ANGRY council chiefs have insisted they will not cut back on their green principles – but want to slash grass-cutting services for land they do not own.

Civic campaigners in Rossendale are furious about a new deal suggested by Lancashire County Council to transfer grounds maintenance duties to the borough council.

County Hall officials have said they will provide Rossendale council with just over £50,000 to look after verges, shrubs, trees, hedges and weeds.

But councillors claim this will only pay for five cuts per year for grassland and ride roughshod over their Pride In Rossendale initiative.

Currently the county council is committed to eight cuts for 2010-11 but has indicated this will be hacked to five the next year.

Under the ‘public realm’ project, trialled last year in the Ribble Valley, environmental officers in Rossendale believe their standard of 10 annual cuts should be maintained.

Deputy mayor Coun Gladys Sandiford said: “We have got an initiative called Pride In Rossendale and this should not suffer because of this.”

Coun Christine Lamb said: “I think the county council has a cheek. They want us do more work for less money. ”

Borough council chief executive Helen Lockwood has been asked to continue negotiations with her county council counterparts to come up with a more acceptable deal.

However valley councillors have also signalled they want to call time on how much grass they cut for land which is not their responsibility.

Coun Peter Steen, cabinet member for environmental services, said: “There is a large number of areas in the valley which are not under the ownership of Rossendale Borough Council which in the past have been maintained by this authority.”

He said that the borough could not afford to contine with this approach.