JULY Year of World Cup heroes, campaigns and legacies
IN our second and concluding part of our review of the year, we look back at the stories which hit the headlines from July to December 2018. THE streets of Bacup were turned to gridlock ‘worse than London’ as 15 weeks of roadworks began. The chaos was caused by works under the Townscape Heritage Initiative (THI) scheme.
Ramsbottom’s England World Cup hero Kieran Trippier was set to be granted the freedom of the borough of Bury after his exploits in Russia.
Family watched the Colombia win back home in Summerseat - and a 20ft high flagpole displayed a huge St George’s Cross flag with ‘Trippier 2’ on it.
AUGUST
COUNTY council chiefs defended a bridge across the River Irwell in Stacksteads Riverside Park, after it was dubbed a ‘monstrosity’.
Bosses erected the bridge as part of the Britannia Greenway route through Rossendale, saying it was designed to allow cyclists and horse riders to cross the river safely.
Rawtenstall fruit and veg market stall owners Pete and Diane Camm spoke out after it was gutted in a fire. It started after sub-contractors working for a firm employed by Rossendale council were burning lines onto a neighbouring car park using a heat torch.
Police, the council and residents were left baffled by a series of late night mystery ear-splitting bangs in Bacup described as ‘like a bomb’. Devastated Lucy Radcliffe had to have her pony put down after it was spooked and ran into a gate.
SEPTEMBER
COMPETITORS flocked to Ramsbottom for the annual World Black Pudding Championships. The contest, referencing a 1455 battle in Stubbins, saw competitors and spectators travelling from miles around for the contest.
Calls were made for an overhaul of the Valley’s whole transport infrastructure after it was ranked WORST in the country by a traffic study. Rossendale was found to have worse traffic congestion than anywhere else in England - outside cities.
Soap star Michelle Keegan was spotted filming in Bacup for an upcoming TV series of Brassic. The former Corrie actress attracted an army of fans in the town centre, filming near South Street the former police station, on Bank Street, and also near Broadclough Mill.
OCTOBER
CAMPAIGNERS admitted defeat in their bid to save Haslingden Pool following a five-year long campaign. Volunteers said a series of setbacks had proven too great. The building was put up for sale within weeks.
Friends fell foul of new retail park parking charges. Emma Teoli, Vicky Gamble, Lyn Dawber and Kim O’Brien received fines at New Hall Hay retail park.
They said they were unaware of new threehour time limits on parking after receiving £100 fines apiece.
Heartbroken mum Helen Sproates paid trib-
ute to Gemma Nuttall, whose brave five-year fight with cancer came to an end, aged 29.
The Haslingden mum received devastating news in August that nothing more could be done after cancer returned, spreading to her lungs, brain and spine.
Helen vowed to continue her daughter’s legacy through the Gemma Rose Foundation. Actress and family friend Kate Winslet joined hundreds of mourners at the funeral and celebration of Gemma’s life.
NOVEMBER
THERE was shock as Tesco said its Rawtenstall superstore would close permanently in the New Year – to be replaced with the supermarket giant’s new discount chain Jack’s. Some 175 full and parttime staff at the Bocholt Way store were told their roles were at risk.
Thousands of people up and down the Valley united on the centenary of the First World War armistice as Rossendale remembered our fallen.
Large crowds turned out to pay their respects at Remembrance services and processions while a host of special commemorative events honoured the extra special significance of this year, 100 years since the guns fell silent on November 11, 1918.
DECEMBER
THERE was a boost as a study found a commuter rail link between Rossendale and Manchester was ‘feasible and cost effective’.
Bosses lobbied Transport for the North (TfN) to get the link included in its forthcoming Investment Programme as a ‘high priority’.
Jimmy Eaton’s decades of support for Rossendale Hospice came to an end with his Christmas Ball. The Bacup councillor has raised hundreds of thousands of pounds for good causes.
Councillors backed borrowing of more than £10 million to finance the next stage of Rawtenstall’s regeneration – but shelved plans for a flagship hotel.
Recommendations to press on with the Spinning Point development were backed by full council in a behind-closeddoors meeting.