FUEL RIP-OFFS MUST STOP
IT has been said before that fuel prices are higher here than in other parts of Lancashire and it has been a constant source of concern for local drivers.
Now, with the release of these figures, it’s been confirmed that big companies think that they can take my constituents for granted. This is unfair. Along with writing to Asda and Morrisons about their business practices in their Great Harwood stores, I will be writing to the Business Secretary to ask what measures can be put in place to stop any further fuel rip offs in our area. Graham Jones Accrington MP
SALUTING OUR HEROES
WHAT makes a village?
Huncoat certainly qualifies. Domesday Book confirms it.
The new £340,000 application grant for a garden village is a bonus only if the green fields and historical aspects of this ancient place are not completely ruined.
Buildings and infrastructure make any place but in a village....it’s definitely the people.
I salute those noteable individuals who serve the village.
These include the only surviving non gastro pub left in Huncoat..Phil Taylor at the Railway Pub.
His single handed efforts to provide a community hub are so important.
His friendly pub punters raise literally hundreds of pounds each year for worthy charities – £500 just donated to Children with Cancer UK follows a stream of other worthy causes.
I salute John Goddard local historian and master compiler of Huncoat Uncoated....a superb companion for anybody interested in Huncoat’s fascinating industrial and agricultural legacy.
I salute Chris Wilkinson...volunteer rubbish collector and village tidy up agent.
He tries desperately hard to overcome the litter dropped by lazy fast food guzzling drivers who speed to work down Altham Lane and through the village.
I salute the other groups like Prospects endeavouring to preserve the rural aspects of this unique place with recently laid pathways and reforestation west of the hillhouse old village hub.
Huncoat was once described as the jewel in the crown of Hyndburn by the late Jim Ashton..a proud villager sadly missed.
Let us hope the new garden village plans don’t run roughshod over the villagers’ wishes to placate some ambitious planning moguls who simply see large spaces on a map as something needed to be filled in!
Huncoat has proved it cares about its environment and legacy as epitomised in the hard fought battle to preserve and improve access to our 1922 War Memorial.
The same resolution needs to be applied to these new garden village proposals. Ian McCann via email
WE CAN MAKE A DIFFERENCE
SINGLE use plastic - the way forward.
A society on the move looking for convenience purchases fizzy drinks, coffee on the go, sandwiches, microwave meals and fruit in plastic containers.
Quite often the plastic in these containers, bottles, cups etc is not recyclable or difficult to recycle.
It ends up in landfill, strewn around our streets, littering our beaches; filling our oceans with pollutants that are maiming and killing sea creatures and marine birds (See D Attenborough, Blue Planet 2).
This problem is a world problem and requires an international, national and local solution. International response: We can support groups like Greenpeace, Friends of the Earth, and Sky Ocean Rescue in their campaigns to hold manufacturers and global suppliers of products to account.
The Daily Mail also deserves credit for its long campaign highlighting the damages of extensive single use plastic.
The United Nations has recently highlighted the Daily Mail’s work in this area. National response: We can lobby national and local politicians regarding our concerns.
We can follow the work of the Westminster Parliamentary committee on Packaging with interest and a critical eye.
Finally we can highlight any area we think may be improved to supermarkets. Local response: We can as individuals act to improve the situation.
We can avoid plastic straws, buy a reusable cup or bottle for drinks, use reusable shopping bags, buy coffee at coffee shops / chains that are starting to recycle paper cups i.e. Costa, or use a local, independent café thereby helping local business and promoting community, buy milk from a local milk person / farm wherever possible and don’t flush away wet wipes.
We can make a difference. Julie C Stubbins Accrington