COUNCIL LEADER’S COMMENT
out of in Rossendale. This plan was designed to save money and had serious implications for the borough. Thankfully members of our community and the borough council have stepped in to help, and although talks are still ongoing I am optimistic about the future of these buildings.
I am not as optimistic about the future of Lancashire County Council. The county still face large gaps in their budget despite making some very difficult decisions. They are not alone, of course - most shire counties are facing real financial difficulty. It is a combination of cuts in funding – government grants to councils have been cut year on year since 2010, and will cease altogether by 2019/20; and rising demand for adult social care services.
Lancashire’s position is compounded by the fact that there are a high number of band A and B properties in the county, which attract less council tax income than many comparable county areas.
Of course, the situation isn’t helped by Conservative councillors not facing up to the facts and simply playing the blame game.
On a lighter, and altogether more optimistic note, Ski Rossendale and officers from the borough council are in discussions that could see the Olympic Freestyle ski and snow boarding team make Ski Rossendale their UK training base, this is great news for Rossendale, and really demonstrates what great outdoor facilities we have.
Rossendale Borough Council is currently working on the next iteration of the local plan.
I know from the campaign we ran earlier this year that maintaining as much of our green space as possible is important to many local residents, of course this needs to be balanced off against a need to provide decent affordable housing in the borough. Rossendale has some unique challenges when trying to identify sustainable housing sites, issues that are not faced by neighbouring boroughs. It is with this in mind that I have enlisted the help of our MPs – Jake Berry and Graham Jones to help us lobby government. I hope to meet with them and the Housing Minister soon to raise residents’ concerns on this issue directly. I will of course keep people informed of developments.
There will also be an opportunity soon to comment on phase two of the Rawtenstall town centre redevelopment proposals – we will be talking to people at an early stage to ensure that residents and local businesses ideas are fully captured before we start to draw up plans.
If you have an issue you would like to raise with me please email me on alysonbarnes@ rossendalebc.gov.uk or ring me on 217819 – I will be happy to hear from you.