Previous stories: 1 - 15 April 2007
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APRIL MAYDAY IN LANCASTER

30/4/07: Last Saturday 28 April saw the Annual Lancaster & Morecambe TUC Rally in Market Square, Lancaster, preceded by a gathering in Greaves Park to commemorate Workers' Memorial Day, a global Trades Union event for health and safety at work; "Remember the dead: fight for the living".
Speakers at the rally were introduced by Eric Jones, Vice President of Lancaster & Morecambe Trades Union Council, who called for legislation that would make individual corporate executives liable to charges of manslaughter or murder where their wilful neglect of proper Health and Safety procedures led to fatalities.
Michael Hindley spoke for CND, calling for opposition to the government's intention to launch a new Trident nuclear weapons programme.
David Weltman spoke for the Lancaster & District Coalition Against the War calling for a withdrawal of troops from Iraq and condemning US and UK policies in the Middle East.
A lively bustle took place around the various information stalls and an unnamed musical duo (pictured above) entertained shoppers with an extended and enthusiastic rendition of 'Give Peace A Chance."

MORECAMBE CYCLE FEST

30/4/07: CycleFest organisers were utterly thrilled on Saturday when hundreds of people turned up on their bikes for the Party on the Prom, organised by Lancaster City Council’s Cycle Demonstration Town (CDT) Project Team and Cultural Services, celebrating the the change in the Morecambe Promenade byelaws which has enabled the five mile stretch of stunning views and fresh sea air to be opened up to cyclists.
With lots of fun, music and bike activities for all ages, the
highlight of the day was a historic mass cycle ride, when over a hundred cyclists, on bikes of all shapes and sizes, were officially sent on their way by Visitor editor, Glen Cooper, riding side by side along a section of Morecambe promenade and the Stone Jetty. Every one who took part received a cycling goodie .
As a Cycle Demonstration Town - one of just six in the country - Lancaster District has received £1.5 of Government funding , to show how increased investment can raise levels of cycling in our district. The opening up of the promenade is seen as a major step forward towards the aims of the CDT project – to double the amount of cyclists in the district by 2008. A year into the project and figures already show that cycling across the district is on the increase and Morecambe promenade is no exception now that cyclists are being encouraged to share its use, with an increase of 20% compared to the same time last year. After yesterday's fantastic cycling bonanza and so many new people experiencing the benefits, those figures are set to soar.
Lancaster City Council Director and Chair of the Cycle Demonstration Town Project Board, Peter Loker said: "It was wonderful to see the massive support for shared use of the promenade. We anticipate that this will encourage even more people to get on their bikes and make the most of the beautiful surroundings we are lucky to have in this district.
"I would like to take this opportunity to thank everyone who came along to this very successful launch event and all those who helped organise it".
Artist and blogger Norman Trewhitt cycled there with the Lancaster contingent and you can read his personal account of a great day out in his blog at: www.tholeman.blogspot.com/2007/04/morecambe-cyclefest.html.

BREWERY: WOMEN’S ARTS INTERNATIONAL FESTIVAL
27/4/07: On at Kendal Brewery from 4 – 24 May, including highlights such as the first date of Patti Smith’s European tour, a rare opportunity to see Marianne Faithfull in an exclusive and intimate venue, unique performances in the UK by New York’s Urban Bush Women and Decadance Theatre.  The Women’s Arts International Festival offers you the opportunity to see, listen to and meet the women who have shaped and inspired a generation of female artists and those who are inspiring generations to come.
Add comedians such as Jo Brand, Mrs Barbara Nice and Shappi Khorsandi. Writers including Lionel Shriver, Ali Smith and Wendy Cope. Many international women film makers. Exhibitions and talks from Everlyn Nicodemus, Dr Pam Johnston, Tina Keane and the first ever visit to Europe by the leading Native American artist Linda Lomahaftewa. Plus household names such as Prunella Scales, Sandi Toksvig, Germaine Greer, Esther Rantzen, Jane Glover and Sandie Shaw – it’s an amazing achievement by the Brewery. All the info is at www.breweryarts.co.uk and www.womensartsinternational.co.uk.

EARTHLINGS
27/4/07: Tonight (Friday) at 7.30pm there is a special free screening of the documentary film ‘Earthlings’ at the Friends Meeting House in Lancaster. With some fascinating insights into the animal testing debate and the human/animal relationship the screening is an event for the World Week for Laboratory Animals.
The film is narrated by Academy Award nominee Joaquin Phoenix (Gladiator) and features music by the critically acclaimed platinum artist Moby.
See www. speakcampaigns.org and www.isawearthlings.com/
Donations are welcome and there will be vegan food available. (Including chocolate cake!)
Last Wednesday two Lancaster women, Jackie Wood and Beth Hollingworth, both 25, joined a UK-wide network of campaigners to begin a 48-hour fast highlighting the plight of Felix; a macaque monkey currently held inside a laboratory at Oxford University.
Felix, who recently appeared in a BBC 2 documentary, 'Monkeys, Rats and Me', will be used in experiments involving starvation, restraint, deliberate brain damage and isolation. Speak Campaigns, the group contesting the construction of a new animal laboratory at Oxford University, are running a 'Fight for Felix' campaign to save the animal.
Ms Hollingworth said, " The fast will be difficult, but nothing in comparison to the suffering that Felix will endure at Oxford University.
Ms Wood said, "Animal experiments are cruel and futile. All species are different, and most drugs that are tested on animals are unsuccessful in humans.
The number of research animals killed annually has risen under Labour, reaching 2.8 million in 2004.

OUT WITH THE LOCAL PLAN,
IN WITH THE CORE STRATEGY
27/4/07: In line with government planning reforms, the current Lancaster Local Plan is being replaced by a Core Strategy, which will be submitted to Government on 4 May and is the Council’s overarching spatial planning strategy for the period up until 2021.
“It outlines a vision” says the Planning Department, “of a sustainable district, whose quality of life and standards of development, comprising a prosperous knowledge-based city, a regenerated coast and a conserved countryside.
"The Strategy also sets out broad locations for new homes and jobs, regeneration areas and the district’s natural and built heritage. In addition it outlines how public and private agencies will help make the vision come to fruition in the run up to 2021. Underlying this strategy is the principle of urban concentration, with key themes of sustainable communities, economic regeneration, improving the environment and delivering quality services."
The strategy features input from the Lancaster & Morecambe Vision Board, chaired by Professor Paul Wellings, Vice-Chancellor of the University and determined partner to business, even international arms dealers and human rights abusers, as the George Fox 6 discovered to their cost.
Local organisations will be curious to see how the new Core Strategy might vary from the previous Local Plan.
It will now be on deposit between 4 May and 15 June, during which time people can make supporting representations or formal objections. It will then be the subject of an ‘Independent Examination’ early next year.
You can make a comment by;
* using the online representation form on the Council’s website (www.lancaster.gov.uk);
* emailing your representation form to forwardplanning@lancaster.gov.uk or
* sending a paper copy of your representations to the City Council:
The Strategy, representation forms and all other relevant documents can be viewed and downloaded from the Council’s website and are available at Palatine Hall in Lancaster and Morecambe Town Hall. Copies of the Strategy can also be viewed at all public libraries in the District and at University.

LET YOUR FINGERS DO THE RECYCLING
26/4/07: If you want to recycle your old yellow pages directory, given that the recycling box collectors have rejected it, then give it to a schoolkid. Over the next seven weeks, several local schools will be taking part in the Yellow Woods Challenge, run by Yellow Pages, working with the Woodland Trust and Lancaster City Council, to recycle old Yellow Pages directories and help increase woodland in England – one of the least wooded countries in Europe.
Funds raised through the Yellow Woods Challenge will be invested in the Woodland Trust’s most ambitious children’s tree planting campaign ever launched – ‘Tree For All’ – which aims to plant 12 million trees by 2009.
Youngsters will learn about recycling and woodland conservation through educational materials in the classroom and games on the internet.
The primary schools taking part locally in Lancaster are Moorside, Ryelands and St Bernadettes plus Poulton-le-sands Primary; St Margaret's, Hornby; St Peter’s, Heysham; St Lukes, Slyne with Hest; Arkholme Primary, Silverdale CE Primary and Carnforth Primary. The competition closes locally on May 25, 2007. For more information, visit www.yellow-woods.co.uk.
Or if that’s not possible, there are yellow pages recycling banks at Booths and Tesco in Carnforth and Morrisons in Morecambe. Or you could just rip off the cardboard cover and put the paper pages back in the recycling box.

GET READY FOR THE COMMUNITY FESTIVAL!

26/3/07: Local organisations are gearing up for this year's Community Festival, which will be held in Williamson Park on Sunday 3 June.
“So far the response has been excellent,” said Phil McGrath of the organizing committee, “We’ve already signed up a number of exciting activities for the day and are still recruiting more! Space is also beginning to be booked for various activities from parachute games to cricket."
The Festival gives a perfect opportunity for the community to advertise Summer Activity Programmes, recruit new members, showcase their project, recruit volunteers etc. etc.
There will be the Second RACE OF THE MASCOTS during the day and organisers are currently recruiting for the race which will follow a route through Williamson Park and the winner will be presented with an impressive trophy.
Anyone wishing to get involved in this year's Festival is asked to contact Phil McGrath, General Secretary, Lancaster and District YMCA, Heart of the City, Fleet Square, LA1 1HA
email: ymcalancaster@btconnect.com
tel. 01524 32737 www.lancasterymca.co.uk

THREE LITTLE PIGS
26/4/07: For those suffering from Election Day burn-out next Thursday 3 May at 8pm the Nuffield Theatre offers a fun evening of adult puppetry featuring a dangerous and very elaborate rescue operation, puppet nudity, alcohol, death and a tree.
This gloriously eccentric show subverts the classic children’s tale of the 3 Little Pigs for a grown-up audience. Told with the dramatic application of shadow, light and colour, animations and puppetry, it's funny, sinister and naughty.
Manchester-based Mishimou was formed in 2003 by Rachael Ayres & Maria Ratcliffe, who shared a desire to create multi-layered adult puppetry theatre. They also like to collaborate with animators, musicians and magicians in developing new work and for this show, animator and illustrator Paddy Molloy has created an amazing anthropomorphic landscape using a textured hand drawn style. The show is for audiences aged 14 years and over. Starting at 8pm tickets are a snip at £8/ £5.50 concessions. Info from Box Office Tel: 01524 594151 Email: boxoffice@nuffieldtheatre.com

COUNCILLORS: CLOSE YOUR EYES AND SIGN
26/4/07: Not only did Lancaster City Council Cabinet agree to sign a Development Agreement with Centros Miller that most Councillors were not in fact allowed to read, but they did so without any reports on crucial aspects of the proposals.
At a council meeting on 18 April Tim Hamilton-Cox of It’s Our City asked whether all councillors had seen a copy of the Development Agreement. The response, after some confusion, was that councillors had not seen it. It appears that councillors are only allowed to view this document on a ‘need-to-know’ basis - their level of need being determined by unelected Planning Department officials.
Tim Hamilton-Cox said “I was already frustrated that local people are prevented from finding out exactly what deal has been made for the future of Lancaster, under the cloak of commercial confidentiality. To find out that most of our elected representatives are not allowed to know what’s going on either beggars belief”.

Concerns were earlier this month raised about the Development Agreement by Green Party Councillor Chris Coates who said that Cabinet members who voted to sign it last July had not seen any reports at all relating to the development proposals. He pointed out that the Public Enquiry following the infamous Crinkley Bottom (aka Blobbygate) planning disaster which cost this authority £millions in legal damages alone stressed that planning and development decisions must not be taken on the basis of incomplete reports or reports only circulated at meetings. Properly there should be reports on Core Indicaters such as traffic impact, employment, impact on existing business, public consultation - etc etc etc.
Concerned about the total lack of supportive evidence at that Cabinet meeting Cllr Jon Barry (Green) proposed the following amendment:
“That a decision on the development agreement be deferred until further information is provided that will enable Councillors to make an informed decision. That such information should include at least the following:
· The current plan as proposed by Centros Miller;
· Details of the consultation carried out by Centros Miller;
· A risk assessment on the potential losses that would occur to the City Council as a result of loss of business for the Market;
· Financial information on the impact of the net increase in 500 car parking spaces on the City Council’s other car parks;
· Details of the impact on the retail in the remainder of Lancaster city centre and Morecambe and Carnforth town centres;
· Details of the impact of additional traffic on the city centre including additional transport from Morecambe and on the Council’s Air Quality Management Zone;
· Further information on alternative sites for existing users of the site such as the Dance Studio and the Homeless Action Centre;
· The rights of people to use the ‘public space’ in the new scheme under the lease.”
Not one other councillor would second this amendment, and it fell.
Green Party councillors who are asking people to vote against these shenanigens at the May 3 elections.
Update 27/4/07: John Donnellon, Lancaster City Council's director of regeneration said: "It's Our City are making some incorrect assumptions in their release, the cabinet report did not carry the full legal agreement with Centros Miller as this was more than 200 pages long and councillors may have found it difficult to interpret the technical legal language. Instead we provided an executive summary ensuring members were properly briefed and able to make an informed decision. This is standard practice for complex legal documents.
"Although the full document is exempt to the press and public because it contains commercially confidential information, all councillors have the right to see the agreement at any time if they request to do so. Centros Miller are currently working with our solicitors to produce a version of the agreement without the commercially confidential information which will be made available to the public."
Update 29/4/07: Cllr Ian Barker writes: "Once again you are being credulous about the statements made by Its Our City and the Green Party about the Castle View Development.
" You report that I proposed acceptance of the development agreement last July without seeing any reports. This is completely untrue. The Cabinet had before it a 58 page report on all the legal issues surrounding the development agreement. Large parts of this report were prepared by specialist solicitors so that lay people could understand some of the complex legal issues.
" The source of the allegation is the closing remarks made by Councillor Chris Coates at the Gregson meeting. He spoke after me so I was unable to correct this nonsense publicly. It might have been wise for you to check with me before accepting his word."

LANCASTER: MAYDAY IN APRIL
26/4/07: Mayday is coming early this year with events taking place this Saturday 28 April to honour Workers' Memorial Day, a global Trades Union event for health and safety at work; "Remember the dead: fight for the living". Lancaster and Morecambe Trades Union Council (TUC) will be gathering at 10.30am in Greaves Park, Lancaster near the Pointer Roundabout, off the A6 to plant trees in memory of local workers and trades unionists. All are welcome and this will be followed by the Annual TUC Rally at noon in Market Square, Lancaster, where there will also be TUC and Lancaster & District Coalition Against the War information stalls.
The Public & Commercial Services Union (PCS) will be taking industrial action with a strike on Tuesday 1 May and there are likely to be picket lines outside most government / civil service buildings.
The Annual Mayday Community Picnic on Priory Field will be taking place on the Bank Holiday Weekend on Sunday 6 May. Bring kids and music!
PLUS: This Saturday 28 April sees a Musical Celebration featuring local musicians performing in a concert in aid of Cancercare, Slynedales at 7.30pm at St Thomas's Church, Penny Street, Lancaster. It will be a varied programme, including string quartet, brass group, flute and guitar, violin, piano and songs. From Gershwin to Vivaldi and many more popular classics - something for everyone! Donations at the door.

MORECAMBE: PARTY ON THE PROM
27/4/07: This Sunday cyclists will be celebrating the legalisation of cycling on Morecambe Promenade from 11am, with music, refreshments, fun and games and children's activities, plus a Dr Bike bike repairs, Police Postcoding, Bike tryouts and more bike info. If you dress up your bike for the day you could be the winner of a spot prize.
At 12:30 there will be a mass cycle ride along a short section of the prom. It would be fantastic to get a wide range of people and bikes to take part in this ride - so invite your friends, colleagues and family along.
A guided cycle ride to the event from Lancaster leaves the St. George's Quay arm of the Millennium Bridge at 10.45 am. This is a lovely flat ride along the cycle route. Enjoy!
PLUS this Saturday 28th at 10am Professional stunt man Martin Shenton, who has numerous film and TV stunt roles to his name, and also runs Regent Park Studios Stunt School will officially open the new play area at Regent Park.
Martin has promised an exciting opening to the play area with a short stunt show (subject to the weather conditions). Lancaster City Council has organised music and lots of exciting family activities to celebrate the occasion, which will take place between 10am and 12.30pm.

SUPPORT LANCASTER CITY UNDER-7S!

22/4/07: Lancaster City Youth FC Under 7s have currently added an extra squad to the fleet and are putting out a call for help to find sponsors for all the kit and equipment.
Parent Mrs E Pennington tells us, "As you can imagine football means everything to these children and it's all they love to do.
"We are in extreme need of new equipment ie: goals, balls, vests, water bottles and boots as many of the parents just cannot afford to buy all the correct and safe clothing which is paramount to playing football.
"We would be eternally grateful for any donations or sponsorship that could be given. We need £800 sponsorship for for a new strip, so you can see why we can't afford to buy them."
The sponsor's name is printed on the shirts. The teams play all over the area and so it's a wonderful advertising opportunity for any local business who would also be investing in the area's youth, healthy excercise and good sportsmanship.
Kids' feet keep on growing and the Club also really welcomes smaller donations and has a number of sponsorship and advertising opportunities. For further information please call (01524) 37822 or email sponsor@lancastercityyouth.co.uk.

WEDNESDAY NIGHT IS SKILLS NIGHT AT MARSH
22/4/07: Marsh Community Centre is running a number of free courses every Wednesday evening. For exact times and details, please call Yak on 01524 843300/ 61629 or email marshcommunitycentre@yahoo.co.uk. These courses are aimed at absolute beginners and include how to download music onto IPods, MP3's, how to surf and buy from Ebay, and internet shopping.
There are other courses too, such as interior design - learn how to design items for your house on a budget. These are set to be very popular so please call or email asap to avoid disappointment.

CENTROS DEBATE: IT'S A LOTTERY!

21/4/07: A packed hall at the Gregson last Tuesday listened with amazement as Cllr Ian Barker explained that Centros Miller's (CM) proposed improvements to the Dukes, Grand Theatre and Musicians' Co-op were to be reliant on Lottery funding, as yet not applied for. As participants pointed out, aside from the obvious lesson to be drawn from the recent failure of the Storey regeneration project to secure Lottery funding, there is also the critical factor that £900 million is to be subtracted from Lottery funds available nationally for cultural projects to fund the 2012 Olympics, leading to cuts for many established projects.
Over 150 people squeezed into the hall, with more unfortunately having to be turned away at the door due to lack of space. The debate featured the leaders of the four political groups on the City Council representing the city proper, Cllr Ian Barker (Lab), Cllr Chris Coates (Green), Cllr Stuart Langhorn (Lib Dem) and Cllr Roger Mace (Con), plus It's Our City representative Billy Pye, and the topic was "The Proposed Centros Miller Development: Good or Bad?"
A number of people also addressed the meeting from the floor. They were supposed to be asking questions, but, given that this was the first opportunity the electorate had been offered to present any views on the subject to its elected representatives, it was entirely forgiveable.
Cllr Barker, who has in the past been identified by CM PR staff as their 'champion on the council', a label he vehemently denied, championed the proposed development vigorously, mainly on the grounds that he believed it would bring employment opportunities to Lancaster. CM have suggested that the development could bering up to 1000 new jobs.
Cllr Langhorn, as befits a member of the planning committee, would not be drawn except to say that he was keen to see the cultural strengths of the area developed and that this featured in both the CM and the Green Plan proposals.
Cllr Mace, who is not on the planning committee, was also not to be drawn, possibly working on the theory that all he has to do to keep his seat in this election is to keep his head down. When asked if he thought that the proposed development would be of benefit or a disaster in the long term he answered 'only time will tell', thus demonstrating a unique understanding of 'planning'.
Cllr Coates pointed out that the traffic impact on an already semi-gridlocked town would be appalling and had still not been properly addressed. He produced a national report 'Ghost Town Britain' which indicates that across Britain significant numbers of local and independent retailers are being put out of business by lookalike shopping developments and expressed concerns for established businesses which will lose trade if the city centre moves to the canalside.
Billy Pye, emphatically in opposition to the proposed development, argued that the council was acting improperly in refusing to seek or allow alternative tenders for the development or to carry out proper consultation with the electorate.
When Cllr Barker claimed that CM had secured a development deal with Mitchell's, part owners of the site, prior to making their proposal, which made them the only possible developer, Billy Pye produced correspondence from CM which described how they had initially approached the council regarding development. The council had sent them away to talk to Mitchell's, which they had duly done and then returned with a further proposal.
This left the meeting with two differing accounts, a situation which wasn't resolved although Mr Pye appeared to have the necessary documentation to substantiate his.

So. Compare with Carlisle. A city known for flooding. Undaunted they flagged up their development brief for an area near the centre. Out of many responses they chose five who appeared to have the muscle and track record to deliver. These they invited to submit more detailed plans and models and set up a public exhibition of all five proposals. The Council consulted widely with the public on these proposals, inviting open comments, which they compiled and published on the internet and discussed at length with the developers, who suggested modifications. And then they said, 'Well, we like this part of one development, and this part of another, so we'll split it and have our cake and eat it.' Which they did, one of the successful bidders being a Cumbrian-based company.
The Lancaster Canal Corridor site is a prime development site, in, as Cllr Barker noted, the fastest growing urban centre in the region. Any developer could make money on the site, even if it was only residential, so it is impossible to accept that no developer other than CM would be interested in the opportunity.
However, people don't come to historic Lancaster because they want to see it turned into another Preston.
Any deal that Mitchell's has with any developer relies entirely on the council granting planning permission, without which it must be void. Whatever Cllr Barker might believe, it is not up to Mitchell's to decide the future of Lancaster, it is up to the City Council.
It is yet to be accounted for why the Regeneration & Planning Department in the town hall have not proactively encouraged developers to look at this big, high-potential site, rather than waiting like a wallflower to be asked for a dance, then sending the first sticky-fingered potential suitor off to Mama Mitchell to arrange a match without even first copping a precautionary feel around the field.
Any councillor who does not have some serious concerns about this process is, frankly, a cabbage.
As Cllr Coates reminded the meeting, the Public Enquiry on that appallingly expensive planning disaster Crinkley Bottom (aka BlobbyGate) determined that planning and development decisions must not be taken on the basis of incomplete reports or reports only circulated at meetings.
Cllr Coates went on to say that in July 2006 Lancaster City Council Cabinet (which has no Conservative members) agreed on a resolution proposed by Cllr Barker (Lab) and seconded by Cllr Stone (Lib Dem) to sign a development agreement with CM without any reports on the development proposals at all.
At that meeting Cllr Barry (Green) proposed the following amendment:
“That a decision on the development agreement be deferred until further information is provided that will enable Councillors to make an informed decision. That such information should include at least the following:
· The current plan as proposed by Centros Miller;
· Details of the consultation carried out by Centros Miller;
· A risk assessment on the potential losses that would occur to the City Council as a result of loss of business for the Market;
· Financial information on the impact of the net increase in 500 car parking spaces on the City Council’s other car parks;
· Details of the impact on the retail in the remainder of Lancaster city centre and Morecambe and Carnforth town centres;
· Details of the impact of additional traffic on the city centre including additional transport from Morecambe and on the Council’s Air Quality Management Zone;
· Further information on alternative sites for existing users of the site such as the Dance Studio and the Homeless Action Centre;
· The rights of people to use the ‘public space’ in the new scheme under the lease.”

Not one other councillor would second this amendment, and it fell.
Is this how you bought your own homes, councillors?
Update 29/7/04: Cllr Ian Barker writes: "Once again you are being credulous about the statements made by Its Our City and the Green Party about the Castle View Development.
" You report that I proposed acceptance of the development agreement last July without seeing any reports. This is completely untrue. The Cabinet had before it a 58 page report on all the legal issues surrounding the development agreement. Large parts of this report were prepared by specialist solicitors so that lay people could understand some of the complex legal issues.
" The source of the allegation is the closing remarks made by Councillor Chris Coates at the Gregson meeting. He spoke after me so I was unable to correct this nonsense publicly. It might have been wise for you to check with me before accepting his word."
"Secondly you report that the arts improvements will rely on lottery funding. That certainly is not what I said at the meeting. This is Its Our City spin.
" As far as I am aware, the only part of the Arts project that is subject to Lottery Funding is the fitting out of the Musicians Co-operative. Centros will supply the building, which is considerably larger than the current space and are helping them with a lottery application for equipment.
" Centros have finalised their arrangements with the Grand. They are building them a new foyer and backstage areas.
" Negotiations with the Dukes are not complete, but the Centros plans focus around a new foyer area near the current St Annes place entrance and improvements to the buildings that will enable both auditoriums to operate simultaneously.
" There are substantial sums of money mentioned in the development agreement that relate to all three of these developments. That’s in the confidential bit so I can’t disclose the numbers."

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