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Lancashire News, Lancs What's On

An award-winning project which brings a broad range of arts events into libraries across the borough is back for 2020. Now in its 16th season, Cultural Hubs: Arts in Libraries – crowned the UK’s favourite Lottery-funded arts programme in 2016 – will run a packed programme of events between February and July, with something for everyone to enjoy.

This February half-term – in partnership with local organisation, Citadel Arts – St Helens Libraries will present a week of events showcasing the very best theatre for children and families as part of a new Story Telling Festival.
Featuring uplifting shows using puppetry and songs in unusual, intimate settings such as giant pop-up story caves, The WhirlyBird; Twisted Tales for Terrible Children; and Beastly Belle are certainly not to be missed.

Heading into March – multi-awarding winning writer, performer, and BBC Radio 4 broadcaster Byron Vincent will bring his funny and entertaining show, Instagramming the Apocalypse, to Chester Lane Library on Friday 20 March at 7:00pm.

Then on Saturday 28 March, a group of local artists will come together in the former Argos store in Church Street for a day of diverse works, including dance, photography, sculptures and live art.

Moving into April – a digital maker station will make its way to Bllinge Library on Thursday 9 April. Held during the library’s opening hours of 11:00am-4:00pm – you can let your imagination run wild by creating digital crafts – and best of all, you don’t have to be a tech whiz to take part.
There will be football fever in Parr Library on Saturday 25 April, 1:00pm, when Mikron Theatre perform ‘Atlanta Forever’ 100 years on from when Dick Kerr’s Ladies football team drew a 53,000 crowd to Goodison Park – a side one of St Helens’ famous daughters, the legendary Lily Par, was a part of.

Meanwhile, following successful bids to the Arts in Libraries Fund, local artists and performers have been given the opportunity to showcase their talents at a number of exhibitions in libraries around the borough.
Pete Fletcher will use his fascination of old and new technology to create a virtual reality film of St Helens Borough which will be premiered at Haydock Library on Thursday 27 February – while on World Book Day (5 March) Rebecca Ainsworth will display her exhibition ‘The Trace of Words’ in Rainhill Library – a video installation made up of words in response to library visitors’ favourite books.

Drawing on the history and landscape of where she grew up, Stephanie Fry has used film, photography, collage and audio to bring back two forgotten Billinge locations; the old cinema that used to be on the same site as Billinge Library and the Cold War bunker on Billinge Hill. ‘Threads of History’ will be on display at Billinge Library on Thursday 12 March.

Then from 22 May until 19 June – Alice in Wonderland fans will be in for a treat when Angela Wilkinson brings Exploring Wonderland to Rainford Library which will see re imagined scenes from Lewis Carrol’s much-loved story, using libraries in St Helens as the backdrop.

And finally on Friday 3 July at 7:30pm, father and daughter duo Imogen and Jeremy Sleith will hit all the right notes as they perform a collection of new jazz songs titled ‘Songs of Hope and Redemption’ in Rainhill Library as part of their St Helens Jazz Café project. As part of the Cultural Hubs: Arts in Libraries programme, residents looking to lift their mood and self-confidence can also access award-winning ‘arts on prescription’ service ‘Creative Alternatives’.

The programme can be offered as an alternative or as an additional treatment for people with mild to moderate depression, anxiety or stress – opening up opportunities to take part in a number of workshops led by trained artists. A Creative Alternatives open day will be held at Peter Street Library on Friday 20 March between 2:00pm- 4:30pm.

St Helens Council’s portfolio holder for libraries, arts, events and culture, Councillor Anthony Burns, said: “We’re really proud of our Cultural Hubs programme and how it has positively impacted communities across the borough, with over 4,000 people engaging with the project last year.
“Cultural Hubs is an opportunity for people, who may not usually engage with the arts, to be introduced to the world of arts and culture in a comfortable setting, and I’m delighted to see it return, with more exciting and inclusive events scheduled to take place in our libraries this year.”
Cultural Hubs is funded by Arts Council England and delivered by St Helens Council’s Library Service, which is an Arts Council England National Portfolio Organisation.

Look out for a new Cultural Hubs events brochure in libraries and venues across the borough very soon, or alternatively visit www.sthelens.gov.uk/artsinlibraries

Keep up to date with what’s happening in your local library by following St Helens Libraries Service on social media. Check them out on Facebook, Twitter and Instagram.

Lancashire News

A leading Burnley councillor has urged residents across the borough to take more pride in their communities in 2020. Councillor Cosima Towneley said Burnley Council could only effectively tackle the problem of flytipping with the help and support of local people.

“The council does what it can to keep our communities clean and tidy but it’s fighting a never-ending battle to try and keep our streets free of flytipping and the only way we can win that battle is with the help of residents,” she said.

“Think how much money we could save if we didn’t need to have clean-up crews going out every day to sort out the mess left by a selfish minority who don’t care about what effect dumping their rubbish on someone else’s doorstep has. “We are organising extra street clean-ups in certain areas but that hard work and investment is being abused by some people who think it means they can wash their hands of their responsibility to dispose of their rubbish properly.

We can clean up a street only for rubbish to start appearing again within a matter of days. “In most cases people don’t go far to dump their rubbish and residents in the area know who’s responsible for the flytipping.

We want people to report the flytippers and give the council information so that we can catch those responsible and fine and prosecute them. We want to make the flytippers think twice before they dump any rubbish and realise there’s a good chance they will get caught and punished. “We need people to take a pride in their communities and help us catch and fine those that dump their rubbish on our doorsteps and wash their hands of any responsibility. “Dish the dirt on the flytippers and help us keep your communities clean and tidy.”

The council will clean up flytipping if it’s reported and officers try to gather evidence so that action can be taken against those responsible. For example, the council’s contractors recently cleaned up more than 20 bags of household rubbish dumped at the rear of Ormerod Road, Burnley. Officers traced the rubbish to an address close by and the householders were spoken to and now face further enforcement action.

Residents can give information on flytipping and those responsible online at www.burnley.gov.ukor by contacting the council’s streetscene unit by email streetscene@burnley.gov.ukor caling 01282 425011.

Chorley & Leyland News, East Lancs News, Lancashire News

How long have you been in the Private Investigation Industry? I have been an investigator for over 40 years now. I was a detective at Scotland Yard for 16 years before transferring to the National Crime Squad where I conducted Investigations all over the world, working with many International Law Enforcement Agencies in the process.

After retiring from Law Enforcement in 2009, I worked in both a Retail and an Investment Bank, in various financial crime investigation roles and this really helped, seeing frauds operate from both sides of the fence. I set my own Fraud and Corruption Agency (Fedora) up in early 2019 and have been amazed at just how many investigations are out there that don’t get reported immediately or ever to the police. That was really an eye opener.

What made you get in to this line of work? From my first days in the police at the age of 18, I knew that I wanted to be a detective. The pride detectives put into their paperwork and the painstaking amount of work that was required to get to the finish line astounded me. For me the real police work starts after all of the excitement of the arrest has subsided. However, it always frustrated me, that the police as an institution were too fond of putting crimes and the police officers who investigate them into boxes.

I am afraid organised crime doesn’t work that way, it cuts across all areas of criminal activity. Organised fraud, usually involves some form of corruption and importantly is committed across numerous jurisdictions and involving a number of crime areas such as; cyber activity and money laundering. As a result, investigators need to be knowledgeable and proficient in all of these areas to take the crimes on otherwise the investigation that will follow will be too narrow and only progress within the comfort zone of the person investigating. Many times the investigator just doesn’t know where to start and so cases get left in the tray. Training is the key and that costs money.

In a crime survey for England and Wales there was an estimated 3,863,000 fraud offences against adults in England and Wales year ending 2019. What is the best way to protect ourselves? Unfortunately, individual greed and/or naivety lies at the root of many frauds that are perpetrated. The old adage that if somethings is too good to be true it probably isn’t, is so true yet so many members of the public don’t take heed and never think they will be scammed. However, nobody is safe from fraud and fraudulent approaches, all the fraudster needs is the key to open your door. Often this key can be obtained through cyber activity and it is more subtle than you would imagine.

The fraudsters gain most of the information they need through phishing activity. Lots of people think they know what ’phishing is’ but if that was true why do so many fall for the scams?

The first stage of the attack is often through the random use of spamming. The cyber-crime world is a flat structure. Spammers are not fraudsters they do their thing and then sell on the product to others on the net. Millions of emails sent out to millions of people. The messages usually carry no threat, no malicious payload such as a virus or trojan, they just want to identify whether your email address is ‘live’ and that you are a potential ‘clicker’, someone who clicks on anything without too much thought. Great, you clicked, you’re on the list.

Once they have been identified your email address as ‘live’ the information will go on to a list that will be shared amongst internet spammers, hackers and fraudsters via password protected websites owned by cyber criminals. They are ready to take things to the next step.

Some cyber criminals will send out emails to your email address which contain malicious code hidden in a link or word document. These virus’ are designed to spider their way onto your machine in order to steal information or turn your machine into a zombie to be used in other cyber-attacks. Others will start to do some homework, some research and try to link your email address to social media activity. LinkedIn is very useful to cyber criminals. They want to see what makes you tick and most importantly what might make you click on a link. Once they have found the key, possibly a hobby or an interest of yours, you will be ready to be ‘spear phished’.

A spear phishing email is an email designed especially for you. It might purport to be from someone you know or about an interest you like. It might be a friend who is organising that golf trip later in the year or it might be an invitation to a special event with your idol. Whatever the email looks like it will be designed to make you click on that link or open up that word document. When you do, the fraud or malicious activity will execute and you will be hooked. In short you are just about to be defrauded. You are just about to send lots of hard earned money to the wrong account, a ‘mule account’.

What should people be looking out for? So, what do you do about it. Well, slow down and think! Does life really work that way? Why should you get that special email? What the hurry? Why the secrecy?

Fraudsters always want you to rush and its always a big secret! A deal that no one else knows about. Emails that urge to you do something urgently and secretly should be ‘red alerts’ to you.

Next, DON’T click on anything until you are sure who the email is from. Take a look at the email address of the sender and once you have taken a look, have three more looks. It might not actually say what you think it says.
Tiny changes to a name, changing the name ‘tommy’ to tomny’ is all that is needed. As a belt and braces, hover your cursor over the email address and see if the email actually resolves to a completely different email address. This is where any reply is really going to.

Lastly, if you are told by anyone that your account and money have been compromised and you need to place your life savings into a safe account DON’T DO IT.

Again, life doesn’t work like that and nor do banks or the police. Seek advice but don’t send that money. If you are reading this and are thinking I would never do that, I beg to differ. On a day when you are all over the place, rushing around and just not thinking straight, that email or phone call will catch you. On the end of that phone or email will be a fraudster so polished and convincing you will do whatever they say. When that day happens, remember this article and stop and think! Take a moment and remember, life doesn’t work this way.

What should the government be doing to prevent this? I don’t want to criticise the police as it is in my blood however, things have got disturbingly bad.

There just aren’t enough resources and nowhere near the right amount of training to cope with the onslaught of fraud activity that hits the UK. For this to happen there needs to be a sea change in the Government’s response and put fraud higher up the agenda.

Fraud isn’t committed by fraudsters and they don’t fit in a box called fraud. They are organised criminals and the money that is made from such activity is used to commit more crime and this includes terrorism.
It is interesting to note that the UK is targeted more than any other country on earth by fraudsters, because of our unique character.

We are in the main, very polite and trusting, especially of people we believe to be professionals, such as solicitors. Even the word commands respect for the typical Brit. All that a fraudster needs to do is raise his or her inclination and tone on the phone when you are hesitating, saying something like, “Don’t you trust me?” and the UK caller will back down and become totally subservient. I have listened to literally thousands of phone calls where it happens just like this.

We just don’t like saying no and we certainly don’t like slamming the phone down. However, on the end of that phone is a master at deception. Possibly with ‘call centre’ experience, they have a silky charm, are very used to talking to members of the public, sound like they know what they are talking about and are very, very persistent.

Take a deep breath and say No. Give yourself time, don’t be rushed or bullied. Put that phone down and DON’T apologise when you do it!

Lancashire News

Whilst the UK enjoyed an unseasonably mild end to 2019, the winter is set to take a grip with weather forecasters warning a cold snap could be on its way during the first few weeks of the new year. As the weather gets colder, the risk to your home increases. Insulating your water pipes will protect them from freezing, bursting and flooding. Sometimes pipes freezing and thawing can cause them to burst. There are simple steps you can take to protect your home:

• Pay attention to the pipes in the garage, loft, or those outside your home, as these are the ones most likely to freeze when the temperature drops.

• Wrap up your pipes to prevent them from freezing.

• Keep your heating on low during a cold spell, even if you’re away.

• Should the worst happen find your stop tap and turn the water off immediately.

The Met Office has more seasonal advice online and United Utilities’ winterwise campaign has tips on protecting your home this winter.

Lancashire News

3 more major leisure and retail brands have joined the £80 million Rochdale Riverside scheme. South African restaurant Nando’s, famous for its Portuguese inspired peri-peri chicken dishes, has taken a 3,500 sq ft unit on a 15 year-lease. Nando’s will be joined by luxury dessert chain Heavenly Desserts, which is taking 2,000 sq ft of space on a 10-year lease.

Superdrug will also be joining the retail mix with a 4,500 sq ft unit, offering the best in accessible health and beauty products and services. The latest deals follow handover to M&S, H&M, Next, Boots, Reel Cinemas and Hollywood Bowl’s new mini golf concept, Puttstars, with all currently undertaking internal fitout works on site. JD Sports and River Island will also take units in the scheme.

Delivered in a joint venture between Genr8 and Kajima in partnership with Rochdale Borough Council, Rochdale Riverside comprises approximately 200,000 sq ft (60,970 sq m) of retail and leisure accommodation in the heart of Rochdale. Work on site is set to complete in April 2020 with a launch festival scheduled for Easter weekend. These new deals mark another major step forward for the scheme, which will bring 24 new retail and leisure units to the heart of Rochdale town centre, alongside a 6-screen cinema.

Lauren Gavaghan, Development Manager at Genr8 Developments, said:
“We are delighted to have agreed a deal to bring 3 popular brands to the Rochdale Riverside scheme. These occupiers will complement the current tenant mix in the scheme and will help drive forward the leisure element.
“The scheme is now 80% let and with works continuing to progress at pace, we are now looking forward to completion and the launch.”

Councillor Allen Brett, leader of Rochdale Borough Council, said: “Rochdale town centre has undergone a major transformation in recent years, and Rochdale Riverside is a key part of it. These new additions will complement the ever expanding offer in Rochdale town centre, which includes fantastic new independent restaurants, Bombay Brew and the Mannerist, and will soon welcome a Hogarth’s pub as part of a £1 million restoration of one of our major historic buildings.”

Cheetham & Mortimer and LTL Property are joint agents on the scheme.
Warwick Smither, director at Cheetham and Mortimer, said: “This is a massive endorsement for the town and the Rochdale Riverside development. “Securing brands such as Nando’s, Superdrug and Heavenly Desserts is a huge boost for the scheme and everybody involved.
We are looking forward to the launch of Rochdale Riverside and announcing further deals as we draw closer to completion.”

Lancashire News

An ambitious plan to transform Oldham, including creating more than 2,000 new homes in the town centre, 1,000 new jobs and 100 apprenticeship opportunities, is set to be approved by Oldham Council. The ‘Creating a Better Place’ vision will unlock £306m of investment across Oldham by focussing on building more homes for local people, delivering new jobs through town centre regeneration, and ensuring Oldham is a great place to visit and do business.

Oldham Council has undertaken a detailed review of the regeneration plans for the borough in order to strengthen the focus on building homes in the town centre. This means it will be able to meet the urgent need for more housing for residents – designed for a range of budgets and needs – by prioritising urban sites, and where possible, avoiding building on greenbelt land to protect the borough’s much-loved open spaces.

‘Creating a Better Place’ is expected to significantly boost regeneration across the town centre, making it a destination of choice with lots of family-friendly and accessible places to go, creating a vibrant night-time economy and improving the variety of retail space. The Council is also committed to preserving Tommyfield Market and providing a sustainable future for it.
Councillor Sean Fielding, Leader of the Council, said: “Since becoming Leader of the Council I have listened to what residents are saying about the future of the borough and I have undertaken a detailed review of the evidence.

“I believe that this refocus of our plans will be revolutionary for Oldham, bringing jobs, homes and investment into our town centre and will help to create a better place to work, live and visit. “Oldham Town Centre is at the heart of our borough and the potential to create lasting change is immense. Together, we can Create a Better Place to secure the future of our town centre and ensure it thrives.”

‘Creating a Better Place’ is a boroughwide plan building on Oldham Council’s Town Centre Vision – a framework published in July last year which aims to address the challenges faced by town centres and sets out the priority areas for regeneration with housing as the catalyst.

It will provide an approach for the Council to support inclusive growth, thriving communities and the co-operative agenda by:
• Building quality homes
• Providing opportunities to learn and gain new skills
• Providing opportunities to grow local businesses and create jobs
• Supporting Oldham’s ambition to be the greenest borough
• Embedding sustainability, energy efficiency and low (zero) carbon
• Improving life-chances and the health/well-being of our residents and local communities.

The strategy will build on Oldham’s recent successful town centre regeneration projects including the redevelopment of the Old Town Hall, improved connectivity via Metrolink and the redevelopment of Oldham Leisure Centre and Parliament Square.

Whilst construction work to transform the former Oldham Library into OMA – a state-of-the-art £13m arts and heritage centre which will offer galleries, a modern archive facility and performance space – will soon begin.

It accompanies ongoing investment and regeneration projects across the borough including:
• The new Saddleworth School in Diggle
• Redevelopment of Alexandra Park depot to support the ground-breaking Northern Roots project which will create the biggest ecological centre and urban farm in the UK
• The refurbishment of Royton Town Hall
• The development of a leading hotel at Prince’s Gate, Oldham Mumps
• Other projects to be announced in the coming months.

Lancashire News

Walmsley Primary School and Egerton Park in Bolton today saw a special visit from Tour of Britain mascot ToBi to present them with their trophy for winning the National Land Art competition. The 2019 Tour of Britain finished with a spectacular Greater Manchester stage, that saw the world’s top professional cyclists race through all ten boroughs of the city, including Bolton, before the finish in the heart of the city, where Mathieu van der Poel was crowned Tour of Britain winner.

The Egerton community came together with Walmsley Primary School to create the winning cycling installation that was shown around the world on the race’s live television coverage, and came out on top in the public vote via tourofbritain.co.uk

“Once again the reception to the Tour of Britain Land Art competition was outstanding and we had some truly exceptional entries from across the country. I would like to congratulate the whole community in Egerton on their award, but also for their work in helping so many people to enjoy and be involved in the Greater Manchester stage of the Tour”, said Tour of Britain Race Director Mick Bennett.

Bolton Council leader, Cllr David Greenhalgh, said, “I’m thrilled that Walmsley Primary School and Egerton Park have won the National Land Art competition. To come top among so many fantastic entries from across the UK is testament to the hard work and creativity of everyone involved.
“From Bromley Cross and Egerton to Horwich and Blackrod, I was so proud of the way everyone came out to support the event and cheer on the competitors. The support and enthusiasm of the local community is part of why major sporting events like the Tour of Britain want to come to Bolton.”
Commenting on the presentation, Cllr Samantha Connor from Bolton Council and Miriam Shamir from the Play team said, “We were very excited that the Tour of Britain was coming to Bolton and passing right through our village so wanted to get the whole community involved to support the cyclists.

“Along with the Play team and Walmsley Primary School we created our land art Installation on Egerton Park and Bolton Council provided T-shirts for all the children to spell out ‘Bolton’. “This combined with the Play team’s fun activities, face painter and an ice cream van provided an exciting and memorable day for everyone as the Tour of Britain raced past.

“We were thrilled to be shortlisted and then to actually win is an honour and a credit to every single person involved within our community!” Egerton Park and Walmsley Primary School follow in the footsteps of the South Molton Farmers from Devon that won the inaugural land art competition in 2018.

The 2020 Tour of Britain is a part of the new UCI ProSeries and will take place between Sunday 6 and Sunday 13 September, starting in Cornwall for the first time and finishing in the Granite City of Aberdeen eight days later. In October race organisers SweetSpot announced that they are looking for a new title partner for the 2020 race, following the successful conclusion of a three year partnership with OVO Energy.

The Tour of Britain is British Cycling’s premier road cycling event, giving cycling fans the opportunity to see the world’s best teams and riders competing on their doorstep and helping to build a great cycling nation.

Lancashire News

OLDHAM Council and its partners are encouraging people to consider volunteering as part of the final week of its New Year New You campaign. Thousands of people volunteer in Oldham each year and there is room for more to give just a small part of their time to help others as well as gaining personal benefits such as to their health. Studies have found that when people stop thinking about their own problems and focus on someone other than themselves, stress levels start to decrease. And playing a role in the local community is a very important part of Oldham’s great heritage.
Councillor Arooj Shah Oldham Council Deputy Leader and Cabinet Lead for Social Justice and Communities, said:

“January is a great time for people to set personal goals and volunteering is one of those ‘hidden gems’ that people who give time to help others say they wished they had started sooner.

“For children and young people, volunteering builds social skills and develops awareness that proves very attractive to future employers.
“For older people, the benefits of volunteering show up quickly and have long-term effects. For example, the benefits of consistent socializing include better brain function and lower risk for depression and anxiety.

“And for all those busy people who think they haven’t got time to volunteer, just a couple of hours volunteering a week can prove a fun distraction from the stresses of everyday lives.” Action Together is an accredited Volunteer Centre in Oldham that helps both individuals find a suitable place to volunteer as well as working with organisations to advertise suitable opportunities.

Based in offices in Manchester Chambers (just off West Street), Oldham Town Centre, Action Together offers a range of support to strengthen communities. Their belief is that by learning together, sharing skills and pooling resources more can get done.

Nayan Joshi, Senior Partnerships & Project Officer at Action Together, said: “It is great to think that one person’s efforts can change the life of someone else in Oldham. However, the best part, and often overlooked, is that volunteering is just plain fun. ​“We support people to get help, providing opportunities to get better connected to what is going on in their local community and find the support they need.

“We also strengthen community and voluntary groups by providing support to run their group, find and secure resources and work together to do more.”

For more detail go to Action Together’s website www.actiontogether.org.uk and to find out more about Oldham Council’s New Year New You campaign go to https://www.oldham.gov.uk/newyearnewyou

Lancashire News

Bury town centre has been awarded Purple Flag status for a fifth consecutive year in recognition of its thriving night time economy.
Purple Flag is a town and city centre award – similar to the Green Flag for Parks and Blue Flag for beaches – which promotes excellence in the evening and night time economy and aims to raise the standard and broaden the appeal of town and city centres between 6pm and 6am. Areas awarded the Purple Flag are recognised for providing a vibrant and diverse mix of dining, entertainment and culture while promoting the safety and wellbeing of visitors and local residents.

Bury is one of only two town centres in Greater Manchester to fly the Purple Flag, having been the only town across GM for the last four years.
The accolade comes as Bury starts 2020 as the first GM Town of Culture, which includes plans for a multitude of family-friendly ‘Happy’ events inspired by the legacy of Bury’s own Victoria Wood. Councillor David Jones, leader of Bury Council and chair of the Purple Flag Steering Group, said:

“We are delighted to receive this prestigious award for the fifth year in a row, and the timing could not have been better. “I had the pleasure of picking up our first Purple Flag years ago, and our fifth flag is a tribute to all the efforts that partners across Bury have put in to maintain our high standards. “We will continue to work together to ensure that Bury continues to go from strength to strength and offers an enjoyable and safe evening out for everyone.’’

To retain Purple Flag Status, the Bury team had to provide detailed information for a range of criteria including, cleanliness and safety, movement and transport, the range of attractions, entertainment and events, high quality environment and strong partnership working.

The team has recently been working to strengthen the Town Centre Pub Watch group, support the Street Pastor service (who help vulnerable people on a night out), improve safety standards across the taxi/hackney carriage service and work towards a Best Bar None scheme which will be led by Greater Manchester Police. This programme, supported by the Home Office, is designed to improve standards within licensed premises through partnership working with the licensed trade, police and Bury Council.

The aim is to create safer, busier and more successful businesses coupled with reduced levels of crime and disorder. Not only has Bury retained Purple Flag accreditation but it has also been selected by the Purple Flag Panel as a finalist for the Purple Flag Award in the “Movement” category. This reflects the strong partnership working with TfGM and the authorities continued work to ensure that all town centre users have a range of safe options to travel to and from Bury.

The town will be up for the award with two other areas chosen from other Purple Flag rounds, with the winner being announced at the Association of Town and City management (ATCM) and Purple Flag awards in June 2020 in Cardiff. John Locke, chair of Bury Pub Watch, said: “This is fantastic news and reflects the ongoing hard work of the Bury Purple Flag partners including Pub Watch and GMP. We are determined to create an expanding and improved quality offer for Bury, and ensure all of our customers can enjoy a safe, enjoyable night out in Bury.

We will continue to work with all partners to improve standards, support our evening economy businesses and ensure Bury offers entertainment for all age groups.” The Purple Flag assessor commented: “I was exceedingly impressed with the commitment and enthusiasm of the Purple Flag Assessment Team and partners during the assessment. Their pride in the town was palpable. I have no hesitation in recommending Bury for retention of their Purple Flag status. They are leading the way for Greater Manchester authorities.”

For more details about Bury being the first GM Town of Culture, go to https://www.mynewsdesk.com/uk/bury-council/pressreleases/get-happy-bury-secures-prestigious-greater-manchester-town-of-culture-accolade-2955167

Lancashire News

A prolific flytipper, who repeatedly dumped rubbish in the street behind her home, spent a weekend in the cells before being ordered to complete 100 hours of community service. In the strongest message yet that flytipping will not be tolerated, Livia Krskova was hauled before Bolton Magistrates’ Court for numerous waste offences.

The court heard how Bolton Council enforcement officers found a mattress, a bed frame and a fridge-freezer behind Krskova’s Woodfield Street home in August last year. The discovery was made just 24 hours after she had failed to attend court charged with an earlier flytipping offence. Krskova, 38, admitted leaving the items in the public street but again failed to attend a court hearing scheduled for the following month.

As a result, a warrant was issued for her arrest. A further offence was discovered in November when officers noted 29 black bin bags of household waste dumped in the same spot at the rear of the property in Woodfield Street. The rubbish was easily linked to the Krskova’s address and the offence was added to her growing list of charges. Krskova was eventually arrested on Saturday (Jan 18) before spending two days in custody ahead of a magistrates’ hearing on Monday morning. The court ordered her to pay a £100 fine and £90 victim surcharge for each of the August and November offences. She was also handed 12 Month Community Order which will see her complete 100 hours of unpaid work. Bolton Council’s Executive Cabinet Member for Environmental Regulatory Services, Cllr Anne Galloway, said: “I welcome this tough sentence which I hope will serve as a deterrent to the small minority who choose to blight our neighbourhoods and public spaces.

“This is a particularly shocking case of an individual who has shown utter disregard for her neighbours and repeatedly failed to take responsibility for her own actions. “Not only has she spent time in custody, but she will now spend 100 hours giving back to the community she has harmed. “As a council we are very clear that flytipping is an inexcusable crime. If you offend, you will be prosecuted like any other criminal.”