The project will involve new play equipment for children aged 0-16 including a zip-wire, new safety surfacing, drainage for the play area and a football pitch and a picnic area, to replace the old and worn play equipment. New pathways will be installed meaning that the Play Area will be accessible to all.

A funding partnership has raised £72,000 for the play area, with money coming from Lancashire Environment Fund, Rossendale Borough Council, Tesco, Awards for All, Rising Bridge Play Area Group, Newground, Local Government Pocket Parks Funding, Jacks, Winfields and Lancashire County Council Member Grants. Local people were asked how they thought the play area should be improved, and their ideas informed the plans that were submitted. The design is currently being finalised, and it is hoped that the contractor will be confirmed by the end of the year.

Works on the ground are set to begin in January, with the pay area opening in the spring. The project involves working alongside Rising Bridge Community Association and Proffit’s, Investing in Communities, and will provide the local children with an exciting new Play Facility. Adrian Lythgoe – Portfolio Holder for Operations and Development Control, said: This is great news and will be fantastic for the children and families in the area. It did need work as the old equipment isn’t in a great state so I am looking forward to seeing the finished plans and the work as it happens.”

A major manufacturing firm is relocating to Rossendale in a multi-million pound move, that will create new jobs, after receiving help from Rossendale Council. Melba Swintex is in the process of moving into a semi-derelict, vacant site in Stubbins which it is renovating and refurbishing with over £5m of investment. The Council has worked with the company through its Invest in Rossendale programme, which has helped them benefit from NNDR business rates relief.

The move guarantees a minimum of 24 new jobs. Melba Swintex is the world’s leading manufacturer of temporary traffic management products, such as signs, barriers and cones. It is moving from Bury and will complete the full relocation by the end of 2019.

Invest in Rossendale is a programme set up by Rossendale Council’s economic development team after Rossendale Council made sustainable growth a key priority. It aims to attract new businesses and support the expansion of existing ones, increase investment, create more jobs and raise income levels.Councillor Jackie Oakes, Portfolio Holder for Regeneration and Economic Development, said:

We welcome Melba Swintex’s operations to Rossendale. I have visited the site myself and met with staff and it is a very impressive set-up and will only get better when they finalise their move by the end of the year. We are committed to increasing inward investment in Rossendale. We are attracting companies in recognised growth sectors to invest more, create more jobs and thrive.

Paul Harrison, Melba Swintex’s finance director, said: The relocation will give Melba the increased production capacity it needs to continue to grow.
This will result in further jobs being created for the local community. We look forward to a long relationship with Rossendale Council.

Young people preparing to leave care in Manchester will get the opportunity to learn new skills and move into their own home through a ground-breaking programme that supports them to live independently.
The House Project will see young people given an empty property which they can refurbish and then move into. They will be able to continue living in it for as long as they choose, with their rent and utility bills paid for them by the council until they reach the age of 18.

The scheme is designed to help care leavers through the transition from childhood to adulthood, one of the most difficult periods in the lives of young people, and particularly so for young people leaving care who don’t have the same family support networks as other young people. Young people on the scheme are supported by a team from The House Project to ensure they have all the practical and emotional help they may need to provide them with the skills to make the house their home and to maintain their tenancy.

The pilot scheme will, at any one time, support around 10 care leavers under the age of 18 in partnership with national charity The House Project in a first of its kind scheme for Greater Manchester. The scheme is designed to help Manchester care leavers make the transition from high-demand supported accommodation into suitable follow-on housing and help them sustain their own tenancy.

Housing providers in the city will partner the programme and will work with the young people to help refurbish their own properties. The scheme will support young people to take ownership and responsibility for their futures whilst providing them with the tools they need to make their own way in the world.

Rent and utility bills will be paid by the Council up until the age of 18 when the young person will be able to access benefits themselves if need to.
The scheme is the latest of a series of initiatives in Manchester to improve the lives, experiences and outcomes of care leavers. Cllr Garry Bridges, Manchester City Council’s executive member for children and schools, said: “We’re determined to ensure no young person leaving care in Manchester falls between the cracks as they move into adulthood. We want to give them the best support possible to become independent and successful young adults, to be happy and to achieve their full potential in life.
“Living alone for the first time is a daunting prospect for any of us, but particularly so for a care leaver who will often do this at a much earlier age than most young people and without the support of family members that other young people usually have.

“The House Project will enable them to move into their own home whilst getting a bespoke package of support to develop the practical and emotional skills they need to live independently and to make their house a home.”
Nationally a third of care leavers experience homelessness within two years of leaving care, while they are also four times more likely to have mental health issues than the general population. The House Project was developed against this backdrop, and began life as a successful pilot scheme in Stoke in 2015.

Mark Warr, CEO of The House Project said. “We’re delighted to be working with Manchester City Council who are committed to improving the lives, experiences and outcomes of young people leaving care. Young people benefit from their involvement in the local house project, the relationships and support of their peer group, and the practical support they also get to enter the world of work. With a house they can actually call their home young people have the opportunity to succeed and achieve in their lives.”
For more information about The House Project visit www.thehouseproject.org

Preston City Council has become the latest local authority to sign up to a new licensing register designed to improve public safety and confidence in taxi drivers.

The purpose of the National Register of Taxi and Private Hire Licence Revocations and Refusals, or NR3 for short, is to prevent drivers from submitting licence applications while failing to declare historical licence revocations or application refusals in other parts of the country.
The council’s licensing officers now check the Register to see if driver applicants have either had a licence with another authority revoked or a licence application refused, which will assist them in making a determination on their application to Preston.

Officers will also update the Register with details of driver applicants who are refused a licence and details of former licensed drivers who have had their licence revoked in Preston. Councillor Peter Moss, Deputy Leader and Cabinet member for planning and regulation, said,

“I welcome this excellent initiative that was commissioned by the Local Government Association, to allow the sharing of information between licensing authorities. It strengthens our criteria for assessing taxi driver applicants and the monitoring of existing licensed drivers, to ensure passengers are being kept safe can have confidence that their driver is both professional and competent.

“For law-abiding taxi drivers, nothing changes as declaring your licensing history has always been a requirement. It’s only those who fraudulently submit inaccurate information that need to worry.

“As a licensing authority, public safety will always remain a priority and I believe the integrity of taxi and private hire drivers in Preston will be protected by this additional measure. I believe only six of the 14 Lancashire licensing authorities have signed up to the Register and I do hope the remaining ones do so as a priority.”

Planning applications have been submitted for two major road improvements in Blackburn. The planned work will see Haslingden Road widened between the Beehive Roundabout and Royal Blackburn Hospital and the creation of a new entrance to Royal Blackburn Hospital at Old Bank Lane. There will also be a creation of a new Blackamoor Link Road and junction improvements.

These are much-needed improvements to the area and will improve the congestion on the Haslingden Road corridor to and from Royal Blackburn Hospital and Junction 5 of the M65.

The Blackamoor changes are also designed to improve air quality and pedestrian facilities, at a designated Air Quality Management Area.
Both works will also boost further development of business growth and job opportunities in the area, as well as supporting much needed housing, both for families and associated with Royal Blackburn Hospital.

The work is due to start in early 2020 with a programmed completion by the end of March 2021. This is the third and final package of the Council’s Growth Deal 3 project to bring road, housing and business boosts to the borough. The infrastructure package has been designed in a way that it can be delivered in phases.

There will be disruption while the works are being carried out, which may result in some temporary delays and diversions. However, the Council will work closely with residents, businesses and the emergency services to minimise this as much as possible and to co-ordinate construction works.
The Council has also taken on comments and suggestions from the public in a previous consultation.

These include:
• Keeping parking outside “Fancy Row” properties on Haslingden Road and not progressing with plans for new parking areas at the back of the row
• Extending solid islands for easier pedestrian crossing across Haslingden Road Creating additional parking at the front of Roman Road “cottage” properties south of Newfield Drive with a new lay-by area
• Making sure access to/from future Blackamoor development sites will be from the new Blackamoor Link Road only

Councillor Phil Riley, Executive Member for Regeneration, said:
We are very positive about this scheme that we believe will prepare the borough for future growth, investment and employment across the board.
Obviously, there is going to be disruption as this is a big scheme and there is a lot of work that goes into widening a road and creating a new junction. I understand that this will at times be frustrating for residents and visitors while the work is being carried out but it is impossible to make changes as big as this without causing some disturbances.

We can’t deny that changes have been needed for quite some time to the Haslingden Road and Blackamoor areas and they can’t be put off for much longer. This is a big chance for us to transform these routes for the better for the benefit of residents and road users and will make traffic flow much better in these areas.”