Credit where credit’s due – but hopefully museum still a priority
STRANGE goings on at County Hall, where the Conservatives are now in control having won the local election over Labour back in May.
Whereas in Westminster it’s the Tories who advocate cuts while Labour, generally, promotes spending, it appears roles have been reversed for the parties at Lancashire county council.
Last week, Tory councillors approved a plan to dip into the council’s savings to fund some services which the Labour budget back in March, and indeed last year too, had sought to cut.
The headline-grabbing one is libraries, which the Tories have vowed to protect.
They have promised ‘full library services’ in Bacup and Whitworth as part of those proposals. Good news, of course. There’s also extra for subsidised bus routes – the ones which wouldn’t be profitable otherwise – plus support for the Knott End ferry service, funding for more apprenticeships, cash to support flood prevention on roads by cleaning gullies more often and money to cut council grass and verges a bit more frequently.
The fact the money is coming from reserves could cause alarm – it’s not a sustainable source of revenue given the county council had previously forecast running out of cash entirely within 18 months.
But credit where it is due – those in charge at County Hall have listened to public concerns and delivered on their promises.
However, there is still precious little sign of action to re-open Helmshore Textile Museum, which has been partially mothballed for almost a year now.
Hopefully, that remains a priority for someone, somewhere in County Hall.