Agenda and draft minutes

Apologies for absence were submitted on behalf of Councillors Stephen Button, Shabir Fazal OBE, Kath Pratt, Ethan Rawcliffe and Tina Walker.  It was also reported that Councillor Noordad Aziz would miss the start of the meeting due to travel issues.  Councillor Aziz arrived shortly thereafter.

Councillors Judith Addison and Dave Parkins indicated a potential conflict of interest in respect of Recommendation 2.1 of the report at Agenda Item 3 in relation to the appointment of Freemen, in the light of their own nominations for this award.  They undertook not to vote on this Recommendation.

There were no formal declarations of interest or declarations of dispensations submitted.

Report to follow.

Members considered a report of Jane Ellis, Executive Director (Legal and Democratic Services), seeking approval to the appointment of new Aldermen and Freemen of the Borough for 2026 in respect of the following individuals:

Freemen

• Judith Addison
• Pam Barton (deceased)
• Anne Ellwood
• Saeeda Farooq
• Barbara Fielding
• Marlene Haworth (deceased)
• Gwen Mayor (deceased)
• Dave Parkins
• Tracy Simmonds
• Mohammed Yaseen

Aldermen

• June Harrison
• Susan Haworth
• Dorothy Westell

The report set out the following information

Freemen Appointments

To qualify for appointment as a Freeman the proposed recipient would have to be:

(a)     persons of distinction, or

(b)     persons who have, in the opinion of the authority, rendered eminent services to that place or area.

The individuals proposed were notable as follows:

Judith Addison

Judith had served Hyndburn Council for many years, first as a Local Land Charges Officer for over 28 years and then in her role as councillor, in which she was in her 16^th year of service.  Judith had served as Mayor in 2013 to 2014 and Mayoress in 2021 and 2022.  In addition, Judith had served as a trustee of numerous charities, was a school governor and was a Licenced Lay Reader in Oswaldtwistle.

Judith had a wealth of knowledge, which she was always happy to share with those in need and consistently sought to help others with problems big and small. 

Pam Barton (Deceased – May 2015)

Pam had served as a councillor for the Spring Hill ward for nearly 2 decades and had been passionate about serving her residents.  Pam had been a friend to all and an ambassador for her community, fighting for local services such as the Accrington Victoria Walk-In Centre.

Pam had been appointed as the Mayor of Hyndburn in 2008 – 2009 and had raised a total of £23,275.00 during her mayoral year, which had been donated to MacMillan Cancer Support, Derian House and East Lancs Hospice.

Anne Ellwood

Anne had been a trustee for the Accrington Stanley Community Trust for 9 years and was now an Ambassador of the Trust.  With 30 years working in sports, community development and leadership, Anne had played a key role in establishing major initiatives including Cancer Research UK’s Race for Life, with the first 5k event held at Witton Country Park.

Anne had been the first woman in the North West to qualify as a Level 2 football coach, helping to break down barriers within the game and she continued to advocate for women’s and girls’ football.

Saeeda Farooq

Saeeda had established Aawaz in 1998.  Located in Central Ward, Saeeda’s vision had been to support women in her local community to feel valued and recognise their vital role in the lives of their families.

Aawaz, meaning Voice in Urdu, now supported Asian women across Lancashire and Nationally.  Aawaz engaged with over 300 women every week and had subgroups in Preston, Lancaster and Pendle.

Saeeda’s work through Aawaz had resulted in numerous successful projects such as Young Aawaz, which aimed to empower young women, and Mothering Earth  ...  view the full minutes text for item 376.

The Mayor reminded members that the next meeting would be the Annual Council Meeting and that the date of the meeting had recently been altered from that published in the Schedule of Meetings and would now take place on Thursday 28^th May 2026.