Castle Cement has donated the use of offices within its Ribblesdale site, on the edge of Clitheroe, to the Ribble Catchment Conservation Trust. Since the Trust was established eight years ago, Castle Cement has donated hundreds of tonnes of stone to help stop the erosion of riverbanks along the rivers Ribble, Calder and Hodder.  Now the company has stepped in to help the Trust with its growth plans by offering free use of a semi-redundant office block within its Ribblesdale works. 
 
Trust chairman Philip Lord said: "To enable us to expand the work we carry out, we’ve recently taken on two full-time staff, which meant we desperately needed somewhere for them to work from.  Castle has been so good to us during the past few years and when we mentioned our predicament to them, the company immediately came up with an answer.  We’re absolutely delighted because this help is absolutely invaluable to us."
 
Trust member and maintenance engineer at Castle, Chris Hosker explained that the scope of the work carried out by the Trust is almost limitless.  "We’ve been working extensively on the streams which feed our main rivers, because if these aren’t maintained, soil washes into the river which has serious implications on the life of the river.  For instance, salmon need to feed in the gravel on the riverbed and they can’t do so if too much soil covers the gravel. "By preventing the erosion of the riverbanks, we are creating a haven for wildlife such as otters and water voles. 
 
Gareth Price, general manager at Castle Cement’s Ribblesdale works said: "We take our environmental responsibilities very seriously We know how useful stone is to the Trust in the work they carry out and so we’re happy to help out. We were also pleased help out with office space.” (original report Burnley Express)