Pendle parish councils in new cash setback

3:00pm Friday 28th September 2012 in News Photograph of the Author By Chris Gee, Reporter

CASH given to Pendle’s parish and town councils by the local authority is set to be slashed for the second year in a row.

A report recommending an ‘across the board’ 22 per cent cut in revenue grant for the year 2013/14 from Pendle Borough Council has been produced by the authority.

Such a cut, which would see an overall reduction in funds of £26,238 to 19 parish and town councils, was described as having potentially “devastating” effects, by the chairman of Nelson Town Council.

However, ahead of last night’s full council meeting it is believed a compromise had been reached by council leaders which would see just a 10 per cent reduction, saving around £11,000. Grants were also reduced by 10 per cent for the previous year’s budget.

Typically, the funds are spent on maintaining public areas, floral displays and signs, and enhancing Christmas decorations.

The council is also withholding £1,500 to Bracewell and Brogden parish after cash allocated to them previously was not spent.

A report to councillors justified the need for the cuts.

It read: “The council’s revenue funding is set to reduce by 22 per cent. As a consequence the executive has agreed to an equivalent reduction for town and parish councils.”

Eileen Ansar, chair of Nelson Town Council, said: “A 22 per cent cut would have a devastating impact on the good community-minded things that the town council does.

“The town and parish councils are finding themselves picking up a lot of responsibility from the county council such as looking after allotments.

“At 10 per cent it is more manageable as we have some reserves and the council has been prudent with its spending.”

The level of grant cuts was set to be decided by borough councillors last night.

Comments (6)

3:36pm Fri 28 Sep 12

Lucy Porter 101 says...

Eileen Ansar said the cut would be "devastating".......
...

Oh really?!

I bet nobody would notice if we got rid of all the Town and Parish councils full stop!
Eileen Ansar said the cut would be "devastating"....... ... Oh really?! I bet nobody would notice if we got rid of all the Town and Parish councils full stop! Lucy Porter 101

4:00pm Fri 28 Sep 12

The Roomster says...

Parish and town councils are able to raise their own funding via precepts - why take money from the Borough Councils coffers??
Parish and town councils are able to raise their own funding via precepts - why take money from the Borough Councils coffers?? The Roomster

4:24pm Fri 28 Sep 12

Izanears says...

This might bring Barrowford Parish council to their senses. They seem to spend money as though it is going out of fashion. I mean who would come up with the daft idea of sticking 30mph signs on wheelie bins. Yes youv'e guessed it. Barrowford Parish Council. BTW. We have the highest rate in Pendle.
This might bring Barrowford Parish council to their senses. They seem to spend money as though it is going out of fashion. I mean who would come up with the daft idea of sticking 30mph signs on wheelie bins. Yes youv'e guessed it. Barrowford Parish Council. BTW. We have the highest rate in Pendle. Izanears

7:33pm Fri 28 Sep 12

Cllr James Keith Starkie says...

This is a silly and lazy report, written prior to the event but published afterwards, which sensationalises quite a simple decision that was actually made by Pendle Councillors last night.
The original report from the management team was rejected a week earlier by the Executive, who recommended a reduction of 10%.
The Labour group actually opposed our recommended methology - the ‘Starkie method’ - of splitting the grants which would have meant that people in the smaller parishes would have had to pay an extra 89p per person per year, whereas those living in the larger towns would have had only a 6p increase. Please don’t say that pensioners in Roughlee can afford a bigger increase than those in Nelson. In the end we voted for 13p p/p, wherever people live and it will be up to the respective Parish & Town Councils to decide how to deal with it.
The Council is NOT withholding £1500 from Bracewell & Brogden.
This is a silly and lazy report, written prior to the event but published afterwards, which sensationalises quite a simple decision that was actually made by Pendle Councillors last night. The original report from the management team was rejected a week earlier by the Executive, who recommended a reduction of 10%. The Labour group actually opposed our recommended methology - the ‘Starkie method’ - of splitting the grants which would have meant that people in the smaller parishes would have had to pay an extra 89p per person per year, whereas those living in the larger towns would have had only a 6p increase. Please don’t say that pensioners in Roughlee can afford a bigger increase than those in Nelson. In the end we voted for 13p p/p, wherever people live and it will be up to the respective Parish & Town Councils to decide how to deal with it. The Council is NOT withholding £1500 from Bracewell & Brogden. Cllr James Keith Starkie

9:26pm Fri 28 Sep 12

Marsdogs says...

Cllr James Keith Starkie wrote:
This is a silly and lazy report, written prior to the event but published afterwards, which sensationalises quite a simple decision that was actually made by Pendle Councillors last night.
The original report from the management team was rejected a week earlier by the Executive, who recommended a reduction of 10%.
The Labour group actually opposed our recommended methology - the ‘Starkie method’ - of splitting the grants which would have meant that people in the smaller parishes would have had to pay an extra 89p per person per year, whereas those living in the larger towns would have had only a 6p increase. Please don’t say that pensioners in Roughlee can afford a bigger increase than those in Nelson. In the end we voted for 13p p/p, wherever people live and it will be up to the respective Parish & Town Councils to decide how to deal with it.
The Council is NOT withholding £1500 from Bracewell & Brogden.
Would that other councillors and officials responded as directly and candidly as this fellow.
[quote][p][bold]Cllr James Keith Starkie[/bold] wrote: This is a silly and lazy report, written prior to the event but published afterwards, which sensationalises quite a simple decision that was actually made by Pendle Councillors last night. The original report from the management team was rejected a week earlier by the Executive, who recommended a reduction of 10%. The Labour group actually opposed our recommended methology - the ‘Starkie method’ - of splitting the grants which would have meant that people in the smaller parishes would have had to pay an extra 89p per person per year, whereas those living in the larger towns would have had only a 6p increase. Please don’t say that pensioners in Roughlee can afford a bigger increase than those in Nelson. In the end we voted for 13p p/p, wherever people live and it will be up to the respective Parish & Town Councils to decide how to deal with it. The Council is NOT withholding £1500 from Bracewell & Brogden.[/p][/quote]Would that other councillors and officials responded as directly and candidly as this fellow. Marsdogs

7:42pm Sun 30 Sep 12

tonygreaves says...

If you had bothered to send a reporter to the Executive meeting you would have known what was going on (rather than describing it as a "rumour") sicne it was all discussed and decided in open meeting. Or, since you did have a reporter at the full Council meeting, why not just report what happened there instead of printing a half-baked story the day after the decision?

As Councillor Starkie said, lazy journalism.

Tony Greaves
If you had bothered to send a reporter to the Executive meeting you would have known what was going on (rather than describing it as a "rumour") sicne it was all discussed and decided in open meeting. Or, since you did have a reporter at the full Council meeting, why not just report what happened there instead of printing a half-baked story the day after the decision? As Councillor Starkie said, lazy journalism. Tony Greaves tonygreaves

Comments are closed on this article.

click2find

About cookies

We want you to enjoy your visit to our website. That's why we use cookies to enhance your experience. By staying on our website you agree to our use of cookies. Find out more about the cookies we use.

I agree