Proposal remaps 15 councils into just two

JUST two new councils should be created to serve the whole of Lancashire when the county’s 15 existing local authorities are abolished, Lancashire County Council is to argue.

- BY PAUL FAULKER

The authority has published its preferred option for the outcome of a government-ordered shakeup that will usher in - by April 2028 - the most radical changes to the council landscape in Lancashire in more than 50 years.

Under the county council’s vision, two new unitary authorities - North and South Lancashire - would be created with the River Ribble broadly being the dividing line.

North Lancashire would bind together the six areas currently covered by Preston, Blackpool, Fylde, Wyre, Lancaster and Ribble Valley councils - a total of more than 722,000 residents.

Meanwhile South Lancashire would combine the eight council areas of South Ribble, Chorley, West Lancashire, Blackburn with Darwen, Burnley, Hyndburn, RossendaleandPendle-assuming responsibility for a population of just under 888,000 people.

The ruling Reform UK on Lancashire County Council is opposed, in principle, to so-called local government reorganisation (LGR) but the authority has nevertheless had to answer a call from ministers to draw up its preference for the changes.

County Hall claims that its proposal is the only one that will ensure “a fair deal for every community in Lancashire”

All 15 Lancashire councils have been going through the same mapping process, with the deadline for submissions looming on November 28.

It is expected five proposals will be put forward to create anything between two and five new councils - including two different versions of a four-council option.

However, in its 200-page proposal, the county council makes the case for a straight north-south split on the basis that it will generate greater savings - one of the government justifications for the streamlining process it has set in motion - than any of the other options.

The authority's analysis suggests the new arrangement would save £391m over current local government costs in Lancashire over the first five years of its operation.