The Archive: 2009

Obituary: Colin Walton 30 December 2009
We are sad to report the death recent death of Colin Walton, former Alderman and Councillor for Ashton Ward, St Annes, and County Councillor. Fylde has lost yet another man of firm and traditional conviction, a staunch conservative whose views were tempered with Christian kindness.......

Income Generation? 21 December 2009
At this time of good cheer, we muse about redundancies and double (or triple) taxation, the loss of public services, and income generation schemes being imposed on a generation already overburdened with banking debts.......

Exclusive. No Smoke Without Fire? 17 December 2009
counterbalance breaks this story as UKIP members in Fylde smoulder about 'unsuitable' candidates being selected over their heads and the party being hijacked by the pub and pro-smoking lobby......

Inquiry Diary November 2009
We bring our readers the day to day events at the Queensway Inquiry in public at the Bedford Hotel into Kensington's plans for 1,150 new houses......

Queensway Inquiry 16 November 2009
We preview the Inquiry that starts next week and bring you QED's statement about it. David is taking on Goliath - again!.......

European Treachery 16 November 2009
Unusually, we bring our readers a view expressed by someone else. Anne Palmer from Wolverhampton - counterbalance salutes you.....

Clifton Ward By-election 31 October 2009
We bring our readers the runners and riders in the Clifton Ward contest. New names, old hands, and potentially another Lytham Green make this and interesting - if fairly predictable - contest....

Extra-Ordinary Council 30 October 2009
An un-scheduled Council meeting changes the Constitution yet again, and the Conservative block vote abandons £ 800,000 worth of planning already done, to go back to the drawing board for another £ 25,000 worth of resurrected plan to sell off the Town Hall, and build a new Ivory Tower on the car park at the back of the Public Offices. So who voted for that daft idea then.......

Banana Republic of Fylde 30 October 2009
Whilst moves are afoot to consider twinning St Annes with Japan, we ask why not twin Fylde with Zimbabwe. After all, there are just so many similarities....

Faux Scrutiny Committee 24 September 2009
It was supposed to be a Scrutiny inquiry but it was always going to be a whitewash - and it was - but it was not without heated exchanges and a few surprises. We report on the meeting that saw a call to censure Fylde's current Chief Executive.....

Streetscene: Whitewash 20 September 2009
Monday sees a Scrutiny Committee investigate Streetscene's financial black hole that closed the swimming pool. But guess what... after two years of investigation, no-one's to blame. What a surprise. So will the full council be allowed to debate it? Will St Paul of Elswick shine the searing light of truth into Fylde's dark corners? We make some predictions.

Obituary: Cllr Bill Thompson 7 September 2009
We mourn the passing of one of Fylde Council's most respected Councillors. He treated people fairly and earned their respect by doing so. Never afraid to speak his mind and to vote according to his conscience, Fylde is a lesser place without him.

Ashton Beer Gardens? 28 August 2009
The Commissar wants Ashton Gardens to become a vibrant outdoor leisure centre. So he's breaking his covenant and bringing in the booze. But it's already an Alcohol Free Zone isn't it? And the police confiscate alcohol in the Gardens don't they? Well yes, but in his great scheme of income generation, those are minor details......

HUBble, Bubble, Toil, and Trouble.... 25 August 2009
Fylde rejects Queensway, and for the moment turns its focus on the M55 Hub as a possible site for most of the 5,500 houses it has to build. Trouble is, Blackpool wants the same land for its Growth Point Scheme that will fund inner Blackpool regeneration. Are things about to get nasty?....

Queensway at Planning 10 August 2009
Fylde's Development Control Committee prepares to consider Kensington's Queensway Application, but it will be decided by a appeal in November. Officers are preparing to contest the appeal because they would have recommended refusing the application as it stands. So what's going on and what does it mean?.....

SHLAA 5 August 2009
Fylde's Strategic Housing Land Availability Assessment (where future house building could take place) is considered amid nervousness that it will frighten the horses (that's you and me) if we get to see the 'Urban Extension Maps'. We provide a link to them......

Glowing in the Dark? 28 July 2009
SITA plan to expand the disposal of low level nuclear waste at Freckleton marsh tip next to the River Ribble. What does this mean for locals? We give our take on what's happening.....

Exclusive. Pooling Ideas? 17 July 2009
He's emptied the pool but he can't stop the leaks. The Commissar sidelines a plan for a combined pool and leisure scheme that might have seen St Anne's pool re-open in January and opts to 'tender' it out - which will take longer. What's going on? Who made the offer, What did they say, and why didn't other elected Councillors know about it? We have the inside track for our readers.....

Porn Pawn? 15 July 2009
The Chief Executive makes allegations to Fylde's Standards Committee about 'porn' being found on a Councillor's laptop. Cllr Renwick leaves the Politburo Cabinet. He is 'mistakenly' nominated to another committee then removed. A member of staff is understood to be off work. Are there any links between these events? Did anyone jump or were they pushed? As the Standards Committee inquires, we speculate on what could have happened.....

Heeley Road - The Endgame? 4 July 2009
What's the delay? We report on the blog and media musings of the Commissar, published a week or so before the Cabinet had met to make the decision. So what's going on then?.....

Snippets - June 09 26 June 2009
A collection of tit-bits and scraps of news, including: Street Trading - a good decision, Newspaper sales surge in the Kirkham area, Multi Area Agreement put on hold, New cabinet posts, Is the wind of change blowing for the Commissar? St Anne's Pool update. North Beach Car Park - change is in the air here too, as with the Town Hall 'Accommodation Project' - Wherever next?.....

Council - June 09 6 June 2009
Two items on Monday night's Council agenda have far reaching implications for all Fylde residents for the next 20 years or more.....

LCC 2009 Results 5 June 2009
We bring our readers the results of the Fylde wards for the Lancashire County Council election. Who got in and who missed out?.....

Dune and Dusted? 22 May 2009
Controversy surrounds the bulldozing of a sandhill back onto the beach. Normally balanced and measured people are screaming for the blood of a surgeon. We say, hang on a minute, is this all getting a bit out of perspective?.....

In the Doghouse 22 May 2009
Changes to the former dog control byelaws have generated some unwelcome adverse publicity just before an election for the County Council. We look at the background to the original byelaws and what has changed. The answer is not what you might think......

LCC Elections 2009 - Runners & Riders 13 May 2009
The runners and riders are declared, and the date for withdrawals is passed. We bring our readers the definitive list of candidates for the LCC 2009 election, and who got missed out

Capital, Dear Commissar, Capital 6 May 2009
With empty coffers at the Town Hall, the credit-crunched, sub-prime Cabinet at Fylde resorts to borrowing money to make its staff redundant. Find out how much in debt FyldeCouncil is, and how much this latest loan will cost us all......

Hollywood Nurseries Planning Inquiry 6 May 2009
We pay tribute to the Council as they resist the mighty Kensington who want to develop an isolated former nursery at Whitehills for housing. We have a day-by-day blow-by-blow account and pen portrait of the Planning Inquiry......

Roads to Riches? - or Ruin? 5 May 2009
With growing interest in the proposed road across the moss, and the proposed 'Blue Route' that might make a connection with it at Whitehills, we look into the background of these roads and ask where did the idea for the road come from? Why is it needed? And if the road is built, will it be a good thing or a bad thing?......

Cabinet Re-shuffle 29April 2009
Fylde's Leader reshuffles his Cabinet. Four heads roll into oblivion as the axe falls, but only three replacements are being made. Find out who's in and who's out - and what the implications might be.....

Exclusive. Fylde's Worst Decision? 2 April 2009
Cash strapped Fylde insists it can still afford to turn down an offer of £310,000 and give away another £250,000 to Muir Group in what one Councillor calls the worst financial decision Fylde Council has ever made. We give the low-down on an exchange of letters between the Council and would-be purchaser - property development company 'Town Manor Developments Ltd'....

4.9% = 5.1% 22 March 2009
When is 4.9% equal to 5.1% ? - when its a Geographically Adjusted Council Tax Rise, that's when. We stand open mouthed and in awe as the Commissar tells us an increase of 5.1% is really 4.9%. Mind you, financial incompetence is becoming the stuff of legends for Fylde ......

Snippets - March 2009 19 March 2009
UKIP lands in Fylde with an open meeting next week. Sour grapes from the Commissar on not getting the MP's nomination? Warton and Hollywood Nurseries planning appeal news. 'Cheap Staff' jibe. Donkey Work. and the Hostel Saga Continues - all the tit-bits of news for March 09....

Council Snapshot: March 2009 17 March 2009
A picture of Fylde's Budget meeting for 2009 as the Council is conned into morphing into yet another operating format. We now seem to have an official 'Opposition' party resplendent with a shadow Leader and shadow Politburo Cabinet types.....

Riots in the Streets? 5 March 2009
The second in what we expect to be a trilogy or quadripartite of musings on the state of the nation's finances. On the day the UK starts Zimbabwe-style 'Quantative Easing' we look at what it's all about and what it means for people. Will it lead to riots in the street?

Obituary - Milton Lane 4 March 2009
We mourn the passing of a man of the people dedicated to representing his electorate and keeping Fylde's water pure......

Planning and Parking 23 February 2009
Queen Elizabeth Oades calls in a decision about cheaper parking to highlight the filching of money FBC was given for a new planning system. We show how Fylde is being inundated with planning applications because of terrible financial decisions the Politburo Cabinet has made.....

Throwing in the Towel ? 20 February 2009
The swimming pool standoff between John Coombes and the YMCA nears its climax - who will blink first? Will any of Fylde's swimming pools stay open?.....

Being Positive No 2 19 February 2009
We say 'well done' to some of the currently deserving members and staff of Fylde Council for their work above and beyond the call of duty.....

Exclusive. Corruption in Fylde? 13 February 2009
Cash-strapped Fylde turns down an offer of £310,000 to buy the Heeley Road site and sells it for £250,000. Then it bungs the buyer a grant of £250,000. We ask: Can they do sums at all? Is this just incompetence? Is it corrupt logic? Is it the right way to run a council? Has there been a deliberate intention or conspiracy avoid tendering this site - and if so, why?....

Paul Hayhurst's Tribunal 1 February 2009
Fylde's Councillor Paul Hayhurst is this week tried at the Dalmeny Tribunal. It will decide if he has committed misconduct by publicly calling for the resignation of those on the Council who overspent £1.2m of our cash. We provide day by day accounts of the proceedings.....

Snippets February 09 01 February 2009
Swimming pools news, the 'Blue Route', the St Anne's Link Road, Staff transfer to Wyre council, School expansion and plans to cut the number of Fylde councillors......

Exclusive. Standard Conduct? 26 January 2009
Fylde's Councillor Paul Hayhurst was reported to, and investigated by, the Standards Board for England. He is now to be hauled before a Tribunal for alleged misconduct. What dreadful thing has he done? We bring you the background to a case to be held in public at the Dalmeny next week.....

Metacre Wakes Wesham 25 January 2009
The recent 'Metacre' exhibition has awoken Wesham's residents. A public meeting packed by 200 people heralds the start of a campaign of objection. We bring you a report of the meeting.....

Town Council By-Election Result Town Council By-Election Result 22 January 2009
We bring you the result of the by-election where the people of Fairhaven Ward have chosen for their new Town Councillor. We also speculate on the implications for the St Anne's on the Sea Town Council and the wider Fylde....

Exclusive. Development Discord 16 January 2009
We break news that Fylde's Development Control committee sees tempers flare and a Vice Chairman resign over the BAE Warton retail and leisure development that Fylde was set to oppose at a Public Inquiry this spring - or is it? Who was angry - and who has resigned?.....

Exclusive. Housing Growth 12 January 2009
We break news of two secret plans to develop acres of housing in Fylde, the M55 Hub scheme is moving forward behind closed doors, and we also bring you Fylde's as yet unseen plan for 'Potential Urban Housing Extensions' Huge swathes around St Annes, Wesham, Warton, Lytham and the M55 Hub.....

Exclusive. TC Budget 2009-10 10 January 2009
Saint Annes Town Council considers a draft budget for next year that would double the precept and spend £1,000 a week on admin and overheads. How popular is that going to be?.....

Dated: 31 December 2009