Previous stories: 1 - 15 May 2007
Next stories: 1 - 15 June 2007

BEWARE FAKE CHARITY DOORSTEP CLOTHES COLLECTIONS
31/5/07: Cllr Jim Blakely has asked us to point out, that, yet again, a commercial operator masquerading as an overseas aid agency has been circulating leaflets in the area asking for clothes donations. 'Third World Clothing Collection' has been delivering leaflets asking for clothes, shoes, handbags and perfume etc. On their leaflet it says the company behind this is called Helpmates Ltd and that it “provides people in third World countries with clothes for their families they can afford.” Also “God will reward you for your good hearts.” There has been a warning on the TV about this ‘company’ which collects nationwide, is unregulated and simply sells your donations on for profit. The names on the leaflet may vary but you can identify a bogus collection because there is no landline phone number or address on the leaflet and no charity registration number (a business registration number is not the same thing!)
See the Safe from Scams website for more info.

ANIMAL CARE
31/4/07: Animal Care is still taking dogs from the pound which have been vaccinated as soon as they have a space available. However they are having financial difficulties. Like most dedicated charities, from time to time the operating costs are greater than the income received, so if you are thinking of starting a standing order or making a donation, NOW is the time when it would do most good.  Animal care are doing their best to cut costs and are also making every effort to raise money. 
Their Charity Shop in Morecambe is open Monday – Saturday. If you have a business and are able to donate goods, services or time for work in and around the sanctuary or towards their Charity Auction which will be in the Autumn, please contact 01524 841819 and leave a message for Debbie Baxter, volunteer fundraising co-ordinator.
If you are interested in finding out how to adopt a pet phone 01524 65495 between 11 a.m. and 3 p.m. and speak to the staff.  See www.animalcare-lancaster.co.uk

BLINKERED VISION
31/5/07: Lancaster City’s draft Core Strategy – the new overarching development programme for the area, has gone on display online and in Palatine House for public consultation. While some of the plan is genuinely forward thinking, the old guard marches on with central planks of the ‘Vision’ (see para 5: Regenerating the Local Economy) resting on the northern link road and the Centros Miller canal corridor development (or one identical), showing something of a reluctance to grasp post-1960 local and global economic and environmental realities – a reluctance with potentially disasterous consequences for the area and its businesses and residents. (But a licence for construction interests to milk the taxpayer of 100s of £millions).
Representations, which must be in by Friday 15 June are to be submitted on a form, which can be downloaded here.
In what certainly appears to be a bureaucratic attempt to put people off from having their say, they require that you can only use their ‘soundness tests’ (listed at the end of the form) as grounds for objection. With the exception of tests 7 and 9, these mainly just require all the planning documents to be in agreement with each other. Don’t be foxed by red tape or boxed in by this. Express your views as you see fit and know you did your best for this area.

WHITE CROSS ‘LITTLE LEARNERS’ NURSERY FACES AXE
31/5/07: Green Councillors in Lancaster have written to County Council cabinet members asking them to keep open the Little Learners Nursery at White Cross Adult College. The college, which is run by the County Council, has decided to close the 44-place nursery at the end of this term because of cuts to the college's budget, and the fact that many of the parents who use it do not attend the college, but live or work near to the college.
This proposal comes after the recent closure of the Children’s Nursery in Greaves Park by the Labour controlled County Council.
Councillor Anne Chapman said: "Little Learners is a great nursery that provides affordable childcare for parents in central Lancaster. Closing it will mean a real gap in provision, and I know that parents are having great difficulting finding alternatives for their children. The County Council, which owns the whole of the White Cross site should take over funding it directly. An employment site of that size needs a nursery."
“The nursery provides a very valued facility for parents who do not need the longer sessions provided by private nurseries, making high quality nursery provision affordable for those who work flexibly, or are studying. Whilst private nurseries accept nursery vouchers (5 x 2.5 hours a week free childcare) they only do this as part of a longer session. These typically begin at 8am and go to 1pm, or 1pm to 6pm i.e. long hours to suit adults in jobs. This makes using the vouchers expensive, and means that children are in childcare longer than they need to be. In contrast, Little Learners will take children for just the 2.5 hour sessions and just in term time. This suits parents who also have school-age children who they have to look after in the school holidays anyway.
“Apple Tree nursery off Willow Lane may provide a similar service, but this is on the other side of Lancaster. Young children should not have to be taken across town to attend nursery (not least because of the amount of car traffic this generates), so please keep Little Learners open.”

TRANSITION TOWN LANCASTER
31/5/07: A Transition Town is a town that is preparing for the predicted shortfall in global oil supplies, in the aftermath of the Peak Oil production point by preparing and following a local Energy Descent Plan. This involves looking at transport and local commuting patterns, developing ways to reduce oil dependence and planning buildings, residences and industry that run on renewable energy sources and so on.
There have been one or two meetings already and the local group to date is diverse with people of different backgrounds and interests. It is hoped that people of all ages and walks of life will be interested in participating in a project that might involve some of the most interesting and innovative developments that the current generations will ever see.
If you want more information about transition towns, please check: www.transitiontowns.org/
The next meeting will be next Wednesday 6 June at 8pm in the Meeting Room of the Friends Meeting House on Meeting House Lane, Lancaster. Gina Dowding will talk about the potential role the Local Strategic Partnership (LSP), which brings together at a local level various different parts of the public, private, community and voluntary sectors, of which she has been the Chair for the last four years. “If you are interested in finding out more please come along.”

MORECAMBE BEACH DOG BAN EXTENDED
31/5/07: As part of Lancaster City Council’s Promenade Management Plan the stretch of Morecambe’s North Beach from the Stone Jetty north to Green Street will be subject to a Dog Control Order from May 1 to September 30, inclusive, each year. This means that dogs will be banned from the beach during the summer season, in the same way that they have been for the last two years on Morecambe’s South Beach from the Battery to the Stone Jetty.
Cultural services staff and dog wardens will monitor the scheme. A similar scheme introduced on Morecambe’s South Beach almost two years ago has proved successful. The Order will help to keep Morecambe’s beaches clean during the busy tourist season. The scheme is part or the city council’s overall Promenade Management Plan, and will not only make the beaches safer for everyone to visit, but will help the council in applying in the future for Quality Coast Awards.
The scheme will be supported by a public information campaign and signage, which in the past has proved effective. However, as a final measure, enforcement officers could issue non-compliant dog owners with a £75 fine.

NOTICEBOARDS? WHAT NOTICE BOARDS?
24/5/07 by John Freeman: Newly elected and returning Labour and Green councillors are calling for the return or creation of new notice boards in Lancaster's city centre.
The calls came after public notice boards were removed by council officers over the last 18 months, as now the Council has begun to issue stiff warnings to local business that they could be fined for illegal flyposting.
"The council has either removed and/or commercialised all pre-existing official poster boards in Lancaster," one concerned local events organiser told Virtual-Lancaster," and now there's nowhere to poster in town without getting into trouble."
"I rang the Town Hall regarding [the loss of notice boards] a few weeks ago," said VL reader Ian Brockbank, "to be told I was only the second person to enquire about it and they didn't see it as a problem. Surprisingly, the reason they gave for doing it was 'Too many people were using them!'
"They reckon that because so many people were using them it was costing too much to maintain them," he added. "When I pointed out that this probably indicated a need for them he said that there were plenty of other ways of advertising local events such as the local press and the internet."

Virtual-Lancaster contacted the Council and received similar responses.

"It's just not cost effective to do that and there are other ways that groups can advertise their events that are more effective," a council spokesperson said, "including on the Virtual Lancaster website, which we have a link to from the 'What's On' page of the council website.
Staff also confirmed they had begun enforcing flyposting regulations, although no-one, as yet, has been prosecuted.
"The council's Planning department covers Flyposting but as a low priority, under the Section 224 of the Town & Country Planning Act 1990 and not the Clean Neighbourhood Act, where Fixed Penalty Notices can be issued. We have written to a number of businesses recently whose venues appear on flyposters, advising them of the offence."
John Donnellon, Lancaster City Council's director of regeneration, said: "The council removed the notice boards attached to the Town Hall some 18 months ago as they were not being maintained and no longer played an effective role in advertising key events. We have received only one complaint about the removal of the boards which suggests that they had not been playing a vital role in communicating with the public. The council utilises the local press to notify the public about key events and increasingly relies on the Council's website and the magazine, Your District Matters, that is delivered to all homes in the district three times a year. These methods of communicating with the public are proving effective and ensure that information reaches people right across the district."
The decision by staff - not councillors - to remove notice boards as "not cost effective" does not appear to be fully endorsed by all officers. On 23 April, the press office issued a press release and arranged an 'opening' of the new Town Map in Lancaster's Market Square, which is sponsored by Vue Cinema.
It seems to us that some officers still value public noticeboards but others do not and arguments for their removal cut no ice with some local councillors.

VIRTUAL LANCASTER ASKED COUNCILLORS... . Why can notice boards not be provided to enable notice posting in an orderly way? . There is a huge amount of 'dead space' where noticeboards could be installed, either by the Council or in partnership with local business such as Marketgate, St. Nicholas Arcades and Vue Cinema. (It is clear from the press release we have linked to that the City Council is happy to endorse sponsored notices) . Is it appropriate for the Council to rely solely on Internet as a means of publishing information? We know many local groups see the Internet as just one way of letting local people know about their events, be they professionally organised or simply, for example, a jumble sale in a local church. . Most of these events are for charity or barely break even, but they enrich the life of the local community and help people walk away from their TVs, spend time in the company of other decent people and remain aware of what an essentially nice and positive community this is. For visitors to the town it's an advertisement for the liveliness, energy and diversity of the town. . Do you think it strange that council officers have issued warnings about flyposting and yet have never prosecuted anyone? (DEFRA figure to March 2006 indicate no-one has been prosecuted for graffitti and similar vandalism, either). We had detailed responses from Green and Labour councillors. The Independents said they would get back to us (but didn't); new council leader Roger Mace told VL he had no information on this at present to enable him to make a constructive comment. The Liberal Democrats Stuart Langhorn said he would raise the matter with other Liberal councillors.

"I'm unhappy with the decision to remove the notice boards," Labour councillor Jim Blakely told Virtual-Lancaster. "The Council should provide notice boards in useful places and maintain them, to benefit the community."
Green councillors are also urging action. "I do think we need to get some noticeboards in the town centre, either at the market or in another location (such as the side of the Museum)," feels Anne Chapman, "although we also need to have someone responsible for maintaining them (people do not remove their out of date posters).
"Perhaps we should devote some of the Cultural Services advertising budget to it. It is a low cost way that the council can facilitate the advertising of the many events that go on in the district.
"It's important that people have appropriate areas to post notices, areas which should be managed," feels Jim Blakely. "This must be more cost effective than removing notices posted in other places.
"We should be promoting all the great things which are happening in Lancaster more -- not less. The City Council should not simply rely on people to visit a website."
The absence of any form of public notice board is not suiting everyone. They're incredibly useful, and were so heavily used, by such an amazing diversity of organisations, no-one could understand why they were removed, without any warning or discussion.
There does, however, seem to be progress on the issue. Anne Chapman told Virtual Lancaster that David Owen, the head of Cultural Services was sympathetic to the appeals and was supposed to be sorting out some notice boards, with David Cox, head of Property Services. "So hopefully we'll have some soon, but pressure from others would not go amiss."

SHRIMPS TRIUMPH - LEAGUE FOOTIE BY THE SEA!
21/5/07: Praise for Morecambe FC's victory over Exeter on Sunday has swept the district as locals and incomers alike celebrated the Shrimps win which will take them into the Football league for the first time in 87 years. The Shrimps came from behind to beat Exeter 2-1 in the first Conference play-off final at the new Wembley. Goals from Gary Thompson and Danny Carlton saved the day and booked the team a place in history.

To mark the fantastic achievement an open top bus will tour the town on Friday May 25. Starting at 7pm the bus will leave Christie Park before turning right on to Lancaster Road. The bus will then proceed along the Broadway before turning left on to the Promenade. It will drive past the Town Hall where the new mayor, Councillor Helen Helme and other councillors will be assembled before continuing down the Promenade in the bus to The Carleton Hotel.

Thousands of fans packed in to Wembley to back the team to victory. It is expected that many will line the route to salute the team and get a glimpse of the trophy.

"I fainted at the final whistle," said Morecambe fan Michael Gibson, who was at the match. " and stayed out ‘til 6 this morning. You couldn’t get the grin off my face with a shovel. Everything was fantastic."

The City Council has offered its congratulations to the players and management team on their success.
"I was delighted to be able to be at Wembley on Sunday to see Morecambe Football Club achieve promotion into the Football League," said Coun Helen Helme, who is Mayor of Lancaster. "My Consort and I were there to see Morecambe win their match, we were able to experience the new stadium and to see over 10,000 Morecambe fans support their team to victory. It was a fantastic day."

"Those people who were not able to make the trip to Wembley can now take the opportunity to publicly congratulate their team in their home town, and I would like to encourage as many people as possible to line the route and give the lads a cheer as they pass by on Friday evening."

Morecambe's entry to league football will also be a huge opportunity for Morecambe to promote itself to visiting fans and their famillies next season.

"The importance of the Wembley result cannot be overestimated," feels local councillor and frequent champion for Morecambe's attractions, councillor Ron Sands. "This is a great chance for the resort's business community to show off their wares to visiting supporters from all over the country. An opportunity that will recur every other Saturday next season."

Blackpool has seen huge trade from visiting fans, not just staying in the town for Blackpool fixtures, but also spending the weekend in resort for matches between northern and southern clubs. Many Charlton fans stayed in Blackpool for last week's fixture against Liverpool. "For years the city council has smartly advertised the Festival market's attractions as 'shopping by the sea'. Now it can be joined by the slogan 'footie by the sea'" says Ron, "and bring the kids along for the sand enriched beaches.

"We should never forget that in the real world out there are millions of folk who still think Morecambe is a dump," Ron admits. "This is a chance to tell them that in the last four years a concerted strategy has laid the foundation for a great future for the resort. The improvements are there for all to see especially in Happy Mount Park, plus the latest phase of the sea defence works and the new West End Sea Front Gardens with state of the art play areas and vista platforms. "We must make sure that football spectators and their friends are offered multiple temptations to extend their stay beyond the final whistle and spend money here in the Brighton of the North."

Ron's enthusiastic message to the new away supporters is simple. "Enjoy your visit to Christie Park, but find a few minutes to take some souvenir photos of yourselves in your strip at the Eric Statue. "They will make distinctive additions for your photo albums and provide eye-catching evidence that Morecambe is changing for the better."

LANCASTRIANS FIGHT FOR ELEPHANT
TO SAY GOODBYE TO THE CIRCUS
20/5/07: On Wednesday 9 May campaigners from Lancaster joined others in demonstrating outside Bobby Robert's Circus, currently in Rossall, near Fleetwood, highlighting the plight of the animals used by the circus, in particular Anne, an elephant who has attracted national media attention.
Anne is 54 and suffers from severe arthritis, and she is the last remaining circus elephant in Britain, having been with circus since being taken from the forests of Sri Lanka at the age of five. She has been alone since 2001 when her two companions died, and is kept chained to the ground.
The Born Free Foundation is running a campaign to free Anne from her circus prison and has secured her a place in a sanctuary. However, Bobby Roberts refuses to let Anne go, continuing to keep her as a prop for photographs.
Bobby Roberts said '"Arguments over the rights and wrongs of performing animals in the circus are not the issue in Anne’s case because she is here. Our opinion is that if Anne was taken away from her familiar surroundings, and the company of those she loves, she would quite simply pine away and die."
The use of animals in circuses is opposed by many groups, including the RSPCA, due to inadequate living conditions, frequent travel, restricted movements, loud noises, and dubious training methods. Despite reports and video evidence of the cruelty endured by all circus animals, regulations currently being drafted under the Animal Welfare Act 2006, will only ban the use of certain 'wild' animals in performing circuses.
Demonstrations have also been held at the 'Spirit of the Horse' show, currently in Lytham St Annes, but due to move to Kendal from 24 to 28 May 2007.
A spokesperson said, "Animal circuses are abhorrent and archaic. There are plenty of non-animal circuses to go to where you can watch talented humans performing instead. Going to circuses with animals supports cruelty and misery, and it is time we saw an end to this."
If you would like to attend a circus demonstration, or if you have any information about animal circuses in the area, please contact lancasteranimalrights@hotmail.co.uk, or for more information see www.captiveanimals.org.
Lancaster Animal Rights Group meets on the last Wednesday of every month, at 7.30pm in The Basement, 78A Penny Street, Lancaster.

PHONE MAST INVASION PLANNED FOR LANCASTER
19/5/07: Mobile phone companies are searching for new sites to erect their masts to provide coverage for the South of Lancaster due to St. Martin’s redevelopment plans. St. Martin's College (soon to be known as the University of Cumbria) is in the process of redeveloping their campus over the next 10 years. This redevelopment means mobile phone companies will no longer be able to have their masts on top of Thompson's Hall building (pictured).
St. Martins has recently refused to allow a Hutchinson 3G (Three) phone mast on the top of their William Thompson
building. Hence the proposal for a forty foot mast on Golgotha Road in Bowerham, currently the subjct of strong local opposition. T-mobile, which currently has a mast on the building, is proposing to replace it with three new sites in Lancaster.
Councillor Jim Blakely said: “The future looks bleak and phone companies are not working together to think of sensible, shared locations for their masts. Instead we are starting to see proposals for masts which are dotted
around the whole area.”
“The first two proposals, by Three and T-mobile are to erect high masts in the middle of our footpaths. T-mobile are now saying they need two more masts in the area to provide the same amount of coverage as they have now on St. Martin’s roof.”
“We cannot let any of these masts go ahead or else it will set the precedent for more to come.”
Cllr Blakely, who led a campaign against the Golgotha Road mast, is pushing to change planning policy on the Council to ensure no phone masts are erected close to houses and schools. He said: “These companies need to
work together and with us local residents, to decide on appropriate places for their masts which are not beside peoples’ houses."
Councillor Blakely is writing to all the phone companies in this area to insist that they work together to find sensible shared-mast locations.
Visit the campaign website for more information and updates on these proposals: at
www.e-council.org/stopthemasts/ or contact Cllr Jim Blakely on 01524 388650.

CENTROS MILLER PLANNING APPLICATION SUBMITTED
16/5/07: Lancaster City Council has at last received the controversial planning applications from Centros Miller for the development of the Canal Corridor site in Lancaster.

The Canal Corridor proposal constitutes the largest retail-led, mixed-use scheme that this district has ever witnessed. It includes numerous planning applications that cover new buildings, listed buildings and buildings in conservation area close to Lancaster city centre. There has been widespread opposition to the proposals, support for which cost Bulk Ward Labour councillors their seats in this once Labour stronghold in this month's local elections, as an unprecedented turnout of constituents voted in a landslide victory for the Green Party, who offer an alternative plan.

The public now have 28 days to take part in consultation process and make their views known to the council.

At the time of writing 14 applications have been submitted by Centros Miller to Lancaster City Council. There are three outline planning applications, six listed building applications, and five conservation area consent applications. The list of applications is as follows:

* 07/00672/OUT - Comprehensive redevelopment comprising a retail led mixed used scheme to include demolition of existing buildings and associated structures, the demolition of all residential dwellings other than 5 Edward Street, the change of use of a residential dwelling at 5 Edward Street to offices, the closure and alteration of highways, engineering works and construction of new buildings and structures to provide, retail, restaurants, cafes, workshop, leisure, crèche, rehearsal space and residential accommodation, together with ancillary and associated development including pedestrian bridge link, new and enhanced pedestrian routes and open spaces, car parking and vehicular access and servicing facilities at the Canal Corridor North Site, Lancaster.

* 07/00589/OUT - Outline application for the redevelopment of the site to provide residential accommodation (between 55-68 self contained units) and ancillary car parking and landscaping at Part Of Heron Chemical Works Site, Moor Lane, Lancaster.

* 07/00602/OUT - Outline application for the redevelopment of the site to provide a building for retail at ground floor level with offices above and associated car parking at Land East Of Golden Lion, Moor Lane, Lancaster.

* 07/00662/LB - Application for Listed Building Consent for the alteration of St Leonard's Gate by the removal of the adjacent redundant spiritualist church and making good and reinstatement of the western flank wall of number 18 St Leonard’s Gate.

* 07/00665/LB - Listed Building Application for alterations and reinstatement of northern elevation (following demolition of part of the adjacent Heron Chemical Works) at Mill Hall, Moor Lane, Lancaster.

* 07/00667/LB - Listed Building application for alterations and reinstatement of north-eastern flank wall (following demolition of adjacent 1 Lodge Street) at The Grand Theatre, St Leonard’s Gate, Lancaster.

* 07/00668/LB - Listed Building application for alterations and reinstatement of curtilage wall (following demolition of adjacent buildings) at Mill Hall, Moor Lane, Lancaster

* 07/00669/LB - Listed Building application for demolition of buildings to rear and alterations and reinstatement of rear flank wall - 11 Moor Lane, Lancaster

* 07/00674/LB - Listed Building application for demolition of rear extensions and outbuildings and alterations / reinstatement of the rear elevation at 127, 129 & 131 St Leonard’s Gate, Lancaster.

* 07/00663/CON - Conservation Area consent to demolish part of Heron Chemical Works building and ancillary structures.

* 07/00666/CON - Conservation Area consent to demolish structures adjacent to Mill Hall Gatehouse and curtilage wall at Heron Chemical Works, Moor Lane, Lancaster.

* 07/00670/CON - Application for Conservation Area Consent to demolish 1 Lodge Street (Musician’s co-op and dance studio) and associated structures.

* 07/00671/CON - Application for Conservation Area Consent to demolish 1 - 2 St Annes Place and associated structures – 1-2 St Anne’s Place, Lancaster.

* 07/00673/CON - Application for Conservation Area Consent to demolish 133 - 139 St Leonard's Gate, 1 - 5 Stonewell, 3 - 7 Moor Lane and all ancillary structures.

Anybody can comment on these applications. The plans are available to view on the Council’s website (www.lancaster.gov.uk - Click on Planning Applications, then follow the Quick link to the Canal Corridor North applications). A range of supporting documents, such as the Transport Assessment and Retail Assessment, are also available to download. However the Appendicies for both the Environmental Statement and the Transport Assessment are huge documents and the file sizes make them unsuitable for publication on the Internet. If you wish to view these, or any of the other documents, they are available in Palatine Hall Reception.

You can also view all the documents in a more coherently organised form on the It's Our City website, with photos etc.

You can also view the applications at the Planning Services’ Reception at Palatine Hall, Dalton Square, Lancaster from 8:45am to 5.15pm. Please quote the planning application number on any correspondence.

You may submit either one single letter incorporating your views on the redevelopment as a whole, or comment individually on each application if you wish. All written comments will be reported to the Planning Committee regardless of how they have been submitted.

If you decide to submit one single letter concerning the whole development, then this letter will be recorded on the committee reports of all of the applications submitted.

Please send your comments within the next 28 days, although given the exceptional nature of this major application the City Council will accept late comments. To submit comments by email please send them to dcconsultation@lancaster.gov.uk.
Or write to: Planning Services, Lancaster City Council, Palatine Hall, Dalton Square, Lancaster LA1 1PW.

The date for the decision on these applications is not yet known, although provisional arrangements have been made for the Planning Committee to consider them in early/mid-September 2007.

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