£1.3m cuts to hit Rossendale sites (From Lancashire Telegraph)

£1.3m cuts to hit Rossendale sites

9:30pm Tuesday 3rd July 2012 in Rossendale

KEY decisions will need to be made over some of Rossendale’s most prominent buildings as part of a bid by the borough to save £1.3 million.

The Old Town Hall, former Rawtenstall Liberal Club and offices at Stubbylee Hall, in Bacup, are in the firing line as part of a council accommodation review.

An estimated £145,700 could be saved by a combination of either disposing of buildings and relocating staff elsewhere.

Transferring staff from Stubbylee to Futures Park alone could recoup £36,700.

And relinquishing the old town hall, in Bacup Road, could release another £27,200.

Other buildings including the One Stop Shop, in Rawtenstall, nearby offices in Kay Street, and Hardman’s Mill have been provisionally suggested.

Plans to slim down the property portfolio have won cross-party support and a review, reporting back at the end of October, is now planned.

Coun Patrick Marriott, resources cabinet member, said: “There is a real opportunity, particularly with the old town hall and Liberal Club, to look at that whole section of Rawtenstall.

"It has been a long time coming.”