Following the recent installation of Councillor Peter Gibson as Leader, Councillors Vivien Taylor and Graeme Cocker will leave the Cabinet from 11 March.

They will be replaced by Councillor Roger Berry, who represents Highcross ward in Poulton, and Councillor Paul Moon from Preesall. They will take on responsibility for safety and places respectively.

There will be a further change following the next council meeting on 22 April when Councillor Peter Hawley steps down to become Deputy Mayor. He will be replaced by Councillor Barry Birch.

Councillor Gibson said: "I would like to thank both Vivien and Graeme for their invaluable contribution to the Cabinet and I am sure they will contribute even more to the council in different roles in the future.

"Peter has been an immense figure in Wyre for many, many years and I wish him and his wife the best of luck for the new municipal year.

"I welcome Barry, Roger and Paul to the Cabinet team and I am sure they will each make a positive contribution in the these exciting times ahead."

The Cabinet, with their responsibilities, is now made up as follows:

Leader and Corporate Resources - Councillor Peter Gibson
Living Healthily - Councillor Lynne Bowen
Living Community - Councillor Peter Murphy
Living Economy - Councillor Peter Hawley until 22 April, Councillor Barry Birch thereafter
Living Safely - Councillor Roger Berry
Living Places - Councillor Paul Moon

The sixth Wyred Up event was held yesterday (4 March) at Rossall School, providing a grand backdrop for an impressive 110 attendees.

Councillor Barry Birch opened proceedings with encouraging words about the success of previous Wyred Up events and welcomed the speakers.

- Stephen Winkley, headmaster at Rossall School, who praised businesses for staying positive throughout the current economic climate and encouraged them to look at ways they could work more closely with the school.

- Mike Phealan, Director of Business and Skills from Blackpool and the Fylde College, provided an overview of the training offered by the college. He urged businesses to keep investing in the skills of their workforce to maintain staff loyalty, increase morale, be ready for the upturn, develop a competitive edge and increase profitability'

- Amanda Bate, Health Improvement Specialist from NHS North Lancashire, outlined how the primary care trust is helping to improve health in the workplace and offered advice on how to build up a resilient workforce.

- Martin Furne, Redundancy Co-ordinator, from Jobcentre Plus raised awareness of the free support available to businesses and how Jobcentre Plus can meet recruitment needs.

- Simon Towers from NPL Estates provided an overview of the development planned at Hillhouse International Business Park in Thornton.

Wyred Up is a proactive network supported by the Wyre Strategic Partnership that tours the borough with quarterly meetings. In between times a dedicated website - www.wyredupforbusiness.co.uk - is a mine of business support and also hosts a free database of Wyre businesses. This is free to join and can be accessed by anyone searching for a supplier in Wyre.

The next event is scheduled for June 2010

Cabinet members will shortly consider a report advising against joining forces with Booths at the present time for a development in the centre of Poulton.

The suggested scheme would have seen new council offices alongside a proposed new Booths store on the Teanlowe Centre car park.

However, the likely withdrawal by the council does not necessarily put an end to future town centre regeneration and as a landowner, Booths is reiterating its wish to be a major player in this.

Garry Payne, Director of Planning and Regeneration, explained: "The council received 30 expressions of interest in taking this project forward, which was very encouraging.

"However, with all the uncertainty surrounding the future funding of local government and the complexities of pursuing a major development such as this, we felt it was the wrong time to relocate, either in Poulton or elsewhere in Wyre.

"The regeneration team will, however, continue to encourage alternative investment in all of Wyre's towns and villages."

Peter Gibson, who is set to become council Leader this evening, said: "The Cabinet has yet to formally consider the report, but with an ever-tightening squeeze on our finances it appears that pursuing a relocation of the Civic Centre would not be the most appropriate use of resources at this current time."

Booths still holds planning permission to develop its existing store on Ball Street, but has indicated to the council that it will continue to explore other potential investment opportunities in Poulton town centre.

Biodiversity is the variety of life that exists all around us. This rich variety of genes, species, populations and ecosystems provide the essential goods and resources on which we all depend. Biodiversity encompasses the whole of the natural world, from the critically endangered to the commonplace. It is a powerful marker for gauging the health of our planet.

On a local level, Wyre Strategic Partnership and Wyre Borough Council are working together to provide a series of activities to help people find out about local wildlife and have a go at helping to conserve it.

These will take place across the borough, but confirmed activities include:

• Brown Hare workshop day at Bleasdale on Sunday 7 March. Organised by the Lancashire Biodiversity Partnership with the support of the Wildlife Trust and Wyre Borough Council, the event is free and open to anyone interested in finding out about the natural history of the hare and helping to survey them. Starting at 10am till 3pm, participants will find out the brown hares lives and walk around a farm that has taken special care in managing the land for wildlife such as the brown hare and lapwing. The brown hare is an iconic species and a flagship biodiversity species for Lancashire. Brown hares are also a good indicator of the healthy farmland for wildlife. This will be followed by a brown hare walk on Sunday 21 March.

• International Biodiversity Day on Sunday 22nd May. The Wyre Ranger team are inviting people to take part in a day of wildlife walks.

• World Environment Day and the start of Wyre's Environment Weekend on Saturday 5 June. The weekend will be packed with activities and events at the Wyre Estuary Country Park Spring open say on the Saturday and the Myerscough College Open Day on the Sunday. These events will include an exhibition of wildlife photographs, wildlife gardening, finding out how to adopt a beach, children's environmental activities, wildlife walks and learning about ways to help reduce climate change.

More details on the events will be publicised nearer the time. Keep an eye out for the International Year of Biodiversity page online at www.wyrebc.gov.uk .

The awards, sponsored by Builders Supplies (West Coast) Ltd, were presented at a Civic Centre ceremony held on Friday 26 February.

Projects were nominated by the council's building control officers who carried out site inspections at various stages during construction. The awards acknowledged compliance with the Building Regulations and quality of workmanship, while recognising the positive working relationship between builder and Building Control, consistency of construction and customer satisfaction.

This year's winners are:

Commercial

MBMC Ltd for the erection of Booths in Garstang

Housing

Shaun Smith Building Contractor Ltd for a dwelling at Gwylfa, Holmefield Avenue, Cleveleys

Domestic

Simmons Construction for an extension at 3 Lane End Cottages, Park Lane, Winmarleigh

Alexander Homes and Interiors Ltd for a detached building at Thornton Hall, Thornton

Highly Recommended

Chris Horner for erection of dwelling at Oakwell, Station Lane, Scorton

Maria Blundy, Building Control Manager for Wyre Borough Council, said: "Congratulations to all the winners who have once again demonstrated the high quality and attention to detail.

"Winning the Building Excellence Award means that the project is recognised as meeting the highest building standards as defined by the Building Regulations to deliver healthy, safe, sustainable and accessible buildings.

"They should feel proud of what they have achieved, especially in difficult economic times."

Peter Worthington, Managing Director of Builders Supplies (West Coast) Ltd, added: "We are pleased to continue with our sponsorship and association with the Building Excellence Awards for the seventh year.

"In difficult trading times with price pressures it is even more important to recognise excellence in the building process and to make sure that quality isn't compromised."

And Wyre residents are being urged to do so sooner rather than later to ensure their name is on the list when the election is officially called.

Anyone can request to cast their vote by post instead of visiting a polling station on the day itself. Registration is a quick process and you only need to do it once.

For convenience, you can apply online at www.wyrebc.gov.uk/Find/Vote_by_Post. Alternatively, an application form can be requested by phone on 01253 891000 or by emailing amullin@wyrebc.gov.uk.

Please note that you do not need to register for a postal vote again if you have already done so in the past, unless you have moved house.