Update on coronavirus from the leader and chief executive [March 23]

The Council is committed to keep you up to date as much as possible during this extremely testing time for our residents, businesses and community groups.

Last week, we launched our first community newsletter, pulled together by our communities team. It includes a wealth of information for people to help during this extremely challenging time. You can get it from our communities team and it has been circulated on social media.

We are working with Rossendale Leisure Trust to recruit volunteers who may want to help out supporting this borough’s most vulnerable people. We will, of course, ensure the health and safety of our volunteers but there are people in our borough who desperately need help and the best way to do that is in a coordinated way. You can sign up here.

On Friday, the government announced that all pubs, bars, cafes, restaurants, leisure centres and other such hospitality places should close down.

We have had no reports of any place flouting that direction but our public protection team will be monitoring the situation. We will take whatever action necessary to make sure the rules are being followed. However, many of those businesses are operating a takeaway service so please support them if you can by buying from them.

On Friday, the government announced details of further support for businesses. We welcome this and are looking forward to further details. We also, as civic leaders, urge for more national support for sole traders

Once again, can we urge everyone to please follow social distancing rules. By flouting them, you will be endangering yourself and others.

At present, we are not looking to close our parks or play areas but will keep that under review and are waiting for guidance from government.

Finally, as civic leaders, we want to praise all our staff for the way they have responded to this unprecedented public health crisis.

We also want to put on record our thanks to the hard working and dedicated NHS staff, care workers and volunteers who are on the frontline dealing with this.

We will come through this but we need to support each other, work with each other and follow the national advice and guidance.

We are keeping our main council page updated throughout the crisis. Keep checking back here for updates.

Councillor Alyson Barnes, Leader

Neil Shaw, Chief Executive 

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