Local council shake-up - survey launch and explainer

Lancashire residents, businesses and community groups are being invited to have their say on the biggest council shake-up in the county for more than 50 years.

The government-ordered overhaul will see all 15 main local authorities in Lancashire scrapped and just a handful of new ones created, covering much larger areas than most of the bodies they will replace.

A survey has now been launched to get the thoughts of the public and other interested parties on the plans.

It is part of a nationwide local government reorganisation (LGR) programme that will bring to an end the so-called ‘two-tier’ arrangement that exists in places like Lancashire where responsibility for different services is largely split between county and district councils.

The revamp will sweep away, by 2028, Lancashire County Council and the dozen district authorities – in Preston, South Ribble, Chorley, West Lancashire, Fylde, Wyre, Lancaster, Ribble Valley, Burnley, Hyndburn, Rossendale and Pendle – as well as the two small standalone councils covering Blackpool and Blackburn with Darwen.

As is already the case with that latter pair, the newly-created ‘unitary’ authorities will be responsible for delivering all local services in their area.

The planned changes have seen the councils that are set to bite the dust ordered to help design those that will succeed them – by suggesting both the number and shape of the new authorities that will be formed in Lancashire after their collective demise.

That means determining which parts of the county should effectively merge in order to create the larger, single-tier entities that will come into force in less than three years’ time.

The majority of councils have already gone public with their preferences – but, strikingly, opinions on the geographical considerations that are a core part of the LGR process are not being sought in the survey.

Instead, the questionnaire probes which local services the public deems most important – and asks residents to rate their experience of the councils that currently serve them in their area.

While respondents are quizzed about the importance, in any future of set-up, of accessing council services “in one place” and also regarding councils having a “visible and active presence in local communities”, there is no call – nor even any option – for them to put lines on a map to suggest which areas they think would make the best bedfellows.

The survey website does set out five possible scenarios for the new-look local authority landscape – with the creation of two, three, four (in two different configurations) and five authorities all put on the table.  But these are presented only as being indicative – and certainly not as an exhaustive list.

All of the options that have so far been officially backed by councils across the county are contained within the possibilities published as part of the survey – as well as some that have not been floated publicly so far.

Not all councils have voted on a formal position – and of those that are yet to do so, the preferences of the leadership have been declared by some authorities, while others have been silent on the new councils they would ultimately like to see.

The government wants a blueprint from the county by 28th November.

Ministers made it clear they would prefer the 15 councils to coalesce around a single option.    However, an initial submission to Whitehall from Lancashire back in March made it clear that there was no such consensus at that point – and events since, including the contents of the survey, confirm that nothing has changed in that regard.

A key consideration for the government is the population size of the new authorities – with a minimum threshold of 500,000 residents per council having initially been set.  That would have allowed the creation of no more than three new councils in Lancashire, which has a population of 1.5 million.

However, local government minister Jim McMahon told the Local Democracy Reporting Service (LDRS) during a visit to Preston in February that there could be some flexibility in the figures in order to create new council areas that “make sense”.

The government will carry out a formal public consultation on a final set of options early next year and is then expected to announce in the summer the one it wants to see implemented.

So-called ‘shadow elections’ to the new authorities would take place in May 2027 ahead of them coming into being on 1st April, 2028.

At that point, the 136-year-old Lancashire County Council, the 12 district authorities – which each date back to 1974 in their current form – and Blackpool and Blackburn with Darwen councils, which were both established as solo authorities in 1998, would all cease to exist.

The LGR process is separate to the potential creation of a directly elected mayor for Lancashire as part of a deepening of the county’s devolution deal – although both are part of the government’s overall vision for how local areas are governed.

CAN WE JUST SAY NO?

One of the questions in the survey that has now been launched simply asks respondents whether they support the creation of new, larger standalone councils – or would prefer to retain the status quo of the current 15 local authorities.

However, that poser should not be mistaken for a referendum on the issue.

Lancashire County Council’s Reform UK leader Stephen Atkinson has long called for a formal public vote to be held before any changes are made to the current local authority structure in the area – and made pursuing a referendum a pledge in the run-up to the local elections in May.

After being elected to County Hall – having previously been the Tory leader of Ribble Valley Borough Council before stepping down from the role and also leaving the Conservatives earlier this year – he got the opportunity to make that case directly to the government.

However, local government minister Jim McMahon indicated in July that while Lancashire was free to stage a referendum on the subject of reorganisation, it would not be legally binding – not least because the planned overhaul was government policy.

County Cllr Atkinson – who has vehemently opposed the abolition of district councils like the one he used to lead – said he was “disappointed” by the response.

THE OPTIONS

A raft of different configurations have been produced setting out options for how the new councils could look.  These are included as supporting information alongside the survey, but do not form a part of it.

Most of the suggestions are created using the existing district and standalone councils as building blocks – although a couple of them would involve amending some of the current council boundaries.   The government has said it would consider allowing such change where there is a ”strong justification” for it.

Two councils

***Blackpool, Fylde, Lancaster, Preston, Ribble Valley, Wyre;

***Blackburn with Darwen, Burnley, Chorley, Hyndburn, Pendle, Rossendale, South Ribble, West Lancashire.

Three councils

***Chorley, Preston, South Ribble, West Lancashire;

***Blackpool, Fylde, Lancaster, Wyre;

***Blackburn with Darwen, Burnley, Hyndburn, Pendle, Ribble Valley, Rossendale.

Four councils (version 1)

***Chorley, South Ribble, West Lancashire;

***Blackpool, Fylde and Wyre;

***Lancaster, Preston, Ribble Valley;

***Blackburn with Darwen, Burnley, Hyndburn, Pendle, Rossendale.

Four councils (version 2)

***Chorley, South Ribble, West Lancashire;

***Blackpool, Fylde, Preston – plus westernmost parts of Wyre, including Thornton-Cleveleys;

***Blackburn with Darwen, Burnley, Hyndburn, Pendle, Rossendale – plus southernmost parts of Ribble Valley, including Clitheroe;

***Lancaster, Ribble Valley (remainder), Wyre (remainder).

Five councils

***Chorley, South Ribble, West Lancashire;

***Blackpool, Fylde, Preston;

***Lancaster, Wyre;

***Blackburn with Darwen, Hyndburn, Ribble Valley;

***Burnley, Pendle, Rossendale.

WHO SUPPORTS WHAT?

These are the new council set-ups that Lancashire’s local authorities have so far indicated they favour for their own areas – either via a formal council vote or the preference expressed by the leadership.

Blackpool

No public preference stated.

Blackburn with Darwen

Any option that creates an East Lancashire-wide council (leadership preference).

Burnley

Opposed to any option in which Burnley is in the same new council area as Blackburn with Darwen (council vote).

Chorley

Chorley, South Ribble, West Lancashire (council vote).

Fylde

No public preference stated.

Hyndburn

Hyndburn, Blackburn with Darwen, Burnley, Pendle, Ribble Valley, Rossendale (council vote).

Lancashire County Council

No public preference stated.

Lancaster

No public preference stated.

Pendle

Pendle, Burnley, Rossendale (current leadership preference following earlier council vote which also supported a broader East Lancashire-wide option).

Preston

Preston, Lancaster, Ribble Valley (leadership preference, with cross-party support).

Ribble Valley

Ribble Valley, Lancaster, Preston (council vote).

Rossendale

Rossendale, Blackburn with Darwen, Burnley, Hyndburn, Pendle, Ribble Valley (council vote).

South Ribble

South Ribble, Chorley, West Lancashire (council vote).

West Lancashire

West Lancashire, Chorley, South Ribble (council vote).

Wyre

Wyre, Blackpool, Fylde, Lancaster (leadership preference).

HOW IT WORKS NOW

Under the current two-tier split, Lancashire County Council is responsible for services including:

***adult and children’s social care;

***highways and transport;

***schools;

***economic growth;

***waste processing;

***county-level strategic planning.

Meanwhile, the 12 district councils (Preston, South Ribble, Chorley, West Lancashire, Fylde, Wyre, Lancaster, Ribble Valley, Burnley, Hyndburn Rossendale and Pendle) take care of:

***most local planning applications;

***housing;

***licensing;

***parks;

***waste collection;

***support services.

Blackpool Council and Blackburn with Darwen Council deliver all services in their respective areas.

HOW DO I HAVE MY SAY?

To take part in the survey visit www.givemyview.com/lancashirelgr by 28th September.

Paper copies are available by emailing lgr@lancashire.gov.uk , calling 0300 1236701, or via each local council, where braille and easy read formats are also available on request.

Help to complete the survey is available at libraries across Lancashire and at Preston Town Hall.