Latest News and Views
Snippets August 2008 25 August 2008
A Pandora's Box of news and views. Streetscene gets a new depot, Wesham is threatened with massive development, the Vogue nightclub is set to reignite anger in St Annes. They'll have
to keep the flames well clear of Wyre's new gas plant, and the trouble Wyre's developments in Thornton will cause on roads in Fylde. We also look at some reader views you sent to us; the report that says we should all move south; and the troubles
besetting the Les Dawson statue........ Hey Houses 25 August 2008
New Fylde Housing has run into serious financial trouble on its Heyhouses estate refurbishment programme and they want the Commissar to help out with some cash. They
were going to sell some land to a builder but that looks to have fallen through. So now they need a lump of public funding. Will they get it? Well, it is the Commissar's own ward........ Interim Housing Policy 11 August 2008
Fylde approves its Interim Housing Policy that provides targets for the mix of affordable housing, market value housing and intermediate housing that
must be built on any site that gets planning permission. But will the developers bite, and will it 'rebalance' our population as intended...... What's Bugging You? 5 August 2008
Seven of Fylde Council's officers are confirmed with powers to listen to your phone calls and read your emails. Big Brother (the real one) has arrived. Perhaps they will only
use these powers for crime detection - but should they have them at all? And shouldn't crime detection be the job of the police?...... 'Masterplan' Considered 4 August 2008
Councillors and the public get to
hear the consultant's presentation of their new 'masterplan'. We bring our readers the story of the meeting. Learn all about 'Enabling development' like hotels and housing on the outer promenade to fund the development if it goes ahead at all....... What Masterplan? 29 July 2008
We take a first, but in-depth, peek at the much heralded SeaFront Masterplan that could put some new leisure uses and a hotel on the seaward side of St Anne's Prom. How does the pool
fit in?, and why does it keep referring to residential use?....... And There's More 25 July 2008
Cllr Mrs Buckley complains to counterbalance about misrepresentation. We delve deeper to dig for the truth, but find mostly confusion. We also discover Monday's Council meeting may be
told it cannot decide a matter that has been referred to it, but must pass it back to the Cabinet for them to decide. If this happens it is the final nail in the coffin of democracy....... Asset Mis-Selling? 22 July 2008
The Politburo is advised to sell land at Heeley Road worth around £500,000 for a pittance, but opts to sell it at "Full Market Value" - a valuation which itself
has inbuilt price-depressing features. Then the Commissar adds insult to injury by giving the buyer a grant equal to the cost of the land. "Freebies R Us in Fylde". Read all about it........ Save St Annes- Results Published 16 May 2008
The results of the Save St Annes Public Meeting are published, and they make uncomfortable reading for the Town Hall. The pool closure plans are unpopular, but twice as
many people are dissatisfied with the way the Council operates. 99% of respondents say Fylde Borough Council should take more notice of its electorate..... Burying the Rubbish 12 May 2008
To cover up the SreetScene debacle, Fylde implements its planned restructure of senior management. We show how these events are connected and give the background to StreetScene's
magnificent £709,000 loss before it is buried forever..... Management Shakeout 1 May 2008
Embattled Fylde Council plans a shake-up and shake-out of senior management. We break news of the new structure that is expected to be reported to the Cabinet on 7th May. We speculate
about why it is being done now, and analyse some of the implications of the proposed changes..... Mayday MayDay Mayday 26 April 2008
The Parish Poll where St Annes residents should exercise their vote to save the swimming pool will be held on 1 May between 4pm and 9pm. We explain some of the arrangements and
look at the background. We also remember a big corruption case that rocked Local Government when bribes were exchanged for planning permissions a few years ago.......
|
Save St Annes 26 April 2008
We report on the Public Meeting held by St Anne's on the Sea Town Council and Fylde Civic Awareness Group, where a vote of 'No Confidence' in the present Cabinet of Fylde Borough Council was overwhelmingly passed. Speaker after speaker denounced a Cabinet that did not act on the wishes of its residents.....
Snippets April 08 16 April 2008
An anthology of snippets: Public meeting news, parish poll news, Lytham Information Centre, Dune Conservation, Office Space and costs, High Performing Council 2, and High
Performing Council 3 - (which gives life to the quote from HPC1 that "... All the while the council's services are going down the pan......".
Walking on Water 11 April 2008
At last the hidden agenda is exposed. Thanks to Kensington, we can all see it's not about the operating cost of St Anne's Pool, its about asset stripping public facilities to fund
promenade re-development. But this time he's probably bitten off more than he can chew. His friends in Blackpool can tell him about demolishing the Derby Baths an act of municipal vandalism that still rankles with most folk around here - and
that was 40 years ago.....
Pools and Planning 4 April 2008
In its plan to asset-strip the site of St Anne's Swimming Pool - probably to fund redevelopment of the promenade - Fylde Council seems to have forgotten its own planning policies
prevent it from redeveloping buildings currently used for sport and recreational purposes for other uses. Is this another own goal?.....
Community Railroad 26 March 2008
The South Fylde line is on track to be designated a 'Community Rail Partnership'. So what's that all about then, and why are the local user group angry about Re:Blackpool's plans to run trams on the
line as well as trains......
Rubbish Charges 24 March 2008
Fylde introduces more on the spot fines with dog control orders, but says it won't use microchips for weighing waste. (That's going to be the job of a new QUANGO at least that's what the Government might
have
in store for us)......
Borough Babes: OK? 21 March 2008
Two St Anne's Town Councillors vote to oppose closing St Anne's Pool, but then vote to close it at the Borough Council meeting. A member of the public tears a strip off them in the meeting
for being two faced, and calls on them to resign.....
All Aboard ? 19 March 2008
Two weeks away from the Commissar's dreaded free offpeak bus travel for OAPs, we ask - will FBC go bankrupt to pay for them? Which bus services are eligible? Why is he offering extra
non-statutory free travel? And what happens when you apply for a pass......
Losing Ground 17 March 2008
As Council Tax bills drop through letterboxes this week, we do an in-depth look at why there are big new costs on this year's bill when increases are supposed to be limited to 5%. Is the
Commissar conning us..... again?......
SpinMistress 13 March 2008
The Commissar has been giving the media inaccurate figures recently. We look at Fylde's spinsystem, and the Media Policy it uses. Suzie looks to be in the clear, but
the 'whole truth' seems to have gone down the pan.......
Road Going Nowhere 12 March 2008
The A585 relief road is more or less cancelled for the next 20 years. Is this good news or bad? Will it ever get built? Is it, like the Red Route, consigned to history because we chose the
wrong option? ......
Travesty of Democracy 8 March 2008
Our pen picture of the Fylde Council meeting that voted to close Saint Anne's Swimming Pool only 20 years after it was built. Who said what?, and who voted to close it?.....
High Performing Council ? 5 March 2008
We (exceptionally) publish someone else's view of just what a high performing Council Fylde is. You might be amused..... 
|
