Chorley group banned from bringing home-made cakes to meetings (From Chorley Citizen)

Chorley group banned from bringing home-made cakes to meetings

5:10pm Wednesday 22nd September 2010 in Adlington

A decision to ban a Chorley women’s group from taking home-made cakes to their own coffee afternoon has been branded as “absolutely ridiculous”.

The retired ladies of the Adlington and District Millennium Committee like to bake for their fundraising events, which they had previously held at community centres.

When they booked the local library for their latest get-together on Friday afternoon they were stunned when council chiefs stepped in on health and safety grounds and ruled that only shop-bought cakes and biscuits could be offered.

The villagers of Adlington, Chorley, have flocked to the committee’s outings to reminisce over the past as they tucked into a homemade chocolate cake or a piece of shortbread.

In return they were asked to make a donation to a nominated charity, with Friday’s beneficiary being Macmillan Cancer Support.

The group has now vowed to not use Adlington Library again as they are reduced to providing packets of biscuits for visitors.

Committee member Ann Shires said: “It’s absolutely ridiculous.

"I just think it’s over the top, even my nine-year-old granddaughter is always saying ‘Oh grandma, it’s health and safety’.

”We have all these elderly people who come along to these things and love having a chat to each other over a nice cup of tea and a piece of cake. Many of them don’t bake themselves any more so this is a real treat for them.”

Mrs Shires is well versed with health and safety as she worked for the British Safety Council up until the early 1980s.

She said: “There was more of an emphasis on industry back then. We were more concerned about health and safety in the workplace.

"We don’t get many children at our events so if a grown-up with an allergy wants to know what the baking ingredients are then they can just ask.”

Julie Bell, head of Lancashire County Council’s Library and Information Service, said: “We do everything we can to support the important work of community groups, including providing venues for meetings.

"However, we do not have kitchen facilities where food can be prepared and - though we know home-cooked baking often tastes better than the commercially prepared kind - legal restrictions mean we can only allow packaged goods with clearly labelled ingredients.”