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Lancashire News

Lancashire News, Lancs Sport

Rovers’ home fixture against Middlesbrough in the New Year has been moved to a new date after being selected for live TV broadcast.

The game against Chris Wilder’s side, which was due to be played on Saturday January 22nd, will now take place at Ewood Park on Monday January 24th, kick-off 7.45pm, live on Sky Sports. The two teams played out a 1-1 draw at the Riverside Stadium earlier in the season, as Sam Gallagher’s superb strike was cancelled out by Jonny Howson.

Last season’s corresponding fixture at Ewood Park, which was also shown live on Sky Sports, ended in a goalless draw.

Lancashire News

Three recently planted cherry trees have been vandalised in Walker’s Field, in the Moorside area of Bury.
It follows an incident at Peel Brow in Ramsbottom, when four out of five trees were snapped in half just one day after they were planted. Councillor Alan Quinn, cabinet member for the environment, said: “Yet again, mindless neanderthals have vandalised our precious newly planted trees. We need to plant 10,000 more trees just to keep pace with the those we are losing due to Ash Die Back. Our trees clean the air, provide habitat to diverse species and take up the rain that can lead to floods.”

Anyone with information about the vandalism can report it to the council: www.bury.gov.uk or 0161 253 5353.

Lancashire News

Over 50 of the UK’s most celebrated craftworkers and artists are exhibiting at a Clitheroe gallery’s glittering annual festive showcase. If you are looking for a unique one-off Christmas gift, with prices starting at just £3, head for the much-anticipated Northern Star exhibition at the Platform Gallery in Station Road.

The exhibition, which runs until Christmas Eve, features a festive feast of handmade items, including textiles, ceramics, glass, woodwork, jewellery, lighting, decorations and cards. Exhibitors include East Lancashire ceramicist Katie Timson, whose work captures the beauty of the natural world, and silversmith Lou Gillett, whose Atlantic Design Studio is based on the coast of Northern Ireland. Former architect Lou has been designing and making silver jewellery for more than two decades and her work features sharp clean lines and organic forms inspired by the built environment.

Also exhibiting is Hampshire surface pattern artist Claire Morosi, whose quirky, intricate and multi-layered prints and fabric pendants feature flowers, birds and fish interwoven with abstract elements, and Cornwall textile artist Claire Armitage, whose luxurious silk scarves, clutch bags, purses and brooches blend floral, avian and nautical imagery with poetry and folklore.

Ricky Newmark, chairman of Ribble Valley Borough Council’s community services committee, said: “Northern Star is one of the Platform Gallery’s most anticipated annual events and this year we scoured the country to bring the very best British craftwork to Clitheroe for Christmas. “We are inviting art and craft enthusiasts, or shoppers looking for a unique one-off festive gift, to join us at the Platform Gallery for a fantastic day out in Clitheroe.” Situated in a renovated Victorian railway station, the multi-award-winning Platform Gallery and Clitheroe Visitor Information Centre is open from 10am to 4.30pm Monday to Friday, 10am to 4pm Saturday and 11am to 4pm on Sundays from 28 November until Christmas Eve.

Further details about Northern Star are available from the Platform Gallery on 01200 425566.

Lancashire News

Details have been confirmed about the eagerly awaited visit to Rochdale of Little Amal – a 9-year-old refugee girl in the form of a 3.5 metre puppet. The Walk is a public art projected produced for Good Chance in association with Handspring Puppet Company, world famous creators of the horse puppets in War Horse. Little Amal has travelled from the Syrian border across Turkey, Greece, Italy, France, Switzerland, Germany and Belgium in search of her mother, stopping at 65 places on the way, including Rochdale on Tuesday, 2 November 2021. Her journey represents those taken by millions of people who have been displaced by war or persecution, especially children.

At this time of multiple global crises her urgent message to the world is ‘don’t forget about us’.
‘Changing the conversation and bringing us all together’ Councillor Rachel Massey, cabinet member for children’s services and education at Rochdale Borough Council said plans are well under way to give her a warm Rochdale welcome. “We are so pleased Rochdale has been chosen to meet Amal on her journey. We hope she will raise awareness of the journeys refugees are forced to take and show how welcoming we can be in Rochdale. This epic walk has an important role to play in changing the conversation and bringing us all together.”

Manchester International Festival (MIF) is working on the Greater Manchester finale of The Walk, an epic 8,000 kilometre journey. On Tuesday, 2 November 2021, Little Amal will be welcomed to Rochdale town centre where, from 12.45pm, she’s due to walk from Cheetham Street down Yorkshire Street in the town centre. She’ll pause at the Better Together building, home of Caring and Sharing (formerly Marks and Spencer). She will meet community groups who provide vital help and support to local asylum seekers and refugees. From there she’ll be greeted by Littleborough folk group Oakenhoof and led towards The Esplanade and into Rochdale Memorial Gardens.

In the gardens from approximately 1pm until 1.30pm, Amal will be welcomed by the mayor, Councillor Aasim Rashid, along with young people from local schools, colleges and other community groups. There will be music performed by Wardle Brass Band and eye catching displays from Skylight Circus Arts. Everyone is invited to help ensure Amal receives a warm reception, by gathering on Yorkshire Street or in Rochdale Memorial Gardens on The Esplanade near the town hall. The Walk is produced by Good Chance, Stephen Daldry, David Lan and Tracey Seaward in association with Handspring Puppet Company and is produced and presented in Rochdale by Rochdale Borough Council and Your Trust in partnership with Manchester International Festival.

Lancashire News

In a record-breaking year for the Green Flag Award, as the scheme marks its Silver Jubilee, with six of Preston’s Parks included in the 2,127 celebrating success. Preston City Council is raising a Green Flag Award at six sites across the city. The award is the international quality mark for parks and green spaces.

After 18 months that have seen our parks and green spaces play a vital role for people through lockdowns as a place to relax, exercise and meet friends and family safely, the news that Preston’s parks has again achieved the Green Flag Award is testament to the hard work and dedication of the gardeners, friends groups and volunteers that make the green space a great space that everyone can enjoy.

The list of awards for Preston are:
• Ashton Park
• Avenham & Miller Parks
• Fishwick Bottoms
• Haslam Park
• Moor Park
• Winckley Square Gardens

The Friends of Haslam Park have again been awarded the Green Flag Community Award for their volunteer management of the sensory and rose gardens, and the Local Nature Reserve. Winckley Square Gardens has also achieved the much coveted Green Heritage Site Accreditation, supported by Historic England, for the management of its historic features.

Councillor Robert Boswell, Cabinet member for environment and community safety at Preston City Council, said:
“We are absolutely delighted to yet again receive awards as part of the Green Flag Awards Scheme here in Preston.
“We know how much quality green spaces matter to residents and visitors, especially during the pandemic when our parks offered a sanctuary to residents during lockdown, and these awards celebrate the dedication that goes into maintaining Preston’s parks and green spaces to such a high standard. “It’s great recognition for all the hard work by park rangers, gardeners, staff, volunteers and Friends Groups to keep all our parks and open spaces looking at their best all year round.”

Commenting on the news that Preston’s parks had once again achieved the Green Flag Award standard, Green Flag Award Scheme Manager Paul Todd said: “I would like to congratulate everyone involved in making the parks in Preston worthy of a Green Flag Award.” “To meet the requirements demanded by the scheme is testament to the hard work of the staff and volunteers who do so much to ensure that Preston’s parks high standards of horticulture, safety and environmental management and is a place that supports people to live healthy lives.”

The Green Flag Award scheme, managed by environmental charity Keep Britain Tidy under licence from the Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government, recognises and rewards well-managed parks and green spaces, setting the benchmark standard for their management across the United Kingdom and around the world.

Preston’s parks and open spaces are a few of the 2,127 sites across the country to collect the award for 2021.
A full list of Green Flag Award-winning parks and green spaces is available on the Green Flag Award website. https://www.greenflagaward.org

Lancashire News

Work to transform Royton Town Hall and Library into a multi-use community hub has now begun.
The project will breathe new life into the much-loved town hall and adjoining Royton Library to create a welcoming, family-friendly venue in the heart of the town. As well as creating an improved library area and better community rooms, there will also be space for a local business to launch. To allow works to progress, the access ramp will be closed from Monday 23 October for one week.

We’ll also be carrying out some major work to the roof from 8 November to 3 December, and unfortunately during this time the library will have to close. We’re sorry for any inconvenience. You can use any other local library, details of which are at www.oldham.gov.uk/libraries. Cllr Arooj Shah, Council Leader and Cabinet Member for Economic and Social Reform, said: “This is a really exciting project for Royton. Residents are rightly very proud of their town hall, so we’re delighted to see work begin to improve it and the library for the community. “It’s something we’ve been committed to doing for a long time but couldn’t start during the pandemic. It’s great news that work has now started and the building will soon get a new lease of life!” The historic building is being made accessible for all users and will become much more energy efficient – supporting Oldham Council’s commitment to becoming the greenest borough in Greater Manchester.

The 1960s rear extension will be demolished with the cleared area then landscaped to create a flagged area with seating. The existing library area is being sub-divided into two distinct areas. The first being a newly created refurbished library area and next to this, a commercial space which we would like to rent to a local business or social enterprise such as a café or use complementary to the library.

A reception desk will manage both the new library area and offices for council staff – which will extend to the ground floor of Royton Town Hall. Upstairs in the town hall, the existing community room will be retained and revamped to offer an improved area for the community to use. The refurbishment will also include a platform lift, accessible toilet and kitchen area. The whole building will also benefit from the installation of additional sustainability and energy efficiency measures to reduce its carbon footprint, as part of our Green New Deal – an ambitious target of the council becoming carbon neutral by 2025 followed by the whole borough by 2030. The refurbished town hall is expected to be complete and fully open to the community later next year.

Lancashire News

A piece of street art which pays homage to the Guild Wheel cycle route and its creator has appeared in Preston, and the Towns Fund Board is looking for more buildings in Preston to be host to future murals. Adorning the rear wall of Snape’s Printers in Boltons Court, which links Avenham Lane with Church Street, the mural painted by local artist Gavin Renshaw, features a cyclist riding through Avenham and Miller Parks with the East Lancashire railway bridge and historic Park Hotel in the background.

Gavin was inspired to paint the mural as a tribute to former Preston councillor Peter Ward MBE. A passionate cyclist, the 21-mile circular Guild Wheel was Peter’s idea and he helped see the ambitious project through to completion in time for the Guild in 2012. The mural is entitled 0/21 as the location depicted marks the official start and finish line of the Guild Wheel. Peter passed away in 2017 and a memorial garden in his name was also unveiled on the route in June this year.

Funded as part of Preston’s £20.9m Town Deal, the street murals are the latest Preston Pop Up project aimed at increasing footfall in the city centre following the pandemic, as well as supporting local arts and culture.
Three further murals are planned in the city and Paint Preston, which is managing the project, is looking for other building owners to come forward to offer up wall space to support the artists. Robert Binns, a member of Preston Partership and the Preston Towns Fund Board, said:

“We’ve seen how street art in other cities around the world can create a strong sense of place and encourage visitors to spend more time exploring a city. That’s what we’re trying to achieve with this latest Pop Up project which will create another cultural focal point and support local artists.” Councillor Matthew Brown, Leader of Preston City Council said:
“This brilliant new mural by local artist Gavin, perfectly depicts an iconic Preston scene. It allows us to pay tribute to former Councillor Peter Ward MBE who gave so much to Preston by helping to create the iconic Guild Wheel, while welcoming more culture to our city.

I encourage anyone who owns a building in Preston to come forward for this fantastic opportunity to create more great murals which will enrich the cultural journey through our city, welcome more visitors and celebrate local talent.” Ben Rutherford, one of the project organisers for Paint Preston, said: “The other planned murals are all inspired in some way by Preston’s heritage, culture, and environment. They will be appearing at other locations in the city and one thing we need now is prominent wall space for the murals, so we’re urging any other building owners who would like to come forward and offer up an external wall to contact us.”

The pop ups also include the recently unveiled Wallace and Gromit sculpture and MET event space. The projects are being funded from a £1 million pot of initial funding Preston received from the government’s national Towns Fund. If you have a building that you would consider for one of the planned street art murals contact paintpreston2021@gmail.com

Lancashire News, Lancs Sport

The founder of the Walk and Talk For Men programme in Preston starts another year supporting Movember today, on 1st November. Rob Flood first began taking part in the initiative – which sees men grow moustaches every November in the name of testicular cancer, prostate cancer and men’s suicide – more than a decade ago, and has since become a Movember community ambassador. Alongside growing a moustache, men taking part will raise funds for the Movember Foundation, which supports men tackling said issues.

Rob, whose own fundraising target is £1,000, explained how becoming a community ambassador set him on a journey that saw Walk and Talk For Men come to fruition in Preston, and subsequently lead to Walk and Talk For Lilywhites – which is run by PNECET and is for both men and women of all ages – being formed, too. “Last year, I set myself a personal challenge to walk 250km for Movember, and as part of that, I met another community ambassador, James Mace, from Essex,” Rob said.

“He had set up a Walk and Talk For Men group and I wanted to do something in Preston that would be more prolonged so that I could actively be in the community and help men to get out and come along for a walk, in Avenham and Miller Park. That’s been quite successful and we have our year anniversary coming up next year.”
Walk and Talk For Lilywhites was then formed in July of this year and Rob recently came down to join the walk, and was pleased to notice the benefits it is providing. “It was nice being able to get down. It’s a big group. It was really nice to see the mix of people and see people who don’t necessarily know each other getting together and sharing a walk.

“You can come and talk about anything and everything in a comfortable environment. With it being outside, for those people who might be isolated, it gets them out of the house and speaking to other people. “It was quite refreshing to see people getting together in an outdoor environment with people they don’t know and being quite comfortable to do that.” Rob is hosting an event at the Market Ale House in Leyland as part of his fundraising activities on Saturday 6th November from 5.30pm, with live music, a raffle and a shave down for men taking part in Movember, with all welcome to join and support the fundraising efforts. Find out more here.

Walk and Talk For Lilywhites is a weekly walking group hosted by Preston North End Community and Education Trust.
Anyone is welcome to join, with walkers meeting at the Sir Tom Finney Splash every Thursday from 10.15am, before setting off around Moor Park at 10.30am. Simply fill in the online PAR-Q by clicking here ahead of your first visit.

Lancashire News, Lancs Sport

Alan Pace speaks about the partnership between Burnley FC and Burnley College Burnley Football Club Chairman Alan Pace has lauded the recently announced partnership between the club and Burnley College who have become Burnley FC’s first Esports Academy. The Clarets are the first Premier League club to partner with an education establishment to promote the business of Esports through a BTEC qualification in Esports developed by the college.

The BTEC covers business marketing, video game design, event planning, production, broadcasting and journalism to highlight the various pathways students can enter into the rapidly growing industry. Alongside providing students with a wide-ranging education in Esports, the course will also act as a pathway into Burnley FC’s Pro Esports teams as well as additional learning and business opportunities with the club.

Chairman Pace said the club was delighted to have partnered with Burnley College and sees the relationship as another chance for the Clarets to innovate off the pitch and appeal to a brand-new audience. He said: “We’re really excited about this partnership and the opportunities it will afford to students in our local area to learn, develop and hopefully go on to do some really cool things in the Esports space. “We wanted to develop the club’s Esports offering when we first came in as we feel it caters to a rapidly growing, inclusive audience who we want to appeal to as a club – this is the next step in that process.

“The fact that Burnley College run this amazing BTEC and are right on our doorstep made this partnership a no brainer for us. As a Premier League football club, we hope we can bring some additional expertise and opportunities to the table for the students in the local area to forge closer links with us. That’s whether they join our Esports Academy or if we can help them develop their education or business opportunities.”

The new facility will be named the Burnley FC Esports Academy with players from the college representing Burnley FC’s new Esports Academy team named “BEES” in the National Esports League on titles such as Rocket League and Overwatch. Some players will also join up with the Burnley FC Esports Pro’s in the FIFA 22 Global Series.
There are plans over time to increase the size of the joint facilities used at both the college and Turf Moor as the course and teams expand.

Over the last 10 years Esports has grown exponentially and is on course to become a $2 Billion industry, with new Esports arenas being introduced all over the world as demand continues to grow. You can watch how Burnley FC Esports teams get on this season in all tournaments by following the official Burnley FC Twitch channel www.twitch.tv/burnleyfc.

Lancashire News, Lancs Sport, Lancs What's On

The world’s largest IRONKIDS event will be bigger than ever when it returns to Bolton next year.
A record 4,000 young athletes will take part on Saturday July 2 as the event continues to grow in popularity. Registration opens at 1pm on Friday, October 29 on the IRONMAN website. https://www.ironman.com/im-uk
The Night Run will also return next year on July 1 and 1,500 places will be made available at the same time.

Registration is £4 for IRONKIDS and £12 for the Night Run, plus processing fee. Both events will help set the scene for the full IRONMAN UK event on Sunday, July 3 as athletes complete a gruelling 2.4 mile swim, a 112 mile bike ride and a full 26.2 mile marathon. Deputy Leader of Bolton Council, Cllr Hilary Fairclough, said: “We can’t wait for IRONKIDS to return as part of Bolton’s iconic IRONMAN weekend, and we’re delighted the event has been expanded to meet growing demand. “The event is always great fun, bringing people into the town centre and creating a real family atmosphere. “But it also serves a serious purpose by inspiring young people to get involved in sport, and we’re even starting to see former IRONKIDS taking part in the larger events.

“Night Run is also making a welcome return, giving residents of all ages a chance to enjoy themselves and take part.” The race is open to children aged 3 to 15 years old with different distances depending on the school year of the child. Each child will receive an IRONKIDS t-shirt in their entry pack and a medal after completing their run. Sam Braun, Regional Operations Director for IRONMAN UK and Ireland, said: “We are delighted to bring back both IRONKIDS and Night Run to the one weekend in July next year.

“Along with IRONMAN UK, this festival weekend of sport involves the whole family and encourages fitness through participation and inspiration. “The support from the local community is unparalleled and we are delighted to put on events for all ages.”