Mayor’s column
AT the risk of repeating myself, I have to say it has been another month with no face-to-face Mayoral events because of coronavirus.
The last time I wrote, we were beginning to see lockdown restrictions being lifted but now sadly we have gone backwards and we are under strict instructions to follow the latest rules.
I fully appreciate how confusing and difficult this is for everyone. Some people have told me how it feels like Rossendale is being punished because of where we are located – being surrounded by areas where the virus is spiking.
Our figures are very low and we want to keep them that way. Unfortunately we have to accept the situation we are in and hope it is only temporary.
Meanwhile, there still seem to be people who are not accepting the concept of the pandemic, never mind the “lockdown” rules. This can be seen nationally as well as some local instances. If this continues, we will all suffer.
People are returning to work and many employers are to be commended for their efforts to make workplaces Covid safe for staff and customers. We really need to support our local small businesses for all sorts of reasons – their prosperity, the preservation of local shopping streets and for customers to reduce the need to travel outside of the area so therefore keeping safer; and of course we have Eat In to Help Out with lots of local eateries taking part – I put my Bacup postcode in the Gov.uk website and I was amazed that it came up with 61 places registered within five miles.
It’s good to see our parks are open again, especially with some great new equipment at Rising Bridge Play Area, where fingers crossed I will be able to perform an opening ceremony sometime soon.
Leaving Covid aside, we need to remember some of the good things happening around us such as the exciting project at The Whitaker, the beginnings of the High Street Heritage Action Zone project in Bacup and a new consultation on the council’s website where all residents are invited to have their say on a similar project being put together for Haslingden. These give us something to look forward to for the future beyond our current difficulties.
Best wishes and please keep yourselves and others safe.