Archive for December, 2009
December 22nd, 2009 | 
Author: The current cold snap seems to have caught out Lancashire County Council (who are responsible for gritting the roads) with a shortage of grit, particularly in grit bins.
Gordon Birtwistle made several calls to County Hall highways officers over the weekend about the state of the borough’s snow-covered sidestreets and pavements.
He said: “The main roads in Burnley and Padiham have been gritted and I have got no issue with them, but the sideroads and pavements are treacherous.
“As well as that, the grit bins are all empty and it seems as if drivers have been helping themselves to the grit inside. My concern is for elderly residents.”
Update: Lib Dem County Councillor from Clitheroe, Allan Knox has posted this summary of how the County Council allocates priority routes for gritting and there is a link to a map highlighting those routes. As he points out whether the policy is right or wrong is a different matter!
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A Council is threatening to force a family with mobility difficulties to knock down the porch they built to store their mobility scooter and wheelchair because it is too close to the street.
But in a first use of new powers, Lib Dem councillors are seeking to intervene to get planning permission granted instead.
In an email to Queensgate ward Coun Darren Reynolds, a planning officer says that the porch is “not acceptable” and that it is a decision for council officers, not councillors.
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Another planning officer has told Coun Reynolds that planning permission is required for any development within two metres of the highway. She said that the porch was too big, and should have been built out of stone instead of PVC.
Mr Frank Davies, who lives with his wife, son and daughter, said of his son, “William hasn’t been able to walk since he caught TB and meningitis at the age of two. We’re not supposed to store the electric scooter in the house because of the fire risk, and anyway there just isn’t room for all the equipment.
“I did ask whether I needed planning permission before the porch was built and I was told that I didn’t. I also asked all my neighbours and they were all happy with the idea.
“But now someone has complained and the Council are saying that I shouldn’t have built it. I don’t know what we’re going to do. We spent a lot of money on the porch. It was well-made by a local firm and I thought I was doing the right thing.”
Coun Reynolds said, “I can’t understand why anyone would have a problem with this porch. It’s not blocking anyone’s window, it looks pretty enough, it’s built entirely on Mr Davies’ property in his small front yard. This is the only place it could go.
“But this is about more people than the Davies family. Accross Burnley, many people with mobility difficulties live in homes of a similar size. Often scooters or wheelchairs are kept in a corridor behind the front door because getting them any further into the house can be difficult. This creates a risk of minor injuries and falls when someone trips over them.
“Burnley Council has changed in recent years and is now doing a much better job at using common sense and listening to the town’s residents. The porch is helping this family with their mobility. Planning permission should be granted and I hope there will be a chance to change the officers’ minds.”
Coun Reynolds is hoping to be the first councillor in Burnley to use new powers to force such decisions out of the hands of officers and give them to a committee of councillors. This would allow the public to speak about the planning application at an open meeting in the Town Hall. |
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Now they are closing the Childrens ward at Burnley General
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