Lancashire’s political leaders had requested a more targeted approach, with areas with lower infection rates going into Tier 2 and those with higher rates into Tier 3.

Instead, the entire Lancashire area will be in the “very high alert” tier, which means that socialising is banned indoors and in most outdoor places with people you don’t live with or who are in your bubble; most hospitality, accommodation and entertainment venues will be closed and people should work from home where they can.

Shops, leisure centres and gyms, and personal care services such as hairdressers and barbers, will be permitted to open. Places of worship can open, but people cannot interact with anyone they don’t live with.

Councillor Karen Buckley said: “Our infection rates in Fylde are still on the high side and the pressures at Blackpool Victoria Hospital in terms of Covid admissions are concerning although they are declining, which is good.  We are going in the right direction and I urge everyone to stay cautious and follow the guidance so that we really do turn the corner.  Our hospitality sector on the Fylde Coast is badly affected and the announcement of Tier 3 is a further blow to these businesses, some of whom will struggle to survive.  Business support is available from the council but I recognise that this will not meet all needs and I, along with colleagues across Lancashire, are continuing to call for a meaningful settlement from Government to help save as many businesses as possible.”

The full details of the restrictions are on the gov.uk website.

Angie Ridgwell, chair of the Lancashire Resilience Forum, said: “Whilst we’re disappointed that the government didn’t take into account Lancashire’s large and complex geography, what this decision does do is make crystal clear what everyone needs to do in Lancashire to drive infection rates down.

“By our collective efforts, we have made substantial progress over the past number of weeks, and this work needs to continue in the coming weeks. We’ve done so well to drive down the rates of infection, we don’t want to lose those gains now. By continuing to work together and build on this work so that in the forthcoming reviews we can show that Lancashire can go into tier 2.

“Coronavirus continues to have a devastating effect on our communities and our economy and we know that our hospitality in particular is suffering greatly. The sooner we can get these restrictions eased, the sooner these sectors can start to rebuild, so it’s more important than ever for us all to play our part.”

Dr Sakthi Karunanithi, Lancashire County Council’s director of public health, added: “We are starting to see really positive signs across Lancashire. In some areas we are significantly below the national average for coronavirus, and in all areas we are going in the right direction.

“But we have to keep this up, as this will be the fastest way for us to get Lancashire into a lower tier. And the guidance remains the same – hands, face and space.

“It’s important as Christmas approaches that we don’t lose all the gains we’ve made in the last few months. What we do before and during the Christmas season matters most to protect ourselves and our loved ones. Let’s make smart choices about who we meet and keep everyone safe, until we get a well-functioning test, trace and isolate programme, and of course vaccinations.”

The government says it will review the tiers fortnightly.

Councillors on the Finance and Democracy committee will meet on Monday (November 23) to look at a range of measures to boost the economy – most notably the borough’s town centres of St Annes, Lytham and Kirkham.

The Fylde Corporate Plan 2020/24 includes ‘Economy’ as a key theme and includes ambitions and actions are set out to support the wider economy and promote the prosperity of the borough’s three town centres.

Leader of Fylde Council and Chair of the Finance and Democracy Committee Cllr Karen Buckley said: “We have won a multi-million pound bid for Kirkham, and have another hopefully to be announced soon. We’ve put money aside to improve the street scene in Lytham and we are looking at wholescale renewal in St Annes.

“What we need to help improve our town centres further is dedicated professional officers to drive forward the improvements this council and our local businesses want to make.

“These officers will be tasked with working with our local businesses to identify issues and improvements and to secure further external funding for them.”

The Council’s Town Centres Working Group (TCWG) which was established in March 2020,  identified the need for both posts.

The committee will also be asked to fund an experienced project manager for the Blackpool Airport Enterprise Zone (BAEZ) as part of the council’s commitment to supporting the key Fylde coast employment site.

The delivery of the Enterprise Zone is also a vital element of the Fylde Local Plan to 2032, with its success key to the economic strand of the local plan’s development strategy.

To date, the Council has seconded an officer to support the establishment of the zone and the drafting of a masterplan aimed at attracting and guiding new investment. The BAEZ is now at a stage where the nature of the support has changed and an experienced project manager is required to assist in the delivery of the project.

Decisions from the committee will be published following the meeting on Monday.

The proposal forms part of a Local Government Boundary Review which was triggered in Fylde because of electoral inequality resulting from residential development and population growth in particular areas of the borough.  At the meeting of the Committee on 28^th September, it was agreed to establish a cross-party working group of members in order that a submission could be prepared for the Local Government Boundary Committee with respect to the council size.

The draft submission to be considered as part of the meeting is based on the template provided by the Boundary Commission which establishes its key lines of enquiry with respect to the first phase of its work.  This is based on the following:

• Overview of the local authority profile
• Outline of the proposed governance model going forward
• External partnerships overview
• Commentary on community leadership role
• Casework approach/analysis
• Comparison with others
• Summary of the council size position

Leader of Fylde Council Cllr Karen Buckley who Chaired the working group stated: “It was clear from the outset of the review that 51 councillors for a district council the size of Fylde is out of kilter with other similar authorities and we need to slim down.  Councillors are local people who want to give back to their community and bring about improvements for residents.  Most of them responded to a survey as part of this exercise and said that their council work took up more time than they expected when they first stood for office.  Reducing the council size will increase their workload further and so it was necessary to review how we organise the committees to streamline the structure where possible.

“The committee system will remain but be modernised to merge the four programme committees: Tourism & Leisure, Operational Management, Environment, Health & Housing and Finance & Democracy into one policy committee which will meet more often.  We have also decided to bring scrutiny back so that members can get underneath the skin of decision-making to aid transparency and accountability.”

In summary, members have proposed that there are 37 council seats going forward.  Based on discussions around the governance model this would give every councillor the ability to sit on 2 committees each in theory.  This has the advantage of giving a clear signal to those standing for office in the future of the expectation in terms of their input into participating in the council’s decision-making framework.

It is also anticipated that the Policy Programme Committee, together with the Internal Affairs and Community Focus Scrutiny Committees will each have a membership of 12 on each committee.  The will ensure that every member will have a role in the council’s governance structure in terms of membership of either the Policy Committee, or a role on one of the two scrutiny committees (bar the Mayor who maintains more of a politically neutral role in their year of office), as well as a role on one of the other committees within the decision-making structure.  All members will fulfil a role on full Council also.

Councillor Buckley added:

“Reduced numbers and a streamlined committee system will move decisions along quicker and scrutiny will improve the quality of those decisions so I hope the council adopts these proposals for submission to the Boundary Commission.”

The full committee agenda can be found on our website here, and updates on the decisions made during the committee meeting will be provided next week.

The Inspector’s Report regarding the Council’s Five-Year Housing Land Supply Annual Position Statement confirms the position for a further year, until October 2021.

This follows recent challenges from developers who stated that the Council had a land supply worth less than three years’ housing for the five-year period.

The confirmation means that the Council can continue to refuse planning applications for greenfield housing sites that are not already in the Local Plan.

Planning Committee Chairman for Fylde Councillor Trevor Fiddler commented: “We welcome the confirmation that will help to stop the endless arguments at public inquiries when developers allege that the Council does not have a five-year housing land supply”.

The Additional Restrictions Grant is funded by national government and administered by the local authority, which has the discretion to target small businesses in Fylde within the guidance.  If you operate a small independent business and have been unable to get support during the current lockdown, please read the full eligibility criteria on our web page to determine whether your business can apply for this grant.  The funds available for grants from this scheme are limited with the objective to support as many local businesses as possible.

Cllr Karen Buckley, Leader of Fylde Council said:

“I urge any and all of our businesses that have suffered through additional Covid-19 restrictions since 22^nd September to check out the various support grant schemes, full details of which are on Fylde’s website.  Different criteria apply for each scheme and the discretionary scheme which is the last to be launched may well be the lifeline needed to keep a business afloat.  Do come forward for advice if you’re unsure on the complicated eligibility criteria as I would hate for any business to lose out when there is a grant available.”

The deadline to apply for the Fylde ARG scheme is 5pm Friday 18 December.

If your business was required to close as a result of the restrictions, it will not be eligible for the Additional Restrictions Grant. There are alternative grants available for closed businesses, to find out more please visit the Business Support section on our website here: https://new.fylde.gov.uk/covid-19-support-for-businesses/

Regular updates on business support are published on our website.

The winners for the Borough were:

• Fairhaven Lake
• Promenade Gardens
• Ashton Gardens
• Lowther Gardens
• Lytham War Memorial Garden
• Elswick Village Hall & Gardens (managed by Elswick Parish Council)

The scheme is now asking you to vote for the best of the best to win a People’s Choice Award.

To vote for your favourite, simply visit www.greenflagaward.org find it on the winners map and click the vote button. Once you’ve voted, why not encourage others to get involved too?

Voting closes on 25th November with the top 10 winning sites announced on 3rd December.

Councillor Cheryl Little Chair of the Tourism and Leisure Committee for Fylde said: “I would like to congratulate all of Fylde’s award-winning parks. Receiving this prestigious international benchmark recognises all of the hard work that has gone into maintaining and managing these precious green open spaces.

“Every single one provides an invaluable service – both to visitors and to the local communities that they serve – from creating a safe space to visit, to play, to reflect – whilst also helping to address many of the health and wellbeing challenges we are currently facing.

We would be thrilled if you could now vote for your favourite park or green space in Fylde to receive a People’s Choice Award to further recognise the fantastic work that is done to maintain these for everyone to enjoy.”

Paul Todd, International Green Flag Award Manager said, “This year we have all seen the importance of our precious parks and green spaces. The People’s Choice Award is an opportunity to show how much your favourite park means to you. Make your voice heard and vote now.”

Full details and a link to the online application form are available on our website here.

The scheme is funded by national government and administered by the local authority. if your business was NOT required to close then you are not eligible for this grant.  You will also need your business rates account number to be eligible for the scheme.  Please read the full eligibility criteria on the web page to determine whether your business can apply for this grant.

If your business was not required to close on November 5^th, or you do not have a business rates account, a local discretionary fund will be made available called the Additional Restrictions Grant, details of this scheme and the application process can also be found on our website here.

Businesses that were required to close from October 17^th under the Tier 3 regulations will already have received a notification to apply for support and do not need to complete the national lockdown application form.

Cllr Karen Buckley, Leader of Fylde Council said: “This is the latest scheme of grant funding made available to businesses who had no choice but to close when we went into National lockdown on 5^th November.  Our finance team, supplemented by staff from across the council, is geared up to process the applications as quickly as possible.  We want this money out of the door to help our local businesses who have suffered such an economic blow during the pandemic.”

Regular updates on business support are published on our website.

Concerns have been growing over the years with incidents of flooding increasing significantly across Fylde affecting both property and land.

Significant flooding events were experienced at Park View Playing fields on 28th September 2019, and various locations across the Fylde Coast including Freckleton, Clifton, Newton, Kirkham, Elswick, Staining, Cropper Road, Moss side and Greenhalgh on the 10/11 August 2020 which flooded property, businesses, roads and other lands.

Most of the borough is currently serviced by a combined surface water/foul drainage system which is under pressure at times of high rainfall. The majority of the system is historic and is managed and owned by United Utilities.

The Fylde Borough is low lying, and drainage in Fylde is impacted by tidal influence which inhibits surface water flow reaching both the Ribble & Wyre rivers and ultimately out to sea.

In order to tackle the increasing flood concerns, the committee agreed to establish a working group made up of both Council representatives as well as members from outside the committee to ensure that a wider representation and points of view are considered.

The working group will liaise with Risk Management Authorities, Flood Action Groups, householders, farmers and landowners together with senior officers from Fylde’s Planning and Technical Services teams.

It is envisaged the working group will develop a comprehensive set of recommendations and proposals to improve the way surface water management in Fylde is undertaken to reduce flooding in the future and to ensure that arrangements for dealing/responding to emergency flood incidents in Fylde are robust and effective to provide reassurance to members, residents and landowners. These recommendations will be presented back to the committee during 2021.

Chair of the Environment, Health and Housing Committee Cllr Tommy Threlfall said: “It has become of great concern to me and the rest of the borough the flooding that we continue to experience in Fylde. We will ensure that the responsible authorities for managing the risk of flooding and surface water here ascertain their duties and that these are carried out correctly. The working group will lead on this piece of work and I look forward to moving forward with a plan for better management in the borough.”

The site will begin installation on Monday 9^th November at Fairhaven Road car park, South Promenade, Lytham St Annes, FY8 1NW. This location has been identified together through various partners including the NHS, Fylde Police and Lancashire County Council. The car park will be closed for the construction of the site from 8pm on Sunday 8^th November, and it is scheduled to open and begin testing on Monday 16^th November.

The site is much needed in Fylde for residents and neighbouring towns to access tests locally. It will be a walk-in, appointment-only site with tests available from 8am – 8pm. At the moment we anticipate the site will be operational here until July 2021. The car park will have limited parking spaces available for visitors to the test centre, the beach café and the beach itself due to the site being located at the opposite end of the car park to the café.

It is advised that when going for a test to walk or cycle to and from the site where possible and avoid using public transport. Those being tested are asked to wash their hands before leaving home, wear a face covering on their journey to and from the centre and to not stop anywhere on the way.

Testing is available only for those with coronavirus symptoms which includes high temperature, a new, continuous cough, or a loss or change to sense of smell or taste. Anyone with one or more of these symptoms should book a test at nhs.uk/coronavirus or by calling 119.

Anyone testing positive for the virus will be contacted by NHS Test and Trace to help them track their contacts. This will help people to identify who they may have been in close contact with, protecting others from further transmission.

Close contacts of those testing positive will also hear from NHS Test and Trace, asking them to stay at home for 14 days to prevent them from unknowingly spreading the virus. They will be advised to also book a test if they develop symptoms. However, they should not book a test if they don’t have symptoms.

We are asking residents and visitors to avoid parking near this location to prevent any traffic congestion. Understanding the inconveniences, saving lives is paramount during these challenging times.

Fylde Council Leader Councillor Karen Buckley said: “A test centre in Fylde is much needed especially for our elderly or vulnerable residents who would struggle to travel to Preston or Blackpool.  We have had a series of temporary mobile units of late both at this site and at Lytham Golf Academy but I welcome a more permanent structure for the coming months which is easily accessible on foot or by car.  Anyone who displays symptoms of coronavirus should not hesitate to book a test.  Please make use of the testing unit and keep safe.”

A set of FAQ’s has been created to answer any questions and is available on our website here. 

We also want to take this opportunity to remind residents that the Council is still offering support to the most vulnerable should you or anyone you know need it. This can range from delivery of shopping, pharmacy items or even provide information on how you can access a local befriending service. If we can help with any of this please either email us listening@fylde.gov.uk or call our dedicated team on 01253 658448.

To qualify for this grant, a business must be in the Fylde Council area and have been:

• Open as usual before the restrictions
• Providing services in-person to customers from the premises before the restrictions
• Required to close due to local lockdown restrictions imposed by government from October 2020
• Paying business rates for the premises as at 14 October 2020

Businesses required to close under Lancashire’s ‘Tier 3 COVID Alert Level: Very high’ local restrictions are:

• Pubs, bars, private members clubs, and social clubs (unless remaining open by operating as a restaurant or takeaway)
• Adult gaming centres
• Bingo Halls
• Casinos
• Bookmakers and betting shops
• Children’s soft play areas
• Car boot sales

The amount of the grant awarded depends on the rateable value of the premises of an eligible business. A support grant will be provided for every two weeks that an eligible business is required to remain closed.

Eligible businesses can apply by visiting our website: www.fylde.gov.uk/local-restrictions-support-grant/

Many other businesses who were not lawfully forced to close by the Tier 3 restrictions suffered a decrease in demand, particularly in the hospitality sector, owing to the ban against mixing households.  In the last few days the Government has confirmed that the same support offered to Tier 2 areas for these businesses will be offered to Tier 3 also, which for Fylde will mean support will be backdated to 22 September. This will be called the ‘Local Restrictions Support Grant (Open)’ scheme. There is also an extension to the original furlough scheme and payments to the self-employed which is to be welcomed.

As well as the statutory schemes which will come on stream, additional business support was negotiated at £30m for Lancashire and discussions with government are ongoing on the governance and distribution arrangements. Our shared goal with government is to have a scheme that ensures maximum local flexibility to target these finite resources where they are needed most.

Leader of Fylde Council Councillor Karen Buckley said: “This is a torrid time for our local businesses who are being forced to close their doors yet again.  The longer these restrictions are in place the harder it is for our high street to bounce back and that means economic hardship and more job losses in Fylde.  We all understand the need to protect lives, and not just from the Covid-19 virus.  Access to NHS treatments, primary care and mental health services are vitally important too.

“There are some small signs of infection rate diminishing in Lancashire because of the measures already in place but it will be a while before we see that translate into a fall in admissions to hospital or deaths, which is what we all want to see.  In the meantime, I hope you will join me in going ‘all out local’ to enjoy takeaways, click and collect, and ordering online from our independent stores.  That’s where I will be doing my Christmas shopping and I hope to complete it after 2 December when our local retailers open once again.”

As soon as more information is available regarding additional funding schemes, including support for businesses mandated to close by national restrictions which come into force on 5 November until 2 December, an announcement will be made through our usual channels.

Please visit www.fylde.gov.uk/covid-19-support-for-businesses/ for the latest announcements regarding grants.

Additional Information on the scheme

Rateable value and support amount

Click here for more information, eligibility details and guidance from GOV.uk