COUNCILLORS have called on people in a Pendle town to look to the future and back plans for a controversial scheme to improve services for local residents.

Proposals by Pendle Council's ruling Liberal administration to create a one-stop council shop in Brierfield Town Hall sparked an outcry from pensioners who will lose their snooker room in the building and caused a wider rift between the authority and the town council. Local Labour councillors have backed opponents of the scheme who claim the council shop is not needed or wanted and the £50,000 it will cost could be better spent on other things.

"We are shocked at the opposition from a few prominent people to the exciting plans for a council shop in Brierfield," said Liberal Councillor Sajjad Karim, chairman of Pendle's Brierfield and Reedley area committee. "There is no doubt that nothing but petty political spite lies behind some of the very silly things that are being said. People just do not know what it is we are proposing for Brierfield so we are going out to tell them."

Leaflets on the council shop will be posted to every house in Brierfield next week. Fellow Liberal Allan Buck said if anyone had any doubts about the value of a council shop, which would offer a wide range of services and advice not currently available in the town, they should go and look at the first shop in Barnoldswick which has been a huge success and of benefit to local people.

"The present service in Brierfield is very expensive for what it is, basically just a cash collection point," said Coun Karim. "The new Labour Government is bringing in quite draconian new rules under what they call Best Value and the council auditors will be in a position to make Pendle close down anything which does not comply with this so-called Best Value." He said the most common complaint he got was that "everything has gone to Nelson."

"People just do not think they get the service in Brierfield that they used to in the old days," he added. "What the council shop will do is bring back the service that people got when it was Brierfield Council."

Council leader Alan Davies warned other areas would be delighted to have the investment if Brierfield did not want it. He said this year's local elections would be seen as a referendum on the proposals.

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