Councils urged to work together ahead of shake-up

Lancashire's 15 main councils have been urged to work together in order to agree a vision for what will replace them when they are abolished.

Council leaders had been given a March deadline to submit initial plans for how they will reorganise themselves into new authorities, but failed to reach an agreement.

The Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government has written to council leaders and said "effective collaboration" would be "crucial" ahead of a November deadline.

The letter, seen by the Local Democracy Reporting Service, went on to say that "we would encourage you to continue to build strong relationships and agree ways of working".

The shake-up being demanded by the government, as part of a nationwide overhaul, would see Lancashire County Council and the 12 district authorities in Preston, South Ribble, Chorley, West Lancashire, Fylde, Wyre, Lancaster, Ribble Valley, Burnley, Hyndburn, Rossendale and Pendle – along with the standalone councils in Blackpool and Blackburn with Darwen – all scrapped.

They would be replaced by a handful of new unitary authorities covering much larger areas, which will each be responsible for delivering all council services in their patch.

The new Reform UK leader of Lancashire County Council, Stephen Atkinson, wants to hold a referendum on the future of the county and is believed to favour the status quo of holding on to its 15 councils.

He met with Local Government Minister Jim McMahon in London on Thursday for a private discussion.

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