Read Village Playground will be closed from 02/10/2025 until 08/10/2025 whilst work is carried out to improve the levelling of the playground surface.

Agenda for Wednesday 1st October

A Read resident has had a poor experience with a driveway cleaning company on Tuesday, the company Moss Expert Cleaning Solutions knocked on at the address stating they had been hired to clean the neighbours drive and did the occupant want theirs doing which they were told no, they then offered to clean a test patch and again were told in no uncertain terms no. The occupants later witnessed the company starting to clean the driveway so went out and challenged them to which the company offered to clean it for half price and again were told no and instructed to rectify what they’d done by cleaning the rest of the drive for free as with one clean patch it looked unsightly and they’d been categorically told not to touch it, unsurprisingly at this point they got back in their van and cleared off. Upon speaking with the neighbours they’d not engaged the services of this company either.

Whilst they haven’t committed a crime I think their sales techniques leave a lot to be desired and I’m sure their pricing structure would be somewhat fluid depending on what they thought they may be able to get out of an individual. Please be mindful when dealing with any door to door salespersons and my best advice would be to only engage the services of individuals you have sought to employ and had personal recommendations for.

Take care

PCSO Katie Ferguson

NEWS RELEASE

Have your say on future of LOCAL GOVERNMENT IN LANCASHIRE

RESIDENTS, businesses and community groups in Ribble Valley are invited to have their say on the future of local government in Lancashire.

Ribble Valley Borough Council could be abolished by 2028 in the biggest shake-up of local government in over 50 years.

Currently, Lancashire County Council provides services such as social care, education, roads and libraries, while district and borough councils manage services such as recycling and refuse collection, planning, housing and leisure.

Unitary authorities in Blackpool and Blackburn with Darwen deliver all of their services.

The Government wants to dissolve councils in Lancashire and replace them with single-tier authorities delivering all services.

All of Lancashire’s 15 councils are now working together to develop proposals for what these new authorities might look like.

And they are calling on residents, businesses and community organisations to have their say in a short survey.

Questions include what your experience of council services has been and what you think about the creation of the new unitary authorities, including the benefits and opportunities, as well as concerns.

The answers will help councils shape their proposals, which must be submitted to the Government by November 28.

Ribble Valley Borough Council leader Simon Hore said: “Although the council believes that our residents are best served by the current system of local government in Lancashire, they can rest assured that we will be fighting for the best outcome for the borough if reorganisation goes ahead

“It is important that residents and businesses make their views heard in the survey on the future of local government in Lancashire.”

A range of options for the creation of two to five unitary councils in Lancashire are being considered.

The proposals must demonstrate:

●          Stronger local leadership

●          Improved service delivery and outcomes

●          Value for money and financial sustainability

●          Economic growth and prosperity

●          Community identity and effective local partnerships

The Government is expected to lead a public consultation on the proposals early next year with a preferred option selected in the summer.

New elections for the shadow authorities could take place in May 2027 with the new councils taking over services on April 1 2028.

Parish and town councils will not be affected by the proposed changes.

To take part in the survey visit givemyview.com/lancashirelgr or Lancashire libraries in person.

Paper copies are available at the Ribble Valley Borough Council Offices in Church Walk, Clitheroe, or by phoning 0300 1236701.

Wednesday 3rd September Agenda (pdf)

Brierfield Mobile Library route: parks on the car park by the cricket club 10:50 am – 11: 30 am on the following upcoming Fridays in 2025: 22 August, 12 September, 3 October, 24 October, 14 November. For more information contact Kevin via text or voice on mobile 07774335889 or email brierfield.mobile@lancashire.gov.uk

Scam gardening services offered
Beware cold callers offering garden
services knocking on doors in the West
Lancashire area. In one incident the
elderly householder agreed to the
traders, described as two males in their
20’s, both with dark hair, tidying up the
garden and taking away some cuttings.
The traders were only there 10 to 15
minutes, did very little work and did not
take the cuttings away, took £500 from
the householder and tried to bully them
into giving a further £700.

In another incident in the Chorley area, a
resident agreed to cold callers pruning a
medium sized a tree. The householder
agreed as she initially believed she had
used the trader before, but this was not
the case. The traders charged nearly
£1000 for the work which was very
poorly done. The following day they
returned trying to get further work agreed
to, luckily the householder refused.
Bogus fencing work
A Hyndburn resident looking for some
fencing work to be carried out took the
recommendation of a friend of a friend.
The fencer came to look at the job and
asked for £500 up front for materials
which was provided in cash, but did not
return. The householder was provided
with no paperwork and had no address
details to contact the trader.
Always do your own research before
agreeing to work. Be wary if traders ask
for money upfront. Remember, if you
agree there and then in your own home
the trader should give you paperwork
informing you of your 14 day right to
cancel, which should also include a business address.

If you are struggling
to find a known local tradesman, The
Safetrader scheme can help you find
a trader in your area, contact 0303 333
1111 or go to www.safetrader.org.uk.
Trading Standards advice is to always
say no to cold callers.

Scam parking penalty notice text.
Beware receiving a text claiming that
you’ve been issued a parking penalty
notice (PCN). The text tells you that you
must pay a £20 parking fine and says
that this is your final notice. The text
uses a spoofed mobile number and
email address. It goes on to scare the
recipient by claiming that legal action
could be taken against you if you don’t
pay and includes a malicious link to
follow to make the payment.

TV Licence scam
Genuine emails from the TV Licencing
organisation will be sent from either
donotreply@tvlicensing.co.uk or
donotreply@spp.tvlicensing.co.uk. Do
not trust any emails that look suspicious
or unusual. Hover over the email
address bar, sometimes a scam address
can be hidden, and check what address
appears between the < > symbols.
Report scam emails by forwarding
them to report@phishing.gov.uk.

Report scam texts by forwarding to
7726.

Contact the Trading Standards
Service via the Citizens Advice
consumer Helpline on 0808 223 1133