Hello and welcome to The Lancashire Lead.
Today we are able to report on a behind the scenes row between local authority leaders and the North and Western Lancashire Chamber of Commerce.
The report analyses how much spending is done within local council boundaries - but one leader says it offers a ‘flawed’ view of ‘incomplete and poorly understood data’.
Babs Murphy, chief executive of the chamber, defended the report and says they were transparent about its limitations.
She says they make no apology for asking where public money is being spent, and how much is going locally.
Lancashire briefing
🌹 The suspension of a Labour councillor has been lifted after an investigation.
Cllr Freddie Bailey, who represents Garrison at Preston City Council, was suspended in May just days before the local elections and has been sitting as a ‘Labour Independent’ ever since.
Cllr Bailey was informed of the decision by the Labour Party and strongly denied any wrongdoing throughout. His return the fold returns the Preston Labour group to 22 seats. The next largest party is the Lib Dems on 14.
🚧 Highways bosses are being urged to extend the safety barrier on a busy bridge that forms part of the main route between Preston and Southport – after the side of the structure was struck three times in the space of six weeks.
Concrete blocks had to be put in place to plug a gap that was left in Bank Bridge, on the A59 in Tarleton, after the most serious of the incidents in July.
Before the month was out, the blocks themselves had been hit – and there was a further minor collision just a few weeks later.
County Cllr Thomas de Freitas – who represents the West Lancashire North division – says it is “an absolute miracle” that a vehicle has not so far fallen into the River Douglas, which the crossing spans.
🌳 A public inquiry is set to be staged into a bid to build two giant warehouses on the border of Chorley and Blackburn.
FI Property Group – the firm behind the proposal – has launched an appeal against Chorley Council’s decision to refuse planning permission for the development, at Stanworth near Feniscowles.
The company wants to create a pair of logistics units – each standing just over 70 feet, or 21.5 metres, tall – on greenbelt land off Finnington Lane, alongside junction 3 of the M65. It says they would help plug a shortage of ‘big-box’ distribution centres across the North West.
Chorley Council planning officials had recommended councillors on the authority’s planning committee approve the scheme after concluding the plot could be reclassified as so-called ‘grey belt’ – making it suitable to be built upon.
However, the committee refused the application – which attracted more than 300 objections – back in June because of concern about its impact on the landscape.
FI Property Group immediately declared its intention to appeal – and has now officially done so. A government-appointed planning inspector will chair the resultant inquiry, a date for which is yet to be set.
Council leader lashes out at business chiefs over publication of 10-page local spending report
By Ed Walker
Business chiefs have been criticised by council leaders over a ‘crude’ and ‘unhelpful’ report which examined the spending which happens locally by a number of councils in Lancashire.
The 10-page report titled ‘Public sector procurement in Lancashire’ was produced by the North and Western Lancashire Chamber of Commerce has drawn a furious reaction from Chorley Council in particular with their leader being livid over the way the data is presented.
Within the report, seen by Blog Preston, the councils were asked, under the Freedom of Information Act by the business lobby group, to show how much of their spending for the most recent financial year or whichever year it was held for was within their council boundary.
West Lancashire came out way and above on top with 60 per cent staying within their area but this was due to a single £14million contract going to a local firm, skewing the figures.
South Ribble was next best with 21 per cent, with Preston and Fylde managing just over 10 per cent, Chorley under 10 per cent and Wyre lower still.
But the figures have been branded as a ‘snapshot’ and ‘not the full picture’ by council leaders, who have been involved in some tense discussions with the chief executive of the Chamber, Babs Murphy, since about the contents of the report.
Preston City Council’s data showed while direct spend within the council area was lower, it’s broader spend across Central Lancashire and particularly in the South Ribble area was running higher due to recent high-value construction contracts for redevelopment schemes to the likes of Eric Wright Group and Conlon Construction.
The city council say they have been working with the Chamber to help them understand a broader set of figures, aligned with its much-vaunted ‘The Preston Model’ and Community Wealth Building strategy which shows the broader economic impact of working with local anchor institutions such as the hospital, university and others rather than just focusing on direct council spending.
But leader of Chorley Council, councillor Alistair Bradley, has dismissed the report in its entirety and made very strong representations and told us: “Whilst we understand that the Chamber wants to support its members, just as we want to support our local businesses and residents. Unfortunately, we have had to advise them that their report is fundamentally flawed, based on incomplete and poorly understood data, drawing conclusions that aren’t based in reality. This is also the position of several other Councils who responded to the Chambers requests for data. They actually note in their own report that the data is inconsistent and it is missing the input of a number of councils in Lancashire. The reality in Chorley is that we have a thriving business community, and the majority of our procurement spend goes back into the regional economy.
“That’s why we have our economic partnership, extensive grants programme and package of support for the local economy. Also, 90 per cent of the contract spend from Chorley Council goes to businesses in the North West of England - businesses that will employ Chorley and Lancashire residents, and work alongside firms within the county and district. We always want to keep Chorley’s money within the area and provide workstreams for local businesses.
“The Chamber should absolutely be a champion for business and strong local partner, but this isn’t the way to do it. Making statements based on inconsistent and arbitrary data sets is not a collaborative approach and in my view unhelpful for the wider economy.
