Who says the local press don’t have an agenda all of their own?

On 1 April the local paper, the Colne Times, published an article under this arresting headline: Pendle MP hits out at Colne Health Centre delays.

The piece quotes me as saying: "What is particularly galling for the residents of Colne and Pendle is that Colne Health Centre was a higher priority than Rossendale Health Centre back in 2006 when the projects were started. The Rossendale Centre is being officially opened this week, to glowing reports from all sides."

People around here are understandably angry and upset that their new health centre has been delayed yet again.  

Why? Who is responsible?

Much of the story was lifted straight from one of my press releases.

But it was carefully filleted to remove all critical references to the Liberal Democrats who run the council and whose vacillations, indecision and endless consultations are responsible for the delay.

Deleted: But long delays were forced onto East Lancs Primary Care Trust by Pendle Council, who originally wanted the centre to be built on the steeply sloping old Kippax site along Dockray Street.

Deleted: “…So the delay forced on the PCT by Pendle Council’s Lib Dems has cost the people of Colne very dearly.

Deleted: The MP added:  “I am not trying to score cheap political points when I say the project was derailed by the inability of the Lib Dem administration to come to a view about where the health centre should be located. But that is the unfortunate fact of life.”

Why can’t we have a decent investigative local press in Pendle?

Newspapers need journalists who are able and willing and interested enough to dig below the surface to get to the real story.

We shall see what happens to my next press release.