THE gym operator taking over part of a vacant business unit at a retail park has been revealed. A planning application has been submitted for JD Gyms, an offshoot of the multi-billion pound sportswear retailer JD Sports, to take Unit 11a on Hyndburn Retail Park near the border with Blackburn. The Lancashire Telegraph reported in the October 2019 that owner of Home Bargains, TJ Morris Ltd, had bought the former MFI building and wanted to split the site in two with one unit to be operated by Home Bargains, and another to be taken on by a national gym chain. Now, the identity of the chain has been revealed as JD Gyms.
A FORMER senior Labour councillor is to stand for the Conservatives in this year’s Lancashire County Council elections while his wife remains a major figure in his old party. Gareth Molineux joined the Tories in September and, at the weekend was chosen to fight the Great Harwood, Clayton, Rishton and Altham division in the poll due in May. His wife Jenny is a member of Hyndburn Council’s Labour Cabinet and represents Overton ward in Great Harwood. Mr Molineux, a 39-year-old IT support analyst and father of three, quit Labour in June claiming the local party had ‘a culture of bullying, harassment and victimisation’.
Amazing Accrington: Timpson founder Sir John Timpson, with Sara Britcliffe MP, Councillor Miles Parkinson MBE, Stuart Nevison and Councillor Steve Riley TIMPSON chairman Sir John Timpson took part in a tour of Accrington this week to discuss the future of the town. This comes as part of a bid by Amazing Accrington, a group made up of a cross section of business and public sector leaders, for a grant of £150,000 from Hyndburn Borough Council to redevelop the town centre. As an expert in retail, Sir John regularly visits Timpson branches including those in Accrington and was on hand to discuss Amazing Accrington’s plans.
Amazing Accrington: Timpson founder Sir John Timpson, with Sara Britcliffe MP, Councillor Miles Parkinson MBE, Stuart Nevison and Councillor Steve Riley TIMPSON chairman Sir John Timpson took part in a tour of Accrington this week to discuss the future of the town. This comes as part of a bid by Amazing Accrington, a group made up of a cross section of business and public sector leaders, for a grant of £150,000 from Hyndburn Borough Council to redevelop the town centre. As an expert in retail, Sir John regularly visits Timpson branches including those in Accrington and was on hand to discuss Amazing Accrington’s plans.
EAST Lancashire is unlikely to come out of the toughest tier three coronavirus restrictions before the end of January, Blackburn with Darwen Council’s public health director has warned. After Health Secretary Matt Hancock confirmed that the whole county would remain under ‘very high alert’ rules until the Christmas relaxation, Professor Dominic Harrison said he did not expect any change when the government reviews them on December 30 and January 13. He said despite reducing rates of Covid-19 in Blackburn with Darwen he could not forecast sufficient improvement, given the festive window allowing more household mixing, to permit the tier status to be changed from three to two in January.