A Barnoldswick councillor has said he is “fed up” with the “Conservative media circus” after Tories in the town called on County Hall to do more in finding a new site for a bus turning circle.
Coun. David Whipp, who is West Craven’s representative on Lancashire County Council, was responding to a call from Pendle Council’s Leader Joe Cooney asking for a resolution on the issue after the closure of the old bus turning circle at the former Fosters Arms pub.
The Conservatives see Lancashire County Council’s decision to explore opportunities for a new recycling centre in Colne as “double standards” after prospective Barlick councillor Lyle Davy received a letter from County Hall’s transport manager saying no funds were available for a new turning circle.
Mr Davy said Barlickers “deserve our fair share” from the majority Labour administration in Preston adding that it was currently getting a “terrible deal”.
Mr Davy said: “This is absolute hypocrisy. They couldn’t reopen Colne tip because it was privately owned, so they’re looking at creating a new site. It’s absolutely the same situation with the bus turning circle in Barnoldswick, but they’re refusing to do anything about it. They’ve done very little to improve the situation at all.”
But Coun. Whipp said the search for a new recycling facility in Pendle to complement the one in Barnoldswick was “a priority” condition of the Lib Dems in support of the Labour administration.
He added that the Conservatives missed the chance to retain the old turning circle when the land was put up for sale by the brewery and that he was “very sceptical” of the campaign. Coun Whipp said: “The Conservatives didn’t jump up and down to save it and allowed the chance of purchasing it to go.
“Neither Mr Davy or any of the Conservatives have contacted me about this.
“People are complaining about the town bus service using their street (to turn around) but unfortunately unless somebody comes up with a miraculous idea of where a new turning circle could be sited, I can’t think of one.”
