Read Parish Council Ribble Valley Lancashire
Lancashire County Council are running our summer campaign again this year from 21 July to 1 September!
#LancsSummer brings everything together that Lancashire residents need to have a great summer. From free sessions at Family Hubs, low-cost fun days out and health tips, to visiting our Reuse shops, getting ready for a new school term and starting a career with LCC, there’s something for everyone.
Visit the webpage here: www.lancashire.gov.uk/summer
Reports have been received regarding cold callers offering tree and shrub cutting services in the Hyndburn area. In one instance the traders claimed the overhanging branches were dangerous, wanted cash and claimed more money was required than the initial agreed amount.
Often these traders will carry out very little work, will not take the cuttings away and charge a lot of money for their services. Be wary of flyers put through your door offering similar services.
Be on the alert for cold callers offering to carry out roof work and repairs. A householder in the Fylde area agreed to a cold caller replacing facia boards and soffits, they agreed a price and paid an upfront deposit of £700, the traders never returned.
This is a common scenario – always make sure you use known local traders. Even if cold callers provide paperwork, often the address may not be legitimate, contact phone numbers that look like local landline numbers may not be local but divert to untraceable mobile phones.
Trading Standards advice is to always say no to cold callers. The Safetrader scheme can help you find a trader in your area, contact 0303 333 1111 or go to www.safetrader.org.uk.
Be on the alert if you receive an email alleging to be from Apple iCloud stating your payment method has expired and your account has been disabled. The email further states that your account has been blocked and that you could lose all your photos, providing a link to click on to update your details.
A scam text claiming to be from Lloyds Bank is also currently doing the rounds, claiming a new direct debit for £126.99 has been set up on your account today. Asking, if you didn’t authorise the direct debit to click on the link provided.
It is easy for scammers to send such messages out to millions of people, often they imply a sense of urgency, not giving you time to think and can lead to you providing personal and financial information.
Pet owners beware receiving a scam email asking you to renew expired microchip registrations. Such scam emails may take your money but your registration will not be valid or legally compliant and will not be of use if your pet is lost or stolen. Always double check the database you are using is registered and listed on the government website, Get your dog or cat microchipped – GOV.UK.
Report scam emails by forwarding them to report@phishing.gov.uk. Report scam texts by forwarding to 7726.
Report it to Action Fraud on 0300 123 2040 or via www.actionfraud.police.uk.
Contact the Trading Standards Service via the Citizens Advice consumer Helpline on 0808 223 1133
Please be advised that notice of the period for the exercise of public rights and a declaration that the accounting statements are yet unaudited, will commence on Tuesday the 1st of July 2025 and will be available to until Tuesday the 12th of August 2025.
They will then be available to view in our Finance section of the website.
Any person interested has the right to inspect and make copies of the accounting records and the unaudited AGAR (subject to change as a result of review by appointed auditor) for the financial year to which the audit relates and all books, deeds, contracts, bills, vouchers, receipts and other documents relating to those records must be made available for inspection by any person interested. For the year ended 31 March 2025, these documents will be available on reasonable notice by application to:
Dr Anna Haines, Read Parish Clerk, Read Parish Council, 19 Windsor Close, Read, BB12 7QH
readparishcouncilclerk@gmail.com
Local government electors and their representatives also have the opportunity to question the appointed auditor about the accounting records; and the right to make an objection which concerns a matter in respect of which the appointed auditor could either make a public interest report or apply to the court for a declaration that an item of account is unlawful. Written notice of an objection must first be given to the auditor and a copy sent to the smaller authority.
The smaller authority’s AGAR is subject to review by the appointed auditor under the provisions of the Local Audit and Accountability Act 2014, the Accounts and Audit Regulations 2015 and the NAO’s Code of Audit Practice 2015. The appointed auditor is PKF Littlejohn LLP.
This announcement is made by Dr Anna Haines, Parish Clerk, Read Parish Council
Dear residents of Read,
This week we’ve had the theft of some patio furniture reported to us. Offenders have reached over the garden gate to un-bolt it and then entered the garden and stolen a table and 3 chairs out of 4 (presumably they didn’t have room for the 4th!). We have no witnesses or any CCTV so offenders will likely remain undetected.
Please take this opportunity to think about the value of items that may be readily accessible in your gardens and if relevant check your home insurance policy to see if you have adequate cover for them.
Take care
PCSO Katie Ferguson
Calling all Ribble Valley households – if you live in a cold or damp home, funds are available to help you stay warm.
Ribble Valley Borough Council’s affordable warmth grant is available for the servicing, repair and replacement of boilers, radiators and heating appliances.
But if you need help act quick, because the grants are only available for as long as funds last.
The grants help low-income households in receipt of means-tested benefits, or with a gross household income of less than £31,000, and with vulnerable members, such as the over-65s, under-fives and pregnant women, those with cardiovascular and respiratory problems, a disability or mental health condition, stay warm.
Up to £4,000 per property is available for the servicing, repair and replacement of boilers, the purchase of oil-filled heaters and dehumidifiers, or dedicated home energy assessments by the Home Improvement Agency.
Mark Hindle, chairman of Ribble Valley Borough Council’s health and housing committee, said: “There are a high number of hard-to-heat properties in Ribble Valley and our affordable warmth fund aims to help those vulnerable households stay warm.
“Improving the health and wellbeing of local people is one of the council’s key priorities and we are keen to offer this much-needed help to anyone living in a cold or damp home.”
The affordable warmth fund is administered by Ribble Valley Borough Council on behalf of Lancashire County Council.
Further details and application packs are available at ribblevalley.gov.uk.
Up to £15,000 is available to help first-time homebuyers in Ribble Valley make their properties energy-efficient or undertake crucial renovations.
The First-Time Buyer Greener Homes Grant aims to address housing affordability, as well as tackle climate change.
The grants will help first-time buyers purchasing a property with an energy performance certificate of D to H increase the rating to C or above, or address significant disrepair.
The property must be over 10 years old, in the council tax bands A to C and located in Ribble Valley.
Applicants must be a first-time buyer aged 18 or over, with a Ribble Valley connection and income under £60,000, or combined household income under £80,000, and intend occupying the property as their main residence.
For further information please refer to our discretionary grant policy.