Accrington Observer from Accrington, Lancashire, England • 46

46 Friday 29 October 1999 NEWS: 01254 871444 FAX: 01254 872259 TELE-ADS: 01254 871555 Accrington Observer the voice of news in Hyndburn New Era on way at state-of-art centre Saddle-up for cash ANIMAL-LOVING locals are being invited to pledge money to help save the Only Foals and Horses Sanctuary in Oswaldtwistle Around £75000 needs to be raised from the shelter's millennium appeal so that its base in Redshell Lane can stay open Pledge Week starts on Sunday 7 November when the Redshell Stables will be open from 1 pm until 4pm to receive donations of £2 upwards Generous people who pledge cash will have their names put up on a notice board in the sanctuary There will also be an animal winter blessing service at 2pm conducted by the Rev Michael Ratcliffe of St Paul's Church LIZ PAYNE takes an early peek at future 'landmark' PRINCESS Anne is being invited to visit Accrington next summer to officially open the ambitious New Era Centre The £25M state-of-the-art community centre will open around May 2000 and is already being hailed as a landmark in the history of Hyndburn The Advice Bureau will be opening new offices at the building on Paradise Street and is writing to the president the Princess Royal to ask her if she will do the honours on the opening day As an added bonus the building has also been nominated for a national building award in recognition of the imaginative renovation and construction work underway The application for the Celebrating Construction Achievement Awards outlined the great impact the centre would have on Hyndburn It said: Era is a practical response to the needs of the community It will be a social venue a recreational and sports facility and a cultural centre for everyone receptive to the different needs and Gun club blasted A COUNCILLOR has called for a clay pigeon shooting club to stop meeting on Remembrance Sunday CouncillorTim O'Kane revealed that in the past the sound of gunfire had been heard during the service in Clayton-le-Moors even though the shoot was taking place near the former sewage works in Rishton Hyndburn's Development Committee heard the organisers wanted an additional 10 days during the year when they could meet Councillor O'Kane said: "I would welcome this application because they always raise money to help charities But the Remembrance Sunday service in Clayton has regularly been accompanied by the sound of gunfire" Members agreed to the application for the extension as long as the group avoided meeting on Remembrance Day HATS on for a quick tour Hyndburn councillors Dorothy Westwell and Brian Walmsley enjoy a look at what will be on offer at the £2 5M development which should be ready by May next year (XI 936) WIN a great Night out at the Opera by several other funds and grants But once the centre is up and running there will still be the problem of finding day-to-day funding At the heart of New Era will be a massive sports and events hall which will accommodate up to 1500 people The original sprung dance floor has been retained and will be suitable for indoor sports such as cricket and tennis as well as catering for fairs and parties A long-standing problem in Hyndburn has been the lack of facilities for Asian weddings which usually attract hundreds of people But once completed New Era will have room to accomodate them with facilities to store halal food separately in the catering-size kitchen Upstairs there will still be a youth and community centre but there will also be the added benefits of a gym a music-recording studio and several multi-purpose community rooms Several local businesses are also planning to move their offices to New Era with the Advice Bureau Hyndburn and Ribble Valley Council for Voluntary Service Asian Community Forum and Lancashire County Council Youth and Community Service already pledging their support being moved to the side facing onto Church Street and will have an impressive ramp sweeping up to the door made out of Accrington Brick From the beginning it has been emphasised that the multi-million-pound project has only been possible thanks to the community and local authorities and businesses working together Until recently the building belonged to Lancashire County Council but has now been handed over to the New Era Partnership which will oversee the running of the centre once it is built Hyndburn and County Councillor Dorothy Westell is the president of the partnership and admits she is astounded at the sheer scale of the building which is two-storeys high and covers 1612 square metres She said: reaction most people have when they look around is that they are gobsmacked! one thing to see a plan of a building but to see it actually taking shape is marvellous centre will benefit the whole community and I have no doubt that it will be a huge The Millennium Commission has provided £144M for the project the largest of its kind in Lancashire and the funding has been equally matched aspirations it will engage the ongoing involvement with the new facilities by providing information-based services and offer education and learning opportunities complemented by support and empathy will be a catalyst to draw people together to engage and collaborate with each other and to be active and dynamic to see their ambitions and aspirations come to New life was first injected into the former 19th Century mill when the building was transformed into the popular Ritz dance hall which became a focal point of Accrington social life in the 1920s From the 1930s to the Second World War the upper level became the British Tea Rooms but the heyday of The Ritz ended in the early 1960s and it underwent a radical change to become a youth and community centre The ambitious bid for Lottery cash was launched in September 1996 when a group of Hyndburn people went to the Millennium Commission office in London to hand over a blueprint for the centre Building work got underway in March and the centre is now almost unrecognisable The main entrance is THE spectacular musical Oht What a Night is returning to the North West for a second run and the Observer has three pairs of tickets to give away The musical hit sensation is being brought back to Manchester by public demand and features all the hottest stars including Kid Creoie Will Mellor and John Altman with the gorgeous Lucy Moorby and the incredible singing voice of Victoria Wilson James Heart-throb Will Mellor of Hollyoaks fame plays Rfk a young English wannabe pop star in New York looking for fame and fortune He stumbles into the struggling nightclub Inferno where he falls in love with Nicky (Lucy Moorby) and meets die coolest funkster -in town Brutus Firefly (the fantastic Kid Creole) The plot is unravelled against the hottest dance moves this side of Church packed for funeral of ex-Mayor the Atlantic and the classic hits of the 70s including Celebration YMCA Love Train Blame it on the Boogie Car Wash Disco Inferno and Ladies Night if you would like to boogie on down to the coolest show on the planet on Monday 8 November for free then fill in the simple wordsearch and entry form sending them to: Oh! What a Night Accrington Observer 103 Blackburn Road Accrington BB5 1JJ to arrive no later than first post next Thursday including your daytime and evening telephone number Waste tip furi HYNDBURN councillors are protesting about plans to extend the operating hours of the waste disposal centre at Whinney Hill Clayton-le-Moors Lancashire County Council is to consider a bid to open the site for an extra four hours It is currently open between 9am and 5pm but the application is to increase those hours from 730am to 730pm the Development Services Committee heard Councillor Douglas Deakin said: on Bolton Avenue in Huncoat and other roads in the area have had to put up with lorries pounding up and down seven days a week and also Bank Holidays have pressed for the creation of a bypass so that the lorries would not have to use this route To me an application like this is just the last straw because it is bound to mean that even more lorries will be going to this Councillor Ken Curtis said that protest was necessary to protect the quality of life of people on Bolton Avenue Councillor Dave Parkins said that heavy vehicles were continuing to use Whinney Hill Road and Bolton Avenue in spite of the fact that expert tests which had been carried out on the two roads proved there was no life left in them Councillor Russ Davies said: concerns me is that we have quite a lot of property in the Huncoat area which we are trying to market at the moment If the roads are in this condition these lorries must be causing damage to the Councillor Len Dickinson said members had to object to the extension on principle for the sake of all the people of Hyndburn where all the teachers were standing outside as a mark of respect Mr granddaughter Liane Baron said: was a lovely service at St and the Rev Anne Morris paid a wonderful tribute were hundreds of people there the church was Mr Parkinson was cremated at Accrington and on Saturday the interment of his ashes was performed by his family in the grounds of St Church The family then said prayers in the Accrington Pals Chapel at St because Mr father was one of the Pals Mrs Baron added: family would like to say how nice it was that the local people appreciated the hard work my grandad did for the local community would like to thank all the people who turned up and for all the donations to the British Heart A keen ballroom dancer Mr Parkinson who leaves his wife Joan and two sons James and Alan helped raise two of his grandchildren Philip and Liane He also leaves daughters-in-law Guilda and Jackie his other grandchildren Lee and Danielle and great-grandchildren Natasha and Harvey HUNDREDS of mourners gathered at St Church Accrington last Friday to pay their last respects to ex-Mayor and councillor Bill Parkinson The Mayor and Mayoress of Hyndburn Councillor Bernard Dawson and Ms Frances Molloy were present along with a host of councillors from all political parties Representatives from Accrington Stanley and old players paid their respects to Mr Parkinson who was a former chairman of the club They were joined by the headmasters of Peel Park Primary School and Accrington Moorhead High School where Mr Parkinson had served as a governor Mr Parkinson who was 75 was a well-known figure in Hyndburn having served as a councillor for over 30 years He was twice honoured with the office of Mayor first of Accrington and then Hyndburn A staunch Conservative he was a director of Removals of Accrington for 35 years spending his whole working life in the town apart from a spell serving in the RAF during the Second World War The funeral cortege set off from Mr home on Stanley Street Accrington and went up past Peel Park Primary School CREOLE KID FUNKY BOOGIE MUSICAL SENSATION NAME ADDRESS POST CODE TEL NO.