THE leaders of Pendle Borough Council met with the new MP for Pendle and Clitheroe to highlight the challenges and priorities for the borough.

Councillor Asjad Mahmood, Leader, and Councillor David Whipp, deputy leader, invited Jonathan Hinder, who won the general election for Labour in July, to discuss the services provided by the council and the issues affecting the area, including the need for a new waste transfer station and the rising costs of leisure centres.

Cllr Mahmood said: “We are still under intense financial pressure so it’s important that we highlight the challenges we face to our new MP.

“Councils nationally have a budget shortfall year on year which makes it very difficult to provide residents and businesses with the services they want and deserve.

“We have a high number of properties -approximately 60 percent- which are in Band A which means we don’t collect as much council tax as in other areas.

“We are also facing financial pressure because of the escalating running costs of our leisure centres and pressures from temporary accommodation for homeless people.”

Other burdens on the budget include the introduction of a weekly food waste scheme for residents in 2026.

Pendle Borough Council is also having to fund the cost of building a waste transfer station due to Lancashire County Council contracts for waste disposal ending in 2026.

Councillor David Whipp, the council's deputy leader and member for Earby and Coates, added: “We were delighted to welcome Jonathan to Pendle so that we could discuss how we can continue to provide good quality services.

“We want to see a change from the Government in the way that we are funded so that we can manage our budgets longer term.

“We’re also asking the Government to fully fund the cost of implementing and operating the food waste service – these are extra costs which currently have to be met by us.”

Cllr Mahmood explained that the council needs more funding to support the decarbonisation of its leisure centres.

He also stressed the importance of schemes like the UK Shared Prosperity Fund, Town Deal and Levelling Up fund for areas like Pendle.

He added: “We raised the issue of the future of Nelson Long Term Town Plan and requested confirmation from the Government on what is happening with the funding.”