednesday I held a really useful meeting with Community Futures regarding the business set up of Charnock Richard Pre-School, I now have some work to do but at least know why I am doing what I am doing and it will all contribute to having a correct set up for the Pre-School committee in the future. Later that same day was the final meeting of the Tourism and Promoting Chorley Task Group, some good recommendations to be presented to executive cabinet. Later still was a Public meeting for the Old School Rooms restoration. I really wish I shared the optimism of the majority in the room and I genuinely hope that I am wrong about the master of Hubris.

A busy week ahead, with little chance of any rest between now and the local elections on 3 May.

Song this week was “Hubris” by “Living Syndication” opening lyric “Hey you, you're aggravating me, and I'm growin’ really tired of, all the put downs…”