THE Parish Clerk is to request officers from the Environmental Health department at Burnley Borough Council replace the damaged Fido Bin on the public footpath by the bus stop on Brownside Road before a nasty accidents occurs.

VILLAGERS who live in cottages in Gorple Green are to be formally requested to undertake work on the beech hedge.

The request from the parish council comes after Burnley Borough Council's legal department confirmed in August 2000 that Gorple Green is registered as a village green under the Commons and Inclosure Act of 1876, and indeed comes under Section 29 of the Commons Act.

But the Parish Council is still struggling to tie up the legal difficulties surrounding the unauthorised planting of a beech hedge.

One cottager has stated he has no interest in the hedge and would not sign a letter confirming this. The council has been unable to obtain a reply from one of the other cottages.

It was agreed the clerk should write a letter to the cottagers asking them to remove the part of the beech hedge which belonged to them otherwise the Council would have to undertake the work and bill them accordingly.

THE Parish Council discussed Lancashire County Council's consultation document on Care Homes for Older People and the Clerk was instructed to write to the authority informing them that the Parish Council was totally opposed to the closure of the old people's homes.

County Coun Steve Large said that mention should be made of Burnley's position regarding deprivation with four of the Borough's wards being in the top 10 per cent of deprivation in the country.

It was also noted that a large part of housing in Burnley is terraced with very steep stairsand that there would be a big problem in older people becoming frightened and isolated.

COUNCILLOR Philip Walsh reported that Lancashire County Council has been successful in getting agreement to an improvement plan regarding traffic problems in the village which would hopefully be implemented this year.