Preston agrees merger bid with Lancaster and Ribble Valley amid claim 'South Ribble and Chorley don't want us

Preston City Council has officially backed a blueprint that would see it merge with Lancaster and Ribble Valley to create a single local authority serving all three areas.

- by Paul Faulkner

Almost all councillors voted in favour of the move at a meeting of the authority last week, which city leader Matthew Brown described as a “historic” moment.

The proposal is Preston’s response to a government call for suggestions about the new councils that should replace the main 15 that currently exist across Lancashire - all of which are set to be abolished at the behest of ministers in 2028.

Each authority submitted its vision for a streamlined local government landscape in the county on Friday - with five competing proposals forward for ministers to consider.

The one favoured by Preston - and which is also the official preference of its proposed partners in Lancaster and Ribble Valley - would lead to the creation of four new standalone, or 'unitary', councils in Lancashire after the dozen district authorities, Lancashire County Council and Blackpool and Blackburn with Darwen councils are scrapped.

It would also see a tie-up between South Ribble, Chorley and West Lancashire - all of whom support the same configuration put forward by Preston - making the so-called 'Four Lancashire' bid the one that has the most backing amongst all of the soon-to-be-axed crop of councils.

Coun Brown told the meeting that he did not believe the current 'two-tier' system - under which responsibility for different services is split between Lancashire County Council and the 12 districts, including Preston- "best served the place and the economy of our city".