Is Rossendale the best option for local government?
LCC is a large regional council, with 12 districts, Rossendale being one. It is difficult for RBC to get the finances to do more work locally – LCC are reluctant to pass money across, central government appear to be mean towards RBC in comparison to nearby councils, and only 17% of the Council Tax actually comes to RBC. For many improvements, partnering with outside agencies, such as Groundwork , to obtain funding is necessary, and that is often helped when local residents get involved too. This may be a necessary pattern for the future in terms of improving the environment in the Borough. The Council is working in partnership with other local councils in Pennine Lancashire, which may be a significant source of funding in the future. There is an on-going debate as to whether Rossendale is too small to be viable to provide all that is needed. However, the options to merge with other councils would be deeply unpopular, and may not bring improvements. Overall, the status quo is probably t
