COUNCIL chiefs in Hyndburn are thanking their lucky stars - for not joining the scramble to break-away from Lancashire County Council.

Neighbours Blackburn, who won the fight to split from Lancashire to run its own schools and old people's homes, have just been landed with a staggering £8 million bill.

That is the cost of setting up the new single-tier council. And red-faced council bosses at Blackburn have admitted the bill is SIX times bigger than they originally thought.

Hyndburn residents have now been saved from a similar financial bombshell. The council decided not to bid for unitary status last year when councillors warned that services could suffer if the county council was broken up.

Council leader George Slynn said at the time councils should be joining together to demand adequate funding from the government, and not be fighting each other.

And now, Blackburn Council chiefs are having to plead with the government for a £7.9 million loan to fund their reorganisation costs over the next four years.

Blackburn's policy chief Steve Weaver said: "It's true that it's more than the £1.2 million we told the government it would cost us to go it alone, but taxpayers will not have to make up the difference. We anticipate efficiency savings will more than cover the increased costs, but it could take several years.

"The latest figures also include costs, such as interest payments, which were not included in the original bid."

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