The Archive: 2010 |
 Tax Con? or Just a
Cock-Up? 30 December 2010
Fylde's Policy Development Scrutiny Committee meets on Thursday 6 Jan to consider what to do as its 'Asset Transfer' and 'Strategic
Asset' schemes descend into farce. Fylde is now between a rock and a very hard place. We speculate how it might affect your Council Tax bill next year.....
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 Decentralisation
And Localism Bill Announced 28 December 2010
Our take on what's in the Decentralisation and Localism Bill that was given its 'first reading' in Parliament this
month, There are huge reversals for planning and for housing, and lots of other changes. This legislation will fundamentally change Local Government as it is known today.....
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 Tax Con on Hold?
23 December 2010
Saint Annes Town Council finally make public their consideration of Fylde's Great Council Tax Con. They decided to defer the offer of taking on the
smaller open spaces - at least until after the May election. What does their decision mean for you, and what about the costs?.....
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 Exclusive.
Tax Con Returns 16 December 2010
Fylde is pushing St Annes and Kirkham Town Councils toward the final stages of the Great Tax Con that could sidestep the Government
capping limit and see another £300,000 taken in tax from the people of Fylde for no practical benefit. We have the first news and an explanation.....
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 Lytham - Premier
League? 2 December 2010
Blackpool FC is eyeing up land in Lytham for a training ground.
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 Exclusive.
Audit Called in at Fylde 25 November 2010
The closing chapters in the St Annes Pool story are about to be written. The unsuccessful tenderer has complained to
Fylde's external auditors about improper handling of the tendering and contract awarding process that saw the YMCA charge £1.6m more than his bid. We have the details....
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 Regional
Strategy Returns (or not?) 22 November 2010
Cala Homes has won its High Court battle to have the Regional Strategies reinstated after the Government had abolished
them. But will this judgement make any difference? Will Saint Eric take it lying down? We think not. We have the low-down and all the details on what it means....
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 Abandon
Tip 21 November 2010
Why did FBC's officers suggest the Queensway estate for a commercial waste facility?. We also report an uncomfortable
meeting for LCC's Councillor Albert Atkinson who decided St Annes Tip would close, then wouldn't even discuss it with out MP....
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 Knight
to Porn Too? 1 November 2010
In a surprise move, Fylde's Standards Committee has been sidelined, and the report into allegations that Cllr Simon Renwick
breached the Code of Conduct will be sent to the National Tribunal for consideration and possible action. So what brought about this change of heart? We have the low-down for
our readers....
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 Fools
Mate? 15 October 2010
Part of Fylde's Standards Committee will consider the report into allegations that Cllr Simon Renwick breached the Code of Conduct when pornographic images were found on
a laptop that had been allocated to him. The whistleblower who found them is now unemployed. So what's going on?....
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 Enter
the Puppet-Master? 7 October 2010
As the constitution of St Annes on the Sea Town Council is mangled and mauled yet again by an insecure Borough Council that is
ignorant of its role, we ponder whether the Commissar has become a Puppet-Master, and is manipulating Fylde's decisions from behind the scenes....
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 It's
Friday 1 October 2010
As we've said before to those that have signed up for our notifications....
It's Friday......
It's Eric Pickles .......
And another one bites the dust. ...... |
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 September
Cabinet 30 September 2010
We bring our readers the latest inside track on - Fylde's Regeneration Framework - what's it all about?; Rubbish accounting - The Wyre
contract looks set to lose money; Council Tax referenda proposals; Shoreline Management schemes to protect Fylde from flooding; and St Annes Pool operation ...... |
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 Snippets
September 2010 29 September 2010
Promenade Fountain; Fuming over Smoking; Political balance - what is it how is it worked out; Local Enterprise Partnerships the
bids go in; Wesham Inquiry Update decision date announced; Fylde constitutional change but only temporarily; Housing Links severed with NFH; the Battle of Little Hardhorn ..... |
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 Town Hall
'Plan C' ? 28 September 2010
The Commissar's plan for a new White Elephant Town Hall is dead. After spending £800,000 on plans that Fylde could never afford,
we're heading into common sense territory with Cllr David Eaves who branded the former £7m scheme 'Pie in the Sky.' We might say - 'we told you so' ...... |
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 Wesham
Inquiry Opens 14 September 2010
There are developments even before the Inquiry opens. We're keeping our readers up to date day by day as the case develops (as
far as we can - it's now expected to run on until perhaps Thursday next week!) ...... |
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 Cabinet
Reshuffle September 2010 6 September 2010
New Leader David Eaves shuffles his Cabinet. Roger Small steps down as Deputy Leader, Susan Fazackerley steps up.
Princess Karen switches to finance, and Freckleton's Cllr Tommy Threlfall enters the Cabinet for the first time in Princess Karen's old shoes. And more change is on the
way..... |
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 Wesham: The
Calm 7 September 2010
The calm before the storm. We report the final public meeting of the Wesham Action Group who are taking part as a 'Rule 6' Group at the
Public Inquiry that starts next Tuesday (14th) in The United Reformed Church Hall in St Annes. The Inquiry has a public gallery, so our readers can call in to watch progress if
they like..... |
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 North
Beach Car Park Call-In 6 September 2010
We report an interesting little meeting to consider whether to call-in a decision to implement charging for car parking
on North Beach Car Park. It was a classic Blue Peter decision (Here's one I made earlier) but it showed that the 2007 intake of councillors are finding their feet
and flexing their muscles..... |
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 Snippets -
August 2010 20 August 2010
A selection of news from or affecting Fylde Council, including : Free Local Government Seminars for everyone; The Kilnhouse by-election
candidates are announced; The Audit Commission is to be abolished; Local Enterprise Partnerships row; News of Ashton Gardens new cafe; and a possible Council tax veto..... |
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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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 First
Sight.
COINS for Cash 13 June 2010
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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 Exclusive.
Joe Robinson's News 6 June 2010
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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 Exclusive.
Who's in the Swim? 7 May 2010
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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 Decisive Company
8 April 2010
Fylde Council's leader, Councillor John Coombes, standing alone, decides we should commit Fylde to join the separate legal entity that will become 'Blackpool
Fylde and Wyre Economic Development Company Ltd. He wants to get into bed with Blackpool. City of the Fylde here we come..... |
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 Corrupting
Influence 7 April 2010
The Express' column about 'potholers' and 'fishups' prompts the first in a series of articles outside our local theme. We worry about the
manipulation of Freudian sub-conscious desires that seeks to groom society into the 'passive obedience' that Huxley predicted. And we expose the Gollum-like humanists for what
the are. Slimy. |
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 Company Formation 1
April 2010
Wyre Council decide to join the EDC, and Fylde are about to announce that their Cabinet will make the same decision (sorry, they will give it a fair hearing
and THEN decide to join). So what is the EDC? Why are these civic lemmings about to follow Blackpool over the cliff? What does it mean for us? |
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 Exclusive.
Queensway Delayed 25 March 2010
The Secretary of State was due to announce his decision on Kensington's 1,050 house scheme at Queensway on 9th April. He now won't hit
that date, so when will his decision be published, why is there a delay, and what does it all mean?.... |
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 Exclusive.
Marton Moss Decision 25 March 2010
Blackpool Council considers Kensington's plans for 584 houses off Mosshouse lane. We think it was a 'Blue Peter' decision made on
party lines. The upshot was to approve the Mosshouse Lane scheme subject to Government having the final say, and to refuse the Runnell Farm one. What does it all mean and who
said what in the debate... |
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 Obituary:
Lyndsay Greening 20 March 2010
We were sad to hear of the unexpected death of another Fylde Councillor recently, and although we did not know her well, we admired her
measured and statesmanlike performance in all we saw her do. ..... |
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 Wesham: Good
Decision 18 March 2010
At a meeting full of passion, the Development Control Committee refuse permission for the Metacre scheme at Wesham. Agricultural land and food
wins out over driveways and forecourts. We report who said what, and give some background. The battle may be won, but the fat lady's not yet singing..... |
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 Princess Karen MP?
16 March 2010
Fylde's Councillor Karen Buckley is selected as the prospective parliamentary candidate for Hyndburn Conservatives. It's ruffled a few feathers there, and will
probably cause some plans to change at Fylde, but she's off on the campaign trail. What will it mean for us in Fylde if she becomes Hyndburn's MP?..... |
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 Hub Shaping Up
14 March 2010
Fylde Council hold an 'informal' meeting to hear a presentation on possibilities for the M55 Hub development from David Lock Associates on 17th. We're on the
trail. ExclusiveUPDATE 17th and 21 March. We can now tell readers
what we think was said, why it was held in secret, and why counterbalance was threatened with physical removal. |
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 Planning
Development? 12 March 2010
Protestors join WAGs at Wesham to rally the troops for one last push before Fylde's planning meeting on 17 March that will decide
the Metracre application. We go along to hear what's upsetting the good people of Wesham. We also ponder the relationship between this and Blackpool's Mosshouse development and
Queensway.... |
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 FBC Budget
2010 / 2011 5 March 2010
Fylde Council debates a budget that will re-open St Annes Pool, and approve an external debt limit of up to £11
million. Opposition councillors worry that the pool opening is unsustainable given the Council's turbulent financial future. We look at what was said, and who voted for
what..... |
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 Integrity UK
Launched 1 March 2010
A new political party with national aspirations has been launched on the Fylde coast. Styled as an association or umbrella organisation for
independent candidates, it represents a novel and interesting approach. So Who's involved? How does it work? Will it make a difference? How will it affect existing independent
councillors? We have a look..... |
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 St Anne's Town Plan
24 February 2010
St Anne's on the Sea Town Council embark on a Town Plan. What's that all about? How are they going about it? When do we get a say? Will it make any
difference? We look at these and some of the other questions..... |
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 The Pool: In Depth 19
February 2010
St Annes pool is set to reopen. Will it still work? How much will it cost us to fix? Who's going to be running it? Why have we had to wait 18 months with
it closed? Why the change of heart now? We've sniffed the air, tested the water, and asked the questions to bring you our take on the answers to all these questions.... |
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 On Your Marx
18 February 2010
Along with a hundred or so others, we enjoyed a really good evening wondering if Marxism is now a spent force. The results might surprise you. They
certainly surprised us...... |
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 Exclusive.
They Don't Come Any Worse in Lancashire 15 February 2010
Fylde is the worst council in Lancashire and the fourth most
expensive according to a new assessment being reported to Cabinet on Wednesday..... |
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 Snippets - Feb
2010 14 February 2010
A cornucopia of small news snippets: Fylde's next Mayor, St Annes recycling centre, Lancashire Locals; Lowther gardens
play area; Street trading; Fairhaven lake; Sea defences; The town hall accommodation scheme; Bus service cuts; Winter gritting; the M55 Heyhouses Link Road; Housing for Ballam
Road (and St Annes); A replacement Sreetscene; and a request for more cash for Fylde's beleaguered Standards Committee |
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 A Small Deception?
12 February 2010
The Great Fylde Tax Con continues. We ask if Councillor Roger Small's evasive evidence to Fylde's Scrutiny Committee last week will become his own 'Weapons
of Mass Destruction' moment?...... |
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 Fair, Trade,
Green? 10 February 2010
A row has developed about what Lytham's famous Green can be used for. The Commissar wants it for an 'Events' venue but
he's hit the buffers again in the form of a covenant made by wiser men than him. Now he's going to 'Call the bluff' of the law on this matter. Oh dear!...... |
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 Parishes in
Peril? 27 January 2010
Fylde opened a major consultation on Town and Parish Councils at Christmas (when no-one was looking) with some very leading (or even misleading)
questions. We bring our readers the lowdown on what's going on, why it's happening now, and a copy of the form seeking your view. Will a Town Council be foisted on Lythamites?
Will we see some parishes merged and others disappear? Will the great Tax Con succeed?...... |
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 Tax Con Backfires
12 January 2010
Fylde's Equitable Taxation and Special Expenses tax con starts to go horribly wrong. Kirkham Town Council won't be getting its parks to run anytime soon,
and maybe not at all. Threats of a 9% tax rise for everyone will put a stop to that. And how much extra will this great taxation con cost us in the end?...... |
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Dated: 31 December 2010  |
