TOWN hall leaders in Burnley and Padiham have unveiled plans to tackle a near £700,000 financial black hole after being left short of cash by Whitehall.

Cuts will be seen in neighbourhood clean-up work and translation services and a number of council posts will remain unfilled or see working hours reduced for existing jobs.

The customer service department has even found ways of spending nearly £800 less on stamps and postage.

Burnley Council can expect just a 0.5 per cent rise in its revenue support grant for 2009/10 and the following year.

Lancashire County Council was given a 5.69 per cent rise, year-on-year, and neighbouring Blackburn with Darwen’s unitary council welcomed a 5.96 per cent increase.

But in line with neighbouring Pendle and Rossendale, and other district authorities in East Lancashire, Burnley has been told it must tighten its belt.

Proposals to save £689,000 are set to be discussed by the borough’s executive on Monday, December 8.

Resources boss Phil Moore says in a report to the council’s executive that the grant figures from 2007 to 2010 represented an ‘extremely tight funding envelope’.

He added: “It is clear that in the current difficult economic climate this allocation is unlikely to increase and there are also a number of known budget pres-sures which have to be dealt with.”

Work on Burnley’s flagship recycling needs a £5,000 drop, with another £5,000 being saved on reducing the budget for street clean-up skips and litter bins.

The restructuring of the green spaces and amenities team alone will reap £37,500 and a reduction in planning department support staff generates savings of £12,500.

An extra £17,000 is expected from renting out parts of the renoated Padiham Town Hall and an anticipated rise in over 60s swimming should recoup £15,000.

Elsewhere council officials want to slash £7,366 from the market unit’s advertising coffers and spend £8,000 less on administration for local elections.

The council is facing a similar 0.5 per cent increase for the 2010-11 financial year and may have to find similar savings in 12 months time.