'Revellers are leaving sick all over our village'

Disgruntled villagers say their lives are being impacted by noise, damage, and anti-social behaviour, including drug taking and drunkenness at night.

Whalley residents were responding to a survey carried out by Ribble Valley Borough Council, the findings of which have been presented to the licensing committee.

One local said: “I think the nightclubs are open far too late. They leave such a mess, sick all over and rubbish and bottles at the side of the road.”

County councillor Ged Mirfin, who lives in Whalley, has been campaigning for 14 years for more to be done to tackle anti-social behaviour at night.

He said: "We need more police on the beat, we need more PCSOs, we need people visiting the pubs in order to address the complaints of residents about drugs and people over drinking."

Whalley is home to a number of popular restaurants, bars and other late night venues, with the survey related to the area of Whalley and Painter Wood to reflect the ward boundaries.

Responding to the survey, 77% of respondents said that they had been affected by the cumulative impact of the number of licensed premises in the ward.

One resident said: "We've lived here 45 years. We don't come out now, we used to, but there's too many people around and it's a bit rough."

There is currently a licensing arrangement called the Whalley Cumulative Impact Assessment (CIA) in place for future licensing applications, which was introduced in 2019.

This means anyone seeking a new licence or change an existing one, must show that their activity will not make things worse.

Since 2019, there have been two applications for a new licence and one application for variation where no representations were received, no hearing was required, and the CIA was not engaged and the licence was granted.

The borough's licensing committee has now agreed to start a formal consultation on whether to renew the CIA which is due to expire next year.

Councillor Mark Hindle, the councillor for Whalley and Painter Wood said: "Come to Whalley, have a good time and enjoy yourself, but take a bit of social responsibility.

"Look after yourselves and think about the beautiful place you're coming to."

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