Published February 1, 2022 at 10:43
Rossendale Borough Council has published the report produced by the Local Government Association (LGA) following their recent peer challenge.
The peer challenge is used by councils across the country to understand how well they are delivering for local residents.
The review made 13 recommendations which included the council renewing its focus on tourism, prioritising how it works with other organisations to improve Rossendale, building more capacity to deliver on its ambitions and setting out more clearly how it will deliver on its housing plans for Rossendale.
The LGA team, made up of councillors and officials from other local authorities, found the council ‘clearly cares for its local communities and has a vision’. They assessed that the council as ambitious and with a clear plan which it is delivering in tackling major challenges like climate change and improving town centres.
The review took place in November 2021 and the council has responded quickly and positively to its findings.
Councillor Alyson Barnes, Leader of the Council stated: “We welcomed the external challenge from the local government team, and we have agreed a clear action plan in response to each of the team’s recommendations. We see this as building on the good work we have been undertaking for a number of years.
“It has given us fresh impetus to think about things like our plan for housing and how we might improve how we communicate with residents. We were quick to take action after their visit in November and have already addressed some of the findings. Over the coming months we will address each of the findings.
“We continue to work hard for residents to deliver on the things that are important to them, like thriving town centres and looking to improve our parks.”
A full copy of the review and the action plan can be found at: https://bit.ly/RBCpeerreview