THE packed meeting which was arranged to question Council bosses about their supposed plans to regenerate the town was far from successful as no one appeared to come away with any degree of optimism for the future of the local economy.
Quite disappointingly, too, there was no discussion at all of the albeit cut-and-dried Local Transport Plan which, if implemented, as already submitted to government offices, will destroy the economic viability of the resort for all but the major investors.
In addition to the absence of specific plans for regeneration, which will benefit all sectors of the local economy, there is increasing concern as to the absence of adequate funding in the town hall to simply survive, let alone grow.
As repeatedly predicted by some critics, through Citizen columns, the flawed financial system as employed by the ruling councillors is taking the town hall nearer and nearer monetary collapse.
All this is happening moreover in spite of the resort receiving more money in grants and from land sales than during the whole history of the town.
So, why is it that the more money comes into the town hall, the more impoverished the town becomes? And make no mistake, we are hovering on the very brink of collapse! Except for a mere million pounds, our decision-makers have demonstrated their expertise by disposing of every penny in the account which pays for the town's day-to-day expenses. In addition, £12 million of the £13 million has been swallowed up from the Emergency Reserve Fund. Only four years ago, Blackpool became a unitary authority and was given enormous capital sums by central government.
On top of this, all council-tax payers were given a large subsidy as arranged by government (the previous one). Even now, we continue to get generous grants which are specifically for regeneration. So, why has Labour's stewardship of the town bought us down so low? The answer to this, I suggest, is the way the town halls treats "capital" and "revenue". Take the Keys Road farm sell-off for example. That dodgy sale brought millions of pounds into the town hall coffers. As in so many instances we might ask, where has the money gone? Well, as a capital asset, one would expect it to go into a capital account for capital expenditure. What's the betting, however, that it ended up in a revenue account?
This, of course, gives savings for one year only -- not long-term savings and a firm financial base. Any organisation at all which embarks on such creative accounting simply holds back the day of reckoning. Short-term gain gives long-term pain!
Peter Roscoe, Bond Street, South Shore.
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