The Archive: 2015

That's The Way To Do It 18 Dec 2015
We report a milestone and wonderfully democratic meeting of Bryning with Warton Parish Council. We also speculate that they appear to have threatened FBC with a Judicial Review regarding the local planning process.....

The Great Fylde Coast Bathing Water Con 8 Dec 2015

In possibly our most important article ever, we expose how our bathing waters have been subjected to extensive disregarding and discounting of water testing samples to announce 'publicly acceptable' results - most of which we regard as pure fantasy......

Clifton Ward Runners and Riders 8 December 2015
A look at the runners and riders for the Clifton Ward By-election this Thursday. Five candidates - four from political parties and one Independent - are doing battle for the hearts and minds of voters as Clifton Ward residents go to the polls.....

Snippets: November 2015 5 November 2015
November news, including: Wrea Green planning, Lytham by-election, FBC meeting times, Fracking, Night time economy moves, Looming bin costs, Christmas tree collection arrangements, Highway waste woes, Business rate news and Town hall news".....

Rocking the Boats 13 October 2015

We break the story behind 2015's 'boating failure' at Fairhaven Lake. Serious allegations are made about Fylde's tendering process, and some suspect a move to keep Fylde's councillors in the dark about what really happened. We have the story.....

DM Rejects Policy 1 October 2015

Fylde's Development Management Committee vote not to adopt the resolution recommended to them by the Housing Committee which would have relaxed the tenancy criteria attached to 'Affordable Housing' and offer such housing to people living outside Fylde

An Affordable Policy? 9 September 2015

Fylde's deluded Local Plan says 207 'Affordable Houses' a year are needed. But in the real world, the banks and Social Landlords say there is not enough certainty of rental demand to guarantee the rental income from Fylde tenants alone. So FBC is planning to import its housing need from elsewhere.

Obituary: Hannah Cummings-Miller 31 August 2015
We record the passing of another of Fylde's long serving Councillors. Hannah was a lady who knew of the savage and routine bombing of Liverpool in WW2, and whose experience gave her the determined and tenacious character which her Singleton electorate so respected.

Full Council 6 July 2015 20 July 2015
A disaster of a meeting where Fylde fudged yet another governance issue. But it was most memorable for its pay awards for Councillors - and especially the one that will pay Leader Susan Fazackerley four times as much as she should get in real terms.

Finance and Democracy Committee 20 July 2015
Started well as Chairman Karen Buckley treated us to her very best 'sweetness and light' mode only to descend into the worst form of party political 'jackbooting' (as one Cllr described it). We suspect what happened here was a test bed for sidestepping the legal requirements of political balance in committees.

Development Management Policy Committee 20 July 2015
Another of Chairman Trevor Fiddler's awful stasi-style meetings with members asked by officers to provide comment and changes to the latest draft of the local plan, only to find 'Chairman Trevor' blocking their input and criticising the officers for suggesting it. An awful meeting.

Environment Health and Housing Committee 20 July 2015
This meeting was only just above average in the way it was run. We thought that was more down to how the Chairman chose to run the meeting rather than the procedures Fylde has put in place. To us it seemed to be the way he thought things should be done. We didn't agree.

Tourism and Leisure Committee 20 July 2015
We thought this was a pretty well run meeting. Chairman Cheryl Little was competent and consensual. There were a couple of interesting cameos during the meeting, and we note something one of the officers said in the meeting which we found a bit unusual.

Operational Management Committee 20 July 2015
A first class example of how to run a committee meeting. Chairman David Eaves' handling of the meeting was excellent. Furthermore, this committee has established the principle that items marked 'For Information' can become the subject of a resolution and decision by the Committee.

The New Committees 20 July 2015
We introduce the new processes that Fylde has set in place to administer its operations and decisions. We found the first committees went very well, but they deteriorated badly as the cycle of meetings continued. We worry they will get worse, not better

Oh Yes They Did! 24 May 2015
We expose investigative incompetence in relation to two councillors who failed to declare interests which should have prevented them from taking part in meetings where matters regarding Cuadrilla were being discussed.

Fylde Election Analysis 2015 21 May 2015
Our promised (and personal) analysis of what the election results might mean for Fylde. Government gets a green light to do what it wants, and an increased Conservative majority takes all the Chairmanships and Vice Chairmanships on Fylde's new Committee system.

Fylde Election Results 2015 8 May 2015
We bring the results of Fylde's Parliamentary Election. Mark Menzies retains his Parliamentary seat, and Fylde Borough's Conservatives increase their majority on the Council. There were several surprises. An analysis of what it means for the people of Fylde will follow shortly.

Runners and Riders 2015 3 May 2015
Our 'Pen Picture' for this weeks elections in Fylde Borough, (both Parliamentary and Borough). It's a difficult election to call with lots of extraneous forces at play. Despite an incredible campaign by independent, Mike Hill we think our present MP will remain.

Budget Council Chaos 29 Mar 2015
We report the constitutional chaos that was Fylde's 2015 budget council meeting. Freckleton Parish had asked for a grant of £50,000, toward revamping a park but some things were not quite right, and other parishes had been refused. The meeting became a chaotic shambles....

Another Whitewash? 13 Mar 2015

We look in some detail at Fylde's investigation into Councillor's 'fracking interests' and we find weakness. We also report new research casting doubt on the findings. So are the conclusions sound? Did the Police get the right story? Or is it a whitewash?....

Oh Brother! 24 Feb 2015
To St Margaret's, for the annual Shrove Tuesday debate: "This House Believes that Freemasonry and Christianity are incompatible." Not a topic for the feint-hearted. The biggest audience we've yet seen at St Margaret's defeated the motion by a huge majority....

Transport Masterplan? 16 Feb 2015
We take a rough and dirty look at LCC's draft Fylde Coast Highways and Transportation Masterplan and we're, frankly, a bit underwhelmed. The vision of the Fylde Coast Easterly By-pass and the Fleetwood Relief Road have gone or been dumbed down quite a bit ....

Render Unto Caesar 8 Feb 2015
We explore links between what's happening in Greece, the management of our own economy, and the appalling leaked letter from George Osborne that is blatant in its support for fracking and its disregard for democracy. We think his dash for gas = desperate for cash....

Fracking Update January 2015 26 Jan 2015
A catch-up on some of the issues that have arisen since last summer, and we look forward to the week in which LCC were supposed to have made the decisions. But they may not do after the local groups fired their cannons and Cuadrilla asked for a deferment....

Standing for Council? 04 Jan 2015
This May will see new councillors elected to town, parish and borough councils in Fylde and, as the New Year starts, we report the Fylde Civic Awareness Group's plan for free workshops to explain what's involved in standing for election to one of our local councils....

Dated: 31 December 2015