Preston 'not wanted' by its traditional neighbours in county

Cabinet member for community wealth building Valerie Wise told those hoping for a Preston merger with South Ribble, Chorley and West Lancashire that there was a simple reason it was not something the city council had proposed.

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"They do want to be together-[but] they don't want us," she said.

However, when recently quizzed by the Lancashire Post about what some regard as the anomaly of Preston potentially joining up with Lancaster and Ribble Valley rather than with South Ribble and Chorley-the trio that has long been identified as forming 'Central Lancashire'-South Ribble Borough Council leader Matthew Tomlinson said it was not because of any sense of hostility between the areas.

"We're not against Preston. What we are is [in favour of] a unitary that joins three councils together that are not only geographically aligned, but demographically very similar.

"If you look at the populations of West Lancashire, Chorley and South Ribble - whether it's age, academic achievement average incomes-we're very similar and I think that gives us a unique starting point to say we'll be able to launch ourselves as a new authority that understands its residents and Its places.

"And it's interesting that Preston have actually got their own ideas [about the reorganisation process] so it would be strange for us to say, 'Well, we want Preston',

Coun Bailey said that under a unitary system, "Gone are the days where [district] councils can blame the county council, the county council can blame the parish councils and the parish councils can blame the district councils".