Recent News and Views

The recent news and views section has items that are still 'current' The links on the left take you to them.

Pool Transport 1 March 2008
See how the Commissar is using con tricks with bus pass spending to justify threatening to close swimming pools. But is he really going to close them? We expose the spin and deception in his justification, and look into some possible hidden agendas....

Sink or Swim 25 February 2008
We look again at the threat to close the pools. Why have the operating costs been inflated? Is it an asset stripping scheme to release the site values for commercial development? It's starting to smell like that........

Where's the Money Gone? 25 February 2008
We look into more of Fylde's financial incompetence. This time it's a £709,000 overspend in the Street Scene department. We get closer to what's happened, and why we might be subsidising Wyre's Council Tax......

Growth Point Bid 19 February 2008
Fylde Council prepared to debate the 'Blackpool and Central Lancashire Growth Point Bid' that will see development on Fylde's green land but mostly benefit renewal and regeneration in Blackpool and perhaps Preston. What will it mean for us?.......

Stamp Them Out 18 February 2008
Lytham supports Mark Bamforth's Warton Street Post Office against closure, but the die is already cast by the EU. Thousands protest but 3,000 'uncommercial' post offices are to close. We used to have public services, but that's changed now business is governing us through Europe.......

Pools Protest 14 February 2008
Kirkhamites protest at plans to close their baths, and the Politburo Cabinet votes to close both them and St Anne's Pool. However, a Cabinet split appears as Dim Tim tries to get a new pool built at Mythop Road and Simon Renwick tries to keep Kirkham open - or it is all just good theatre at Lowther Pavilion........

In Deep Water 9 February 2008
The Commissar is going to close St Annes Pool and maybe Kirkham Baths because his spending on the Street Scene department is "Spiraling out of Contol" But we hear he is going to blame St Annes and Kirkham Town Coucils for the closure because they refuse to rip us off........

Top of the Pits 7 February 2008
The Government releases new stats about the most deprived areas in England. Blackpool is Lancashire's pits, and Fylde is Lancashire's second least deprived area. It that why they get an extra £85m and Fylde gets a cut? Does the Commissar want us downgraded for more cash........

Settling In - Jan 08 2 February 2008
Fylde Council's new intake of Councillors will soon complete their first year. We give a snapshot of their situation, and the Council meeting. Who's doing well, and what's the Commissar up to now with this 'MAA' we wonder........

Incompetence or Fraud? 28 January 2008
John Coombes hides a £609,000 overspend then threatens swimming pool closure (again). But his £1 million shortfall has already been solved by raiding Fylde's piggy-bank of 'Earmarked Reserves.' We ask is he incompetent or is it an intention to deceive that amounts to fraud?.....

January Cabinet 2008 20 January 2008
See what Fylde Council's Politburo Cabinet is up to this January. Tourism, Parish Charter, Open Space Management in Kirkham, New Office Accommodation, Financial Report, and the awful dropping of the Article 4 Directive, along with individual member decisions and a supposedly secret report that was published on the Internet. They're all in here.....

Hostel Plan Approved 18 January 2008
A process of attrition ground down the opposition, and Fylde's DC Committee approved Muir's plan to dump a hostel for the transient homeless in Heeley Road St Anne's. But is the fat lady singing yet?.......

Heeley Road Hostel Plans 11 January 2008
The meeting to decide Muir's application to build a hostel for the transient homeless is next Wednesday. The report recommends approval, the police say they expect trouble (and they upset the Meteoric Karen Buckley). We hear first hand from someone who lived near to a unit like this. She said "for Gods sake get it stopped." We have more .....

Human Contract 20 December 2007
More Fylde staff are transferred to Blackpool, and the Commissar bends the rules to pay Blackpool Council £199,000 a year for the next six years for a 'Human Resource Service' - bloating his already swollen overheads still further. The payment includes a fixed cost of £119,000 payable irrespective of how many staff Fylde has.....

No Accounting for Fylde 12 August 2007
There is a serious financial muddle at the Town Hall. The brave new world of outsourcing, and the new accounting system has gone awry. So has the man in charge. He is also going. Find out more............

Lowther Car Park Carping 27 July 2007
An individual decision by a Cabinet member plans to impose parking charges in Lytham's Lowther Gardens. What's behind the move......

A Town Council for Lytham? 22 July 2007
After months of saying "No" - the Commissar's supporters are proposing a Town Council for Lytham. What's going on, and why now? We answer some of the questions and rectify some of the mis-statements.......

The Dust Settles 20 July 2007
Things are settling down in Blackpool, St Anne's and Fylde Councils after the election. We have a look at the first meetings and see what's going on .......

Election Results 2007 4 May 2007
Shocks for many in Fylde's election results. A sea of blue sweeps over Blackpool and Wyre. Fylde is less clear cut. We're one step nearer to the 'City of the Fylde' as a result. ......

City Region Blues 17 December 2007
We take an in-depth look at the background to the Growth Point Bid that could change the look of our border with Blackpool. Just how did we become part of the Central Lancashire City Region and annexed by Blackpool?......

Home Grown 16 December 2007
Councillor Tim Ashton tests the water with a planning application to see if he would be allowed to build on the Nursery Gardens on Mythop Road that has been his family business and a Lytham Institution for decades. Have we heard about this before?.......

Shuffling the Pack 13 December 2007
We learn of changes to the Independent and Conservative groups on Fylde Council. The Independents get a new leader, whilst some old-time Conservatives get dumped for fresh blood. So who's in and who's out? ......

'Affordable" Housing 7 December 2007
We look at just what 'Affordable Housing' means, and how it was planned and implemented as a way to 'balance' the population of Fylde, with special reference to Lytham and St Anne's. Is it about to change again? ......

Fylde's State 2007 5 December 2007
Fylde Council holds another 'State of the Borough' event, apparently to justify decisions already half-made. We look behind some of the issues and hear some alarming news about big housing developments off Queensway ......

More Muir 30 November 2007
200 people pack a meeting at Mayfield School to protest at plans by Muir Group and Fylde Council to build a hostel for the transient homeless off St David's Road North. Find out who said what, and what it might mean......

A Shambles 29 November 2007
The Council meeting becomes a shambles. Procedure is now all but forgotten in the battle to get one over on the opposition. We take a look at how and why Fylde Council has been turned into a war-zone, and whether the November meeting managed to get any proper business done at all......

Bus or Busted ? 22 November 2007
When the over 60s and the disabled get free off-peak bus travel anywhere in England from next April, and journeys are charged to the Council in whose Borough they start, how much is it going to cost Fylde taxpayers? Has Commissar Coombes made the right decisions? ......

Plans to Expand 19 November 2007
A late item sneaks quietly through Fylde's Politburo Cabinet. If agreed by Government it will bring dramatic planning changes. Find out more about the Central Lancashire and Blackpool Growth Point Bid......

More Fyreworks? 18 November 2007
The agendas for the Joint Meeting didn't get sent to Fylde's Councillors, now some are angry they knew nothing about it, and plan to raise the matter at next Monday's meeting of the full Council......

A Flying Tackle? 15 November 2007
The airport land swap is back on the table. What does it mean for St Anne's and local residents. Who's getting the millions? We pitch in and look for a referee in this supposedly sporting swap......

Don't Have Any Muir? 10 November 2007
The Muir Group's plan to build a hostel for homeless transients in St Anne's generates a lot of anger in the town - not all of it well informed. Why are the sedate people of St Anne's revolting. We look into the causes and predict more anger to come ......

Two's? Company 8 November 2007
We take another look at Fylde Council's recently formed 'arms length' company 'FBC Solutions Ltd' It hasn't traded yet, but it might we planning to do so soon. We speculate about its future.......

Progress? 7 November 2007
We review the directional changes being made by Blackpool's new Conservative administration and quite like what we see, even though we're not ready to join them anytime soon......

Joint Meeting Snapshot 6 November 2007
Get the flavour of the meeting that heralds the demise of Fylde Borough Council, and sets a clear path toward one single Council covering Fylde and Wyre (and possibly Blackpool).....

Wylde Fyreworks? 1 November 2007
Fylde's Commissar Coombes plans to abandon service delivery by Fylde Council and have almost everything run from Wyre. Around 60% of Fylde Council staff are to be pruned out in the first move. We break this exclusive story for our readers.....

Pooling Resources 1 November 2007
After months of uncertainty and abortive spending on reports and plans to privatise its swimming pools, Fylde Council looks set to keep the pools in-house..... or does it ???

Key Lessons 2 October2007
Fylde Council makes a proper, old-fashioned planning decision and throws out a plan to develop a small house into a school......

Being Positive for Once 1 October 2007
counterbalance is criticised for being negative. Ever helpful, we offer the accountingly challenged Fylde Council some positive suggestions .......

Call-in Lowther Parking 30 September 2007
The follow on from the plan to charge for parking at Lowther Gardens, or - "When is a Charitable Trust not a Charitable Trust? when its run by a Council." See if you can work out which who actually decided to implement charges......