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Snippets - July 2010 29 July 2010
 A serendipity of news from and about FBC: Kilnhouse by-election; New homeless hostel?; Pool re-opening;
Spending cuts 1 and 2; Committees comeback?; Parish council rethink; Changes in finance, and changes to Fylde's Constitution. As someone else said... "All human life is here" ..... |
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Tangled Web for Pensions 12 July 2010
 An in-depth look at the impact of the Coalition Government's plan to change the uprating of
occupational pensions and other matters from the Retail Price Index (RPI) to the Consumer Price Index (CPI) for uprating. This is going to cost most people with or due to get an occupational pension ..... |
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In High Places..... 12 July 2010
 We report indirect contact with Minister of State for Communities and Local Government Saint Eric Pickles MP,
and reproduce the text of his speech to the Local Government Association Conference. Local Government is about to be hit by a whirlwind of change as profound as the 1974 reorganisation.... |
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Queensway Refused 1 July 2010
 Minister of State Eric Pickles overrules the advice of his Planning Inspector and refuses Kensington's
appeal for planning permission for 1,100 houses on Queensway. After our Newsflash this morning, we bring you the in-depth report about this momentous decision which is of national importance.... |
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Various Updates 30 June 2010
 Updates on Princess Karen's Policy decisions which have changed, the St Annes
Swimming Pool Contract, - where one of the tenderers is going off the deep end, and the inside track on the curious case of the Conservative candidate in the Wrea Green By-election..... |
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Cabinet: June 2010 29 June 2010
 This is the first meeting with Cllr David Eaves in the chair, and what a difference there was! They discussed
refurbishment at the Crematorium, the Draft Housing Strategy which reverses some former directions and is worth a read, and some pretty interesting financial information........... |
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COINS for Cash 13 June 2010
First Sight.
 COINS stands for Combined Online Information System. It might *sound* bland, but it's nothing less
than an information revolution in government and council spending. Next year, councils will publish every invoice they pay. Online. Suppliers, amounts and all. What's does it mean for us?..... |
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Snippets: June 2010 23 June 2010
 Leader David Eaves' first Cabinet on Monday will consider Crematorium work, a Housing Action Plan and a
Finance report. Also here: St Annes tip latest; Wrea Green and Kilnhouse by-elections; and Princess Karen makes some 'Individual' Policy Decisions that are a bit too 'PC' for our taste. |
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Eric Pickles for King 13 June 2010
 We start a movement that will see Eric Pickles, Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government
made King, or at least Emperor. He is single handedly about to transform Local Government, and we like the start he has made. Find out all about it at a speech he gave to Council bosses.......... |
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Obituary: John Prestwich 13 June 2010
 We mourn the passing of Councillor and former Mayor John Prestwich, a true gentleman and an gentle man
who always had those he represented in his mind. |
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Tip to Close 13 June 2010
 St Annes tip is to close, but the County Council are consulting on a new plan to use the area for small scale
waste management. Is this a case of left hand right hand not knowing what the other is doing? What' on earth's going on?...... |
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Joe Robinson's News 6 June 2010
Exclusive.
 The Gazette's South Fylde reporter Joe Robinson leaves the newspaper for pastures new. Why's he going?
Where's he going, and who will replace him on the South Fylde beat at the Gazette?.......... |
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Tinkering with Policy 4 June 2010
 Travellers set up camp at Hardhorn, just inside the Fylde boundary. The new camp looks as though it is
there for the long haul, but the Government, who set the planning rules, and the wind of favour set by the previous Government, have changed. Fylde rightly refuse planning permission. So what happens now?.......... |
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New Children's Home? 29 May 2010
 No 3 Beach Road, St Annes, may become another Children's Home run by Advanced Childcare. We look into their
background and we attend a public meeting of 120 residents - mostly opposing the idea. Will it be as bad as they fear?...... |
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Alternative Voting 24 May 2010
 Using his long-standing political judgement, a guest author casts his calculator over the General Election
result as though the Alternative Vote system was in place. So how does AV work, what are the wrinkles, and how much difference would it have made to the result?...... |
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All Change 22 May 2010
 Fylde has a new MP, a new Council Leader and a new Mayor. It's also set on a new direction now Cllr Coombes has
stepped down. Two recent decisions involved expenses and allowances payable to Borough, Town, and Parish Councils. So are they going to be paid? |
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Longer Tip Trip? 15 May 2010
 The County Council are being recommended to close St Annes tip (and three others). We think their consultant's
report tells them what they wanted to hear. We also think a lot of Blackpool folk use it but don't pay taxes to Lancashire County. So is that the real reason St Annes is scheduled to close?...... |
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Who's in the Swim? 7 May 2010
Exclusive.
 We bring readers a detailed analysis and investigation into what lies behind the decision to awarded the St
Annes Pool contract to the YMCA which, on the face of it is around four times the cost of the other bid. So what on earth's going on? And will it stay open for longer than a year given the impending financial storms?...... |
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Fylde's New MP 6 & 7 May 2010
 There was never any doubt. Fylde's new MP is Conservative Mark Menzies. We bring you the full results. We also
have the results for Princess Karen Buckley at Hyndburn (which will affect the leadership contest at Fylde Council), and we look how Integrity UK's candidate Dr Tun did in Blackpool...... |
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Failing to Impress 3 May 2010
 We've seen a lot about Fylde being a failing council under the former administration. As his parting shot the
Commissar says it was "...brought from the edge of collapse in 2003.." We see if he's right, or if history will remember his administration as the being the financially incompetent one...... |
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Ballam Road Hearing 28 April 2010
 We bring you day by day reports of the topics discussed at the Ballam Road Hearing that ended today. So
what's the outcome? Well, the Inspector has gone away to consider her verdict. We think the chances of rejection are 'even money' at the moment. Find out why...... |
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Runners and Riders - Fylde MP 2010 24 April 2010
 We review the leaflets and the performances of all five prospective candidates who would be
the next Member of Parliament for Fylde, and who spoke at a Hustings meeting organised by 'Churches Together' in St Annes. There were some surprising (and awful) home truths that came out..... |
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Snippets - April 2010 23 April 2010
 Q.E. forces a council debate on joining the Economic Development Co. Cllr Henshaw is harangued by Fylde's
Standards Cttee. Cheryl Soldiers on. More on Princess Karen. Readers Views. Another Town Hall consultancy. Integrity Launches its first candidate. The Mayor of Doncaster looks to be in trouble..... |
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YMCA to Re-open St Annes Pool 22 April 2010
 Looks as though a 12 year contract to operate St Annes Pool will be awarded to the Fylde
Coast YMCA who are so often ahead of the game. But will this, and the Commissar's demise, restore the flagging fortunes of Fylde's Conservatives, or are they storing up yet more trouble for themselves with this decision? .... |
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Coombes Steps Down 13 April 2010
 The villain we love to hate is stepping down from the post of Leader of Fylde Council as on 10th May 2010,
so we going to review his time as Leader, then see what his going means for the future of Fylde, and who's likely to be the next Leader.... |
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Michael Jack Retires 12 April 2010
 Our MP for two
decades is retiring. counterbalance looks back over his time, both at Fylde and in Parliament and assesses what he has done. As a (reputed) anti-conservative publication, you might be surprised at our conclusions.... |
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Ballam Road Appeal Date 12 April 2010
 The
Ballam Road Appeal dates are 27/28 April. But the application is so badly defined, no-one can be sure what it is. The applicant has gone for volume, the Council's officer has gone for quality (and made an excellent case for refusal).
But will the Inspector agree?.... |
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