BIN collections, street cleaning, swimming pools and police community support officers could be in the firing line as Pendle Council looks to make savings of £4.7 million over the next three years.

And the fight is on for the future of Colne’s rhythm and blues festival with Pendle Leisure Trust being asked to make savings of £314,000 for the next financial year, as previously revealed by the Lancashire Telegraph.

Town hall reserves will be down to only £3-4million by next year and tough decisions are ahead for the Labour and Liberal Democrat alliance which runs Colne, Nelson and West Craven.

And with the council already having seen income from central government drop from £13.2 million to £7.2 million since 2010, and the workforce shrink from 400 to 266, savings options are becoming more limited.

Cllr Mohammed Iqbal, leader of Pendle Council, said: “Our priority is to protect investment in the services which matter most to our residents and businesses.

Deputy leader Cllr Tony Greaves, who oversees the council’s finances, added: “The government is again slashing our grants and councils, like ours in the north of England, are among the worst hit.

“We’re looking at different ways to cut our spending and raise our income, but we’re now very close to being forced to stop doing some quite important things.”

He has also warned that further “outsourcing” of services would see the authority lose influence over their operation and efficiency.

An estimated £125,000 could be saved by the leisure trust, if it ceased support for the blues festival, but the senior councillors have stressed that alternatives are being explored with a range of partners.

Only around 180 full-time equivalent positions remain at the council, with some staff working just three or four days per week.

The council is being required to save around £1.1million in 2016-17, with a further £1.9million in 2017/18 and £1.7million in 2018/19. Its main statutory functions include bin collections, street cleaning and town planning.

Ongoing talks are taking place with town and parish councils over assuming control for some services.

Further discussions are planned with Lancashire County Council regarding the co-location of services in vacant buildings.