A £5.7 million deal is being dangled in the battle for the sale of Burnley and Pendle's buses.

Pendle council, in the form of the controlling Liberal group, says it will sell its half share in the company to bus operators Stagecoach for £2 million.

The move could effectively give Stagecoach complete control of the company, leaving Burnley isolated and without picking up a penny.

Councillors claim Stagecoach will have effective control by appointing its own directors and being able to influence the careers of paid directors now employed by the Burnley and Pendle bus company.

The decision, expected to be rubber-stamped on Wednesday (January 31) has angered objectors.

The £5.7 million price tag is for the whole company. It is £1.7 million more than the highest figure predicted by analysts, and Stagecoach do not even want to look at the books.

Pendle's £2 million comes with a £850,000 bonus if Burnley sells out within three years, even if the shares go for a song.

The Liberals say the sale is the only way to protect the bus service for the area.

Negotiators for Pendle admit there will be job losses in management and maintenance staff at Queensgate.

They have had guarantees that bus drivers' jobs will be safe for three years, with no compulsory redundancies and no pay cuts.

Every bus route in Pendle is protected at least for the next 12 months. There are no guarantees about routes in Burnley.

Pendle councillor Tony Greaves said: "Not to sell the shares would be a shocking breach of councillors' duties to council tax payers and bus passengers of Pendle.

"We have no doubt that the option of doing nothing would be a disaster. We are convinced selling the shares to Stagecoach/Ribble will result in better bus services in future than we are otherwise going to get."

But Burnley Councillor Ken McGeorge, a non-executive director on the Burnley and Pendle board, said: "We are adamant that we will not sell, although the situation must constantly be reviewed. Whoever buys Pendle's share will not be able to just push things through.

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