CONSERVATIVES at Blackburn town hall have come up with a series of hard hitting budget plans for the coming year - including the closure of an old people's home and the sale of all council houses in the borough.

They claim their plans would see council tax rise by just one per cent and there would be no increases in rents, but the ruling Labour group's package, which will see rents increase by 5.5 per cent and council demands by 5.5 per cent, will be approved early next month .

Conservative measures put forward their measures, which include securing the future of the threatened Lewis Textile Museum, at a special policy and resources meeting.

Leader Jim Hirst said: "A non-profit housing company should be established at the earliest opportunity. If housing stock is transferred we would be able to reduce debt and reduce voids."

Labour's Mike Barratt hit back: "I cannot believe the audacity of the Conservative group. At some stage we will have to take a look at the pros and cons of large scale transfer of housing stock.

"But we cannot take a decision of such great magnitude on our own and without careful consideration. "The people who will make the final decision will not be us or the housing department but the tenants themselves."

A wide-ranging package of Conservative savings included the closure of one of the eight old people's homes in the borough.

The Tories also want to see the building converted into a bail hostel and work halted at the proposed site in Clayton Street on a new hostel.

Coun Maureen McGarvey defended the move. She said: "There are too many homes in the borough which are not fully occupied.

"Sooner or later we are going to take a look at the situation and make a decision on what we want to do about the unoccupied places."

Council leader Malcolm Doherty said: "I want to make this very clear, there is no chance of any homes being closed in this borough.

"I want to make that very clear because we do not want to raise fears in people's minds when there is no chance of something like this happening."

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