Oswaldtwistle's gun shop
 

I know we've touched on this subject before but is anyone else as alarmed as I am by their latest marketing ploy.

There is a sign in the Oswaldtwistle gun shop's window that says

Please Remember - there is no need for a licence for any of the weapons in this shop.


I think it's the use of the word 'weapons' that sends a chill down my spine. If they know that they are weapons then surely they are encouraging distructive or dangerous behaviour.

Re: Oswaldtwistle's gun shop
 

I don’t think that any other wording could empathise the actuality with this one Gayle. Despite the fact that these weapons do not use an explosive propellant they are still classed as a fire arm and the word “weapon” is the most appropriate word to describe them. If you try and soften the wording you may well remove the reality of what these things really are. The fact that a Licence isn’t required doesn’t mean you won’t be prosecuted under the Fire Arms Act for discharging one in the Street or close to a public area. However, I do recognise your concern and agree with your fears.

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I think you should make it an election promise to make them take down the illuminated 'guns for sale' sign. I thought that part of the town was supposed to be a conversation area? How on earth did they get planning permission for it?

As you drive through the town it is much more prominent than the welcome to Oswaldtwistle signs, and paints a picture of us as some backwater cowboy town.

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The conservation area ends at the Civic Theatre. I don't agree with all the resentment over the shop itself. Why do people have such a problem with legal gun ownership. It is the illegal guns used by criminals you should be worried about. The Government introduced a stupid hand gun law that only managed to prevent law abiding citizens from enjoying there sport. The law has not reduced gun crime in the UK, in fact gun crime has increased so what is the point in banned people from owning hand guns?

I agree with this that Prince Phillip said in 1996
How about an interesting gun fact

Quote:

In March 1996, a crazy man shot children at a school in Dunblane, Scotland, with a rifle. Bowing to liberal media pressure and the anti-gun lobby, just two months before the General Election of 1997, the Government banned all handguns over .22 calibre. Not rifles - handguns.

That made a lot of sense didn't it. He killed people with a rifle so we banned hand guns.

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Sounds about right from this intellectual heavy weight. With a cricket bat weilding lunatic you have a chance to run away before he could kill a lot of people, the children at Dunblane sadly didn't have that option.

I have no problem with the shop, just the aesthetics of the signage.

Still a bit confused about the conservation argument though, as I know for a fact that the shops directly opposite aren't allowed to have shuttered windows as they are in the conservation area.

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The area might only be one side of the road. I know the Rhyddings Conservation area does some funny manoeuvres

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the shop is shuttered because of the content inside garinda but i suspect you knew that anyway , i have to disagree on the hand gun issue ..target pistols yes ok thats sport ,but there is absolutely no reason for anyone in mainland uk to own a combat pistol ie revolver or semi automatic ,these guns are designed for one thing only ,and that is to end life period ..not to blast holes in silly paper targets to boost someones rambo like ego.that wasnt a swipe at you neil just my view on handguns. cars kill more people per year than firearms why dont we ban them
http://www.glock.com/g19.jpgcombat pistol no reason at all for the public to own ..
http://www.trymysport.co.uk/sports_p...ing/lp200_.jpgtarget pistol sporting purposes ..
http://a248.e.akamai.net/7/248/1229/...searchtile.jpg heres the real killer ,no not the landrover vehicles shall we ban ????

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No I meant the shops across the road can't have shutters because it is a conservation area, yet the gun shop sraight facing has a two foot bt three foot illuminated sign sticking out into the road, just seems a bit strange thats all.

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Have a read on crime statistics in the UK and USA. Ours are rising theirs are falling. You should also find they have a very small percentage of house burglaries. I wonder why people don't break into other peoples houses? :)

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I know that there are some very responsible people who go shooting and they probably all have a licence and keep their guns locked up. I have no complaint with their being a gun shop in the town at all - any thriving business should be welcomed from that point of view.

My problems with it are image wise. Imagine a stranger to the town comes to the theatre to see a show and right next door is a shop which encourages people to buy weapons without a licence. Imagine you are a 13 year old impressionable teenage boy from Rhyddings school and you are stood at the bus stop waiting to go home, every day you have a message in front of you saying that guns are readily available in this town.

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:D If you all get guns to settle your disputes, there will soon be plenty of parking spaces on Rhyddings Street but sadly no one left to make use of them.:p

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I think you may be a little confused Gayle. These weapons do not need a license. You post above implies that the shop is encouraging people to break the law. The daft thing about all this air gun nonsense is that it would be easier for me to kill you with a 4" kitchen knife than with a legal air rifle (Air pistols by the way are half as powerfull as air rifles. Many air pistols can not even manage the legal limit).

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Agreed Neil, but I still think planning consent should be given for such a prominent illuminated sign.

Lets home the Furniture Clinic doesn't erect one for 'French Polishing'. People will really think they're in Royston Vasey.

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I am not in the least confused Neil. My post does NOT imply that the shop is encouraging people to break the law. I am completely aware that these guns/weapons do not need licences. Why don't you take a look at the sign in the window of the shop for yourself and see what you think about it?

However, I will say one last time - it is not the content of the shop that bothers me, they can sell guns legally to whomever they want. It is the signage and the image it creates that bothers me.

So let's get back to the issue that I started this thread on - you can argue the relative merits of killing me by gun or kitchen knife all you like but that was not my point.

My point was about the image it creates to visitors and the message it sends to teenagers. Are you telling me that you think that shop paints a good image of Oswaldtwistle? Are you saying that you like the fact that kids from Rhyddings would see this and think 'what a good hoot'. Are you honestly saying that you think this is a good business to have on Oswaldtwistle's main street with big neon signs proclaiming it's wares?

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I’m getting a little confused, just how prominent is this sign and why does it create the wrong impression. Can someone oblige by taking a couple of photographs of the offending signage A, from outside the shop “Close up” and from across the road, perhaps Rindy or Neil could stand in front of the shop “not in front of the Sign” to give us some sense of scale. A couple of shots from up and down the road might also be of interest in making a judgement on the issue.

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I'm sorry but is there only me and Garinda here who can understand what sort of impression this gives of the town? I know it sounds like we're obsessed with 'image' but it means a lot - particularly when you're talking about a town. Tell me, Doug, imagine a town somewhere else in England that you've never visited before, would you make a point of visiting it if you thought it had an image of being a good place to go shopping for guns?

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While we are here gayle, why not shoot down the evil pubs that are on union road. How dare they give ossy the image that you can get drunk and puke on the floor.
Oh yes, there are also a few indian restaurants on union road! What kind of image is that to give the folks of Oswaldtwistle. I have to admit, I daren't tell the in laws that I used to live in a town with indian restaurants in it.

Lets think, what other perfectly legal things can we pick on?

The people are just trying to make an honest buck in a dieing town, whats wrong with advertising your products with a huge sign if its allowed? I notice the theatre does this, that gives a bad impression to all the lovely people buying guns, I don't think they should have to see the evil of amateur dramatics when all they want to do is buy an air rifle and shoot some cats.

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Gayle is quite right on this. This shop has an absolutely garish neon sign more in keeping with a gun store in Osceola, Arkansas rather than Oswaldtwistle near Accrington. But worse still are it's contents - they are simply manually loaded air pistols & rifles - cat & rat killers,and nowt else. (No shotguns, gas cartridge guns - certainly no conventional rifles & handguns).
It is the only shop with such a type of sign & it is totally out of keeping with the other outlets on Union Road. I am at a loss how the council has allowed this. Irrespective of whether this is a conservation area or not, I am quite certain that planning permission is neccessary to erect such a structure. It should be removed immeadiatly.

Re: Oswaldtwistle's gun shop
 

No Tealeaf, planning permission isn't required apparently - I thought it was but I looked into it and was told it wasn't.

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Are you sure? I know that down here (Tower hamlets), application to erect any illuminated sign outside commercial premises has to be made to the council and permission then granted or not. Is this not a national rule?

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I asked the people in HBC planning dept and apparently they were aware of the sign but there was nothing they could do because they didn't need permission!

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I would Doug, as it's only five minutes walk away, but I don't have a digital camera, and the lead from my webcam won't stretch that far.:(

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That's rubbish. I've nothing against people from making an honest living. It just seems incongrous that such a large illuminated sign should be sticking out into the main road, yet directly across from this shops aren't allowed to have shutters on their windows to protect them from vandals because it'as a conversation area.

As anyone actually been into the shop? I have, and most of their trade comes from selling tools. I would have the same objections to the sign if it said tools for sale.

As for Oswaldtwistle being a dieing town in your words, you'll be pleased to hear that house prices are still rising. It's not dieing, it's just becoming a satellite town for people to live here, but work else where throughout the northwest.

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I will try and get a pic tonight.

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It was the same in Knightsbridge. We tried to get an illuminated sign for one of the shops for the firm I worked for, and it was turned down, even though it was half the size of the one at the gun shop.

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Re: Oswaldtwistle's gun shop
 

Perhaps I'll start a business in one of the other shops my Mum owns.

Blacked out windows, and a big illuminated sign sticking out into the street saying SEX.

All I've got to do now is to plan what I'll stock.

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Re: Oswaldtwistle's gun shop
 

sorry got to agree with roy,the sign is not 2 foot square its not obtrusive to anyone, its advertiseing where its situated,so people from out of town can find it if they can find a car park close enouth to the shops good on em,because i dont see any signs telling where to park and go window shopping in ossy.As for the puke and filth that is left behind from people comming out of pubs totally agree have you drank up there lately,the filth from the take aways should be put down to the owners of the takeaways.if someone wants to buy an airrifle why not buy one from ossy,leave this person alone to get on with fending for his self and family instead of claiming off the social because of some overzealous people wanting him to take a sign down.



ps nash,royal,foxhill, maybe one more dont come into the puke stakes.

Re: Oswaldtwistle's gun shop
 

to be honest i think as long as the shop owner is responsible guns wont fall into kids hands

we have a shop in accy similar to this one in ossy but it sells knives as well

now as far as i am aware these shops cant sell knives to under 16 year olds yet anyone can walk into debenhams,BHS,argos and many other shops and happily walk out with a fillet knife of meat clever

at least these shops have rules on who they can sell dangerouse weapons to

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they dont have signs that are tied to railings that blow out in front of cars as they pass on a windy day either!

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It's not brilliant because it was dark when I took it but the light of the sign stays on all night.

If it was daylight you'd be able to see the Civic Theatre on the bend of the road about 20 yards along.

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All right, better luck this time.

Re: Oswaldtwistle's gun shop
 

In the wrong hands anything can be dangerous, we hear of mothers that are ill, feeding their children with excess salt! That does not actually make all mothers and salt dangerous, only the combined circumstance of sick mothers and too much salt, a similar thing can be said about fire-arms.

It is all very well to pick on this shop and his merchandise but, come on, can we get serious? His customers will be 99.99% enthusiasts not nutters he is probably more responsible than any of us to decide who he sells these items to!

I had a brief military career and during that time I was taught how to use these so called weapons with responsibility, my actual trade was in communications and the chance's of me actually firing in earnest were next to nil. However I managed a grade of 'marksman'.

The fear the majority of people suffer isn't the gun or rifle, it is the 'nutter', but they exist in many forms, I bet if you were to go into his shop you would not only be given advice about the device you want to buy but also clubs where you can fire them in safety.

The use of the greatest majority of any fire-arms is for the harmless sport of target shooting, why? because the owners know the potential dangers and always look for safety first.

The olympics which we all want our nation to do well at includes target shooting I bet if we came last you would all be saying "tsk yet another we haven't invested in".


So far as the sign? I hardly ever notice it due to the fact when I'm driving past the road is always crowded because buses are forced to off and on load in the middle of the road, causing tail backs which need careful consideration.

I believe this is part of the dangerous thing called Traffic calming!

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And you, Less, like most people are missing the point - I don't give a two hoots (and trust me I nearly said something a lot stronger there) about the contents of the shop, I don't care about the responsibility of the shoppers there or whether the owner gives out good advice. What I care about is the image that it gives this town for people from outside it.

So please pay attention this time - it is the SIGN that is p*ssing me off, not the shop itself. A big, bright SIGN that shouts GUNS.

I can't honestly believe that you all think it gives a good image of the town.

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And before you all leap on the last post - yes I do care that the owner is responsible, yes I do care that he gives out good advice - at no point was I disputing that - THAT is not my point and you well know it.

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And you gayle seem to have missed what alot of people have posted, although YOU are concerned about the sign, they seem to be concerned about the shop.

It could be a sign saying 'cheap Massage parlour' for all I care anyone paying attention is missing the dangers of that road caused by the buildy- out bus stop and impatient drivers someone will die on that stretch but not because of guns or signs, But because of stupidity!

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You started the thread but I wasn't trying to get at you, I was trying to defend a legitimate business, one of us is going to have to go back on the tablets or we could end up arguing!

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Yes we are going to end up arguing on this one becuase I haven't read one post on here that seemed to be concerned about the shop - in fact, most people yourself (and myself) included defended the shop as a legitimate business.

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Yet no one seems prepared to answer my questions

Do you, or do you not, think that a large illuminated sign which shouts 'GUNS' at you gives a good image of the town? If you were an out of towner coming to the theatre do you, or do you not, get a good impression of the town?

Re: Oswaldtwistle's gun shop
 

Gayle the photograph is fine, in fact it’s excellent, unfortunately, I don’t really have a problem with the sign itself. In fact it tells me where the shop is and that what it is designed to do. If the shop owner was irresponsible it might be different. I have however just let Joyce see it and without prompting she is in agreement with you and expressed the same concerns as you have, maybe there’s some comfort in that.

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** just wrote a reply, but am gritting teeth and had to erase it. Grrrrr sometimes I hate having to be liable for what I say on here.

/roy goes off to create an anonymous account for future use :)

Re: Oswaldtwistle's gun shop
 

I will lend you an air rifle Gayle so you can shoot the big green sign out with it :D

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let us know when you get esablished mucker lol

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It is not as though we are in the centre of London. We live in the countryside. Shooting and countryside tend to go together don't you think? I have just been and and passes the 'sign'. It is not larger than many of the other signs in the town. To answer your question, No I don't think it gives a bad image to Oswaldtwistle.

Out of interest Gayle how many people mentioned the gun sign on your non-campaigning questionnaire you recently sent out?

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ahhh!!! now i see what all the fuss is about ,yep its dodge city alright !!!! tsk tsk tsk

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a. it wasn't a question on my non-campaigning questionnaire
and
b. I'll ask a few people at my non-campaigning meeting at 3.45pm on the 15th December at Ossy Town Hall.

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Keep saying the 'non'. You never know who is reading this :rolleyes:

Re: Oswaldtwistle's gun shop
 

ok someone ban roy for breaking the rules :D

Re: Oswaldtwistle's gun shop
 

ok someone ban roy for breaking the rules :D

joking of course ;)

Re: Oswaldtwistle's gun shop
 

Gayle what’s a non-campaigning meeting, and if your not campaigning what are you doing?

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He's not Roy...............:D I saw a twinkle in his eye...:p

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A population of 26,OOO isn't living in the 'countryside'. Urban, bordering on the rural yes.

Your challenge is to photograph any other illuminated signs of the same size on Union Road, that extends at right angles from any shop front. Good luck as there aren't any.

Quite a lot of interest about the shops in our 'dieing' town. Thank you.

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At the moment only two of the 26,000 are expressing having a problem. It’s not my town I know, but we do have certain freedoms in this county and I think it’s important that majority rule is sustained. This is a business operating in the open and legally. Push to hard and the chap might just take away his sign, blackout his windows and operate beyond your scrutiny. Personally, I’d like to keep gun shops in the open….As you have pointed out there is a vermin problem in the town and it is semi rural and rural people uses air weapons to control vermin, rabbits and to scare off the occasional fox.

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I have no problem with this shop or what it sells, as I've said umpteen times already. I'm just very suprised it didn't need planning permission, as it would in many other parts of the country, especially when the powers that be have decided that apparently straight opposite is deemed a conservation area.

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to be honest; i travel past there on the bus a lot and i always without looking for it notice the GUNS sign jutting out; makes me sink into my bus seat and get very suspicious of one of the windows smashing to smitherines!!

what? too many Yosemite Sam cartoons? never!

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did i say bus?? very sorry, i meant tank!
the bus was caught in Ossy crossfire last week you see.

a sight of my canon makes those gun-bearers run a mile :D

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I know exactly who is reading this and I use the word 'non' with the same irony that you did.

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Hang on the shop sells GUNS so what is the sign going to say BANANAS ?
or should the sign say "we sell a machine that will project a peice of lead out at the end of a long tube at a high rate of knots"?
He sells GUNS what should the sign say ?
i must admit i dont think it needs to be swiched on when the shop is closed ie all night but thats up to him he is paying the bill

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I was trying to be sarcastic not ironic, I will try harder next time :)