New licencees have taken the helm at a Chorley pub, and they’re hoping to fly the flag for British food.

Jamie Rankin and his wife Amanda have taken charge of The Railway in Euxton.

Jamie has 18 years of fine dining from across the Atlantic under his belt, including experience as an executive chef in restaurants and resorts in New York, Florida, Massachusetts and Chicago.

He said: “We’re really looking forward to building a reputation as a destination pub that’s great for food.

“With my background in fine dining, we will be serving dishes that are well designed and presented, all prepared from local ingredients with great care.”

Amanda has lived in the Euxton for 28 years and Jamie ignited his passion for cooking at the nearby Leyland Golf Club, before moving to the US and graduating from the University of New York with a degree in business management and culinary art.

He said: “I missed the community feel of home after a while.

“The Railway is a lovely pub with a warm atmosphere and we’re really excited.”

Two new businesses have been given almost £15,000 in grants to help them thrive.

Butter Boutique on Fazakerley Street and Fabulous Floors and Furnishings on Market Street have been handed grant support to the tune of £11,000 and £3,354 respectively by Chorley Council.

Cheryl Moran, who manages Fabulous Floors and Furnishings, on Market Street, said the shop had benefited from a business rate subsidy, shop floor refurbishment grant and shop front improvement grant.

She said: “The grant was a great help getting the business started and trading has been successful.”

Kate McCullagh opened Butter Boutique, on Fazakerley Street, in November last year and applied for the grant to help support her new business. The application was successful and she now receives a subsidy of £3,354.75 – a 50 per cent contribution to her business rate.

Kate, 27, from Heath Charnock, said: “I’ve wanted to open a fashion shop since leaving school so I’d been saving up for the right time.”

Coun Alan Cullens, who has responsibility for town centre development at Chorley Council, said: “One of the council’s priorities is to help local traders and attract new businesses to the town centre.

“These grants were created to do just that and have been an undoubted success.

“It’s important we continue to support new and existing local business in Chorley to help them develop and flourish in these difficult economic times.”

A ‘larger than life’ DJ who pledged to live life to the full after undergoing a heart transplant has died.

Jodie Finch, formerly of Mendip Road, Leyland, died in hospital on Friday where it is understood he was waiting for a further transplant.

The former Runshaw College student underwent a his first operation after a simple flu virus developed into a rare and life-threatening heart condition when he was 21. Tributes have poured in to the popular former DJ, who worked as a director at MOT testing centre Black Diamond in Warrington and was in his early 30s.

Jodie’s heart condition was revealed when, after recovering from the flu, he still felt weak.

He took a trip to the doctors where it was discovered he had contracted cardiomyopathy, a rare form of heart disease which causes the heart to become enlarged, reduces the force of heart contractions and decreases the circulation of blood through the lungs.

Former Leyland Trucks workers are being called upon to share their memories in front of an audience.

A production is being organised for people to tell their heartwarming or heartbreaking stories about their time working for the manufacturing firm.

The special event will see employees from the Leyland Motors, Trucks and DAF heyday recalling how they started working there, and how they came to leave.

Writer Sonia Hughes, who is organising the production, wants people who worked there in the 1980s and early 1990s to come forward with ideas.

She said: “I want people to tell stories about their working life; funny stories from when they were apprentices, or heartbreaking tales from when people were made redundant.

“I want a few people to stand on stage and talk about their time at Leyland Trucks.

“I’ll write the performance to help edit the order of the stories, so that the evening flows well.

“My job is to help people decide which parts of their memories to talk about and for how long, but they won’t have to memorise a whole speech.

“You can’t fail at telling your own story anyway.”

Around ten men from Leyland have showed an interest in her project so far, which is set to launch in September.

But Sonia also wants to speak to people for an ‘audio archive’ of memories.

She and historian Sharon Forrest want to record interviews with other former workers, and hope to find some willing participants as they organise the stage show.

“It’ll be like a night out at a social club,” Sonia said. “We’ll have rehearsals beforehand, but people know how to tell their own story.

“We’re looking for around five people to perform, but the more the merrier.”

The event will be held in a social club in Preston in September.

To get involved, call 0161 256 1234.

“There seem to be diversion signs around every corner at the minute.”

Roadworks are taking over in Leyland, as main roads have been closed and diversions are sending people round the bend.

Stanifield Lane in Farington is shut for much-needed drainage work, and Towngate and School Lane were also closed last week.

Coun Mike Otter, who represents Farington at South Ribble Council, said: “The roadworks are causing a lot of traffic build-up around Stanifield Lane, and the diversions are sending drivers round the back estates, so it’s quite chaotic.

“I’ve had quite a few complaints from elderly people who use the buses, because they have to walk a lot further to reach their stops now, and I sympathise with the impact the roadworks are having on people. There seem to be diversion signs around every corner at the minute.”

Work in Farington is expected to last for another week, but Coun Otter says it’ll be worth the inconvenience when it’s finished.

“There have been a lot of flooding problems round here over the years,” he said. “The end result is much-needed and will be a great benefit; it’s just causing people to suffer a little bit at the moment.”

The work at Towngate and School Lane, near Hough Lane, is now complete and the roads are open as usual, after they were closed during last week’s school half-term.

Julie Lawton, senior highways engineer at Lancashire County Council, said: “The work on Stanifield Lane and Moss Lane is still ongoing.

“This is more complicated as a blocked culvert is very inaccessible meaning the repair work takes longer.

“We’ve co-ordinated our work so we carry out our repair scheme at the same time as United Utilities, who are working on a sewer connection for Farington Lodge to avoid the same piece of road having to be closed more than once.”

- What do you think? Email guardian.newsdesk@lep.co.uk

Leyland Festival is set to be a two-week celebration this summer, it has been revealed.

South Ribble Council has confirmed it will be holding the festival to celebrate the Olympics and the Queen’s Diamond Jubilee.

Last year, it coincided with the 60th anniversary of Worden Park’s Diamond Jubilee, after the park was opened to the public in 1951.

No firm plans have been announced about this year’s events just yet, but one historian has welcomed its return.

David Hunt, curator of South Ribble Museum and Exhibition Centre, said: “It’s really good news for Leyland, and I know the festival is much missed when it isn’t on.”

The festival was cancelled for a few years after the Millennium celebrations in 2000, but made a comeback in 2009.

It’s mainly been focused around the vehicle parade through Hough Lane for the past three years.

Last year, the celebrations guided families towards Worden Park for the first time in years, but it’s not been confirmed whether the same will happen this summer.

- Send in your Leyland festival memory pictures to kay.taylor@lep.co.uk

A £200,000 make-over at a popular Leyland pub is now underway.

The Railway, on Preston Road, is undergoing an extension, with a new entrance, staircase and disabled lift.

The work, which started in January, will also turn part of the upstairs living space back into a function room for the first time in 30 years.

Landlord Danny Hindle, who has run the pub and restaurant with wife Alison for the past four years, says they’ve already had 25 bookings for the new Railway Suite.

“It’s amazing,” he said. “People haven’t even seen the finished article yet and we’ve already got wedding anniversary and birthday parties booked, as well as Christenings.

“Everyone’s talking about it because we’re in a really prominent position.”

He added: “It’s really exciting for us because it was our idea to do this in the first place.”

The brewery, Punch Taverns, is paying for the building work, while Danny and Alison are paying for the furniture, carpets and lighting. They also want to use the function room for theme nights in the future, including a comedy club.

The main bar area is still open while the work takes place, and the new section will be completed by March 2.

An official opening is planned for March 3.