"Avoidable" death of man at engineering firm

Plus: The shop which keeps selling booze to kids; and Lancashire Lead returns in print

Dec 18, 2024

Hello and welcome to the 80th edition of The Lancashire Lead. I’ll start with some exciting news which is that this title is returning in print - the latest issue focuses on the housing crisis along with in depth features and more original reporting.

The main story in today’s newsletter focuses on the Blackburn firm fined £80,000 over the “avoidable” death of worker Connor Borthwick. The 22-year-old was crushed when he and a colleague - neither of whom had been sufficiently trained - attempted to move heavy machinery using unsuitable equipment.

Also in today’s newsletter is the Rossendale shop which could lose its licence after repeatedly selling alcohol and knives to underage teenagers. Investigations at the store were prompted by a 14-year-girl who semi-concscious and sick after drinking vodka bought there - one week before a 16-year-old was left “paralytic” when she managed to get alcohol there.

In case you missed it, a special edition of this newsletter went out on Monday looking at what the government’s plans for devolution will mean for Lancashire - you can read that here.

There’s also more on the fallout from that announcement further down and if there’s one thing we can be sure of is that reaching any kind of consensus on what comes next will be an almost impossible task.

A quick note before we move on: The Lancashire Lead is entirely independent and uses a subscription model rather than replying on traditional revenue schemes. To access exclusive features and help enable original, investigative please consider taking a paid subscription.

And as we approach Christmas, don’t forget you can also gift a subscription to a friend or family member using this link.

“Life hadn’t begun” for man crushed to death at work

A Blackburn engineering firm has been given an £80,000 fine over the avoidable death of a young man who was crushed under a heavy machine.

Connor Borthwick, 22, was killed when a large cutting press machine he and a colleague were moving became unbalanced and fell onto him.

The popular young man from Wigan was working at Partwell Special Steels Limited in Blackburn when the tragedy struck in November 2021. Two years later, the company was brought before court to be sentenced over health and safety failings.

Preston Crown Court heard the pair were attempting to move the machine using skates but had no sufficient training to do so, while the company hadn’t completed a risk assessment. A Health and Safety Executive (HSE) investigation concluded a proper assessment would have shown that the skates used were unsuitable for this work.

Speaking on behalf of the family, his sister Emily said Connor was her “amazing, caring, loving and funny little brother”. She continued

“Everyone loved Connor. He was a good soul, and this was evident from the more than 700 people who came to his funeral to pay their respects and share their personal accounts of how Connor had touched their lives.
“He was 22, life hadn’t begun for him, and it was over. Some simple steps should have been taken and weren’t, if they were Connor would be with us today.
“It’s hard to explain to people what we have been through, are going through. We don’t want another family to go through what we have.”

The company pleaded guilty to breaching Health and Sagety regulations and was handed an £80,000 and order to pay £6,700 in court costs. HSE Inspector Anthony Banks said:

“This company’s failures resulted in the death of a much loved young man. Those in control of work activities, including the movement of heavy machinery from one part of a site to another, need to assess the risks of that work, and plan a safe way to undertake it.
“This tragic incident could have easily been avoided with the right controls in place. My thoughts remain with Connor’s family.”

Rawtenstall shop facing licence loss over underage sales

Imagine you’re a shop owner who finds out a teenage girl had been found semi-conscious at a public event after buying vodka from your store. Or that police and trading standards were actively monitoring your business and had both sent children to attempt underage sales there and intercepted other illegal purchases.

You’d probably take some action wouldn’t you? Unfortunately, that wasn’t the response from Pervaz Iqbal whose Rossendale Food and Booze and now the shop could lose its licence as a result.

Rossendale’s licensing committee will meet on Thursday to discuss an review application from Lancashire Police’s licensing officer Sergeant Stephen Dundon who says the shop its failing its duties and its operation is leading to crime and disorder.

The police’s involvement first came about in April when the regular Foodie Friday event at Rossendale Market was having issues with anti-social behaviour. This had progressed to arranged fights and one occasion an underage girl who had bought vodka from the store, ended up semi-conscious and sick.

According to Trading Standards, exactly one week later a complaint was received from a member of the public who claimed that his 16-year-old daughter had purchased alcohol from the premises and became paralytic after drinking it with friends.

The complainant stated he believed that the sale of alcohol to minors was a regular occurrence at the store and on the same day another member of the public reported witnessing the sale of alcohol to children as young as 13.

In May, a 14-year-old girl was sent as a test purchaser and while she was refused alcohol, she was wrongly allowed to buy a knife from the Newchurch Road shop. On that occasion, illicit vapes were also found on sale.

The following month, Sgt Dundon visited the store as a group of 16-year-olds left carrying a bag full of illegally obtained vodka. No ID had been requested and the staff member was fined for allowing the sale.

The licence holder was then challenged to create an action plan on how to stop repeat instances of these underage sales but failed to adequately do so, with the sergeant describing the response as “wholly insufficient”.

In October, two test purchasers aged 14 and 16 were sent to the store and were allowed to buy a 700ml bottle of WKD. Another penalty notice was issued to the staff member working at the time who told police he’d started there in July and received no training.

In his submission, Trading Standards principal officer Jason Middleton wrote:

“In the opinion of Lancashire County Council Trading Standards Service the information presented is evidence that the protection of children from harm licensing objective has been disregarded at the premises.”

The licence holder will be given the chance to defend his store and prove it can operated within the requirements of licensing laws. If he fails to do so, the committee can hand out sanctions ranging from a warning to full revocation of the licence.

New bid to save closure-threatened sexual assault victim charity

Last month, I reported on a fundraising campaign which had been launched in a bid to attempt to save a charity which helps survivors of sexual assault across the county.

Trust House Lancashire carries out vital work protecting some of the most vulnerable people deal with the often life-long effects of the trauma. But its future is at risk if significant funding cannot be found.

Those helped by the charity often find life can be a constant struggle and its work contributes to reducing self-harm and suicidal thoughts; managing depression, anxiety, and stress; and improving sleep and reducing trauma symptoms like flashbacks and panic attacks The charity received an average of three new referrals per day over the last year, with the youngest victim aged just four-years-olds.

While the fundraising campaign has yet to produce anywhere near the large sums needed, a separate saviour bid has been made through the creation of a Change.org petition.

Those behind the charity want to encourage the Ministry of Justice to provide the funding that will allow it to continue providing its services. You can read more and sign the petition here.

Recognition for creations used to in East Lancs art movement

Two structures created by the This is Nelson programme have been nominated for a prestigious Royal Institute of British Architects (RIBA) award.

The Welcome Arch, co-commissioned by the Pendle Festival of Culture and the National Festival of Making, together with the Ripple Effect pop-up structure, commissioned by Super Slow Way and situated in Lomeshaye Park, have both been long-listed for the RIBA MacEvan award.

The arch was created in a collaborative process involving Nelson and Blackburn residents, drawing on the historic textile industry as well as personal insights from local people across the two Lancashire towns. Dual Works, a Birmingham-based architectural and design collective, designed it as a place to sit and converse, as well as enjoy workshops. It is multi-functional and the panels can be adjusted to different angles like a Mexican wave.

The arch fulfilled a ceremonial function at the Pendle Festival of Culture and the National Festival of Making in Blackburn, and is now used in community spaces in Nelson.

This is Nelson is a programme that has been listening to the needs and wishes of community groups, drawing in on the expertise, skills, knowledge and feelings of individuals who have formed the This is Nelson Steering Group. Nelson residents are instrumental in deciding what and how activity is planned, and how the community works together to realise ambitions.

Paul Hartley, from This is Nelson partner organisation In-Situ, said:

“We’re really pleased that the structure has been nominated for this award, as it was great to see this quality piece of architecture in Nelson town centre, where everyone could interact with it, meet within it and enjoy it at the Pendle Festival of Culture. It’s particularly important to us that this piece of work was a co-commission with Pendle Festival of Culture and Festival of Making and importantly, a collaborative project with local people from both towns involved from the beginning. The piece continues to be used in the community, and is currently in our young people’s hub upstairs at 3B Systems”.

The Ripple Effect Pop-up structure, commissioned by Super Slow Way and designed and installed by Lee Ivett and Ecaterina Stefanescu, Other People’s Dreams, and UCLAN architecture students from the Grenfell-Baines Institue of Architecture, overlooks the canal in Lomeshaye Park.

This is Nelson is the arts and culture strand of the Nelson Town deal, which seeks to reimagine the structure of what a town’s creative provision can be. It is a partnership between In-Situ, Building Bridges and Super Slow Way, together with Pendle Council.

Drawing on local people’s networks, ideas and community groups, This is Nelson responds to local people voicing a need, and is reactivating spaces such as the Pavillion Café, Hodge House and upstairs at 3B Systems as well as fostering a network of local voices, strengthening community decision-making now and for the future in the town.

Rising energy costs are putting pressure on households across the county, making homes harder to heat and afford. That’s why Cosy Homes in Lancashire is helping thousands of residents access grants for home improvements—from better insulation to that new boiler you've been needing. With the support of 13 local councils, £80 million in funding has already been secured to make homes greener and more affordable. Is your home next? Apply today.

As I reported on Monday, the future of the county’s devolution plan looks clearer following the publication of the government’s white paper. The document outlines its plans on how to devolve power to the country’s various regions and it’s the strongest indication yet that a Lancashire mayor is a likelihood.

What is even more clear is that the government wants to press ahead with the reorganisation of Lancashire local government - and that will likely mean wiping away all of its existing councils to replace them with three larger ones.

Courtesy of local democracy reporters Paul Faulkner and Bill Jacobs, here’s some of the latest reaction to the announcements:

Wyre Council’s Conservative leader Michael Vincent told the Local Democracy Reporting Service (LDRS) that the super-sized standalone authorities that are set to replace the likes of his – and which will serve populations of around half a million residents – are “not local government”.

“It’s called the devolution bill, but it’s not devolving power to traditional councils – it is taking power away from [them],” Cllr Vincent said.

Just down the coast – and within hours of the white paper being published – Tory-led Fylde Council passed a pre-planned motion opposing its own abolition, which it was claimed would “jeopardise the democratic accountability, service quality, and community focus” that authority offers.

That was according to council leader Karen Buckley, who added:

“Instead of dismantling a system that works effectively at a local level, efforts should be directed toward improving collaboration between different tiers of government while preserving the vital role of district councils. Local government should remain local—close to the people it serves and reflective of their unique needs and priorities.”

However, leaders of two of the district authorities that have already put forward their own – albeit competing – proposals for the future shape of local government in Lancashire welcomed the fact that a revamp is definitely on the cards for the county.

Chorley’s Labour council leader Alistair Bradley last month called for a new ‘unitary’ authority to be formed by joining up with neighbouring South Ribble and West Lancashire councils.

He described the white paper as “an exciting opportunity” and a chance to get “the right outcome” for both the borough and Lancashire as a whole.

“[It] allows us to look at moving away from the complex structure of tiered levels of authorities [and] supports a model we initially proposed in 2020. We remain committed to working with colleagues across the county to examine all options for the future of local government working.
“Chorley and South Ribble councils already have a shared service model, employing a senior management team that works across both [authorities] and sharing over half our services. [The government’s] proposals would allow this approach to be expanded.
“Creating a unitary council will allow us to transform the way services are managed, whilst retaining a population size that allows us to keep a strong local voice and work closely with our communities to deliver the very best for our residents.”

Rossendale Council leader Alyson Barnes was similarly enthused about the prospect of change, telling the LDRS was “time local council structures were reviewed”. She added:

“The two-tier system of local government does not best serve our residents or their needs – particularly after 14 years of austerity and funding cuts. Devolution also presents opportunities to do things differently and to better support our communities.
“Larger councils will give economies of scale and should create savings and efficiencies. However, we do need to make sure that decision making remains rooted at a local level.”

Blackburn with Darwen Council’s leader Cllr Phil Riley has welcomed proposals but others in the borough have reacted which hostility. Cllr Riley, whose council is already a stand alone all-purpose unitary, said: “I am pleased with the White Paper.

“We have been enthusiastic partners in the Level Two Lancashire Combined County Authority agreement. We always understood that we will progress to a Mayoral model which we believe is the best way to get the powers that Manchester and Liverpool have got for Lancashire.
“This is the biggest local government re-organisation for 50 years.The proposals on offer suggest that an East Lancashire unitary authority is the way forward the government expects.
“The CCA which we have got has not been unanimously supported so it would not surprise me if any further local government re-organisation was opposed.”

But as seen with Blackpool and Preston, the surrounding areas are less keen by any merger with their better known neighbours, with one senior figure using phrases including “Orwellian deceit” and describing it as the death of local democracy.

Clr David Whipp, deputy leader at Pendle Council, said:

“The government proposals are an Orwellian deceit. Their so-called devolution is centralisation and a concentration of power into ever fewer hands. A Greater Blackburn will be a monster with over half a million residents. There’ll be nothing local about it.
“And lording over such a monster council will be an elected Mayor with powers that have been taken away from local communities. Local democracy as we know it will be destroyed.”

His equivalent figure at Burnley, Cllr Margaret Lishman, said:

“I personally would be very unhappy with a unitary authority run by Blackburn or from Blackburn. I think the communities in Burnley and Pendle are very different from Blackburn.
“Burnley Council has previously made clear it’s opposition to such an authority but that was before the White Paper came out. We need to digest it and get the best configuration we can for out residents.”