Lead thefts continue, with Charnock Richard Primary School having been targeted several times now. A new development from thieves targeting metal is the theft of overhead electricity power cables, with Heskin being a popular target. The thieves appear to be a well organised team and are targeting rural lines, supplying only a few properties, in the early hours of the morning (thought to be about 3am). It is thought that the copper lines are being shipped abroad rather than being weighed in, in this country. Theft of these power lines is extremely dangerous, to both the thief and end users as, I am led to believe, that if the earth and neutral lines are stolen without the live there is a genuine risk of electrical appliances catching fire with potential disastrous consequences. These thieves must be caught before they kill either themselves or someone else. The Police have identified this as a priority and if your electricity goes off in the early hours then phone 101, in addition to your electricity provider.
A few months ago I mentioned a bogus fish salesman, he appears to have gone away, for now, only to be replaced by a telesales person offering Payment Protection Insurance (PPI) refund in exchange for a fee paid using Ukash vouchers. The scam works something like this:
- You receive a telephone call from someone who knows your name, and they tell you that you have won your PPI claim.
- The person on the phone also knows your lender's name and an estimate of the loan amount.
- The person will ask you to make a payment by buying a Ukash voucher
If this happens then ask for the callers details so you can call them back, which they probably will not give you, then politely put the ‘phone down and ‘phone 101 to let the Police know.
The Dog and Partridge in Charnock Richard is up for sale through a company called Jenics, the sales particulars, if they are not clear here, can be viewed at www.jenics.com/pdf/jenics-Dog-Partridge-Charnock-Richard.pdf and it looks reasonably well. My opinion is that facilities, such as a pub, perform a social as well as an economical role in the community and are an important asset in maintaining a sustainable community. Charnock Richard has few local facilities and without such facilities is in danger of becoming a place from which people commute, leaving it deserted during the day and with little sense of community. It would be good to see the pub open again and serving the community as Arley Homes have spent time and money renovating it, all it needs now is someone to buy it and run it for the community, with the support of that community to ensure it is economically viable.
Baku Lounge (at the Hunters Lodge) gets ever closer to opening. Whilst, as with the Dog and Partridge, provision of local facilities is to be encouraged, these do need to be in harmony with the community in which they are operating. Depending where you read Baku Lounge is either a select venue for the over 30’s serving quality food and drink with complimentary Sunday morning papers, or it is “Bringing Ibiza to the North West”. If it is the former, which sounds serene, then it will be what the license was approved for and should be an asset to Charnock Richard, if it is the bustling latter then, well that’s another thing altogether.
Parking of cars remains an issue amongst residents, in particular Church Lane and Charter Lane in Charnock Richard; Withington Lane and Wood Lane (outside Harrisons), in Heskin and Spendmore Lane and Ashdale Close in Coppull. People do have a right to park their cars however a little consideration for the wider community from those parking their cars would go a long way to making life for everyone just that little bit more enjoyable.
Dog fouling is something I could write about for ever. The recent changes to dog laws in Chorley, may work in the Town Centre and town wards, but I’m not so sure about how this will be managed in the more rural areas, where more people tend to have dogs. All I can ask of dog owners is that you act responsibly, please clean up and keep the loveable character under control.
The Joining Jack campaign gathers momentum, with the JJ Salute being seen in a wide variety of places, from the Hartwood roundabout in Chorley to the Olympic stadium and at the Tour de France. In addition to national coverage there has been a front page article in the Chorley Guardian and there will be some presence at the Scarecrow Festival with an article in the programme, along with a short piece in the next Charnock Richard Chronicle. The campaign is to raise funds towards research into Duchenne Muscular Dystrophy, which is a disease affecting, amongst many others, a young boy in Charnock Richard. The web site www.joiningjack.org has all the information needed to learn about the disease, the cause and the family. Please do anything you can, no matter how small, to help. To which ends there is a quiz night at the Bowling Green in Charnock Richard, on Friday August 24th at 19:30, with all proceeds going to the cause http://www.facebook.com/#!/events/268378856596911/
