Central Radio News

Blackburn with Darwen Council’s public health boss had promised continued action with the police after the authority’s ‘distressing’ failure to meet its own performance target to tackle repeat domestic abuse.

The starting gun has been fired for what is set to be a hotly-contested local authority by-election following the resignation of a councillor over a social media post describing the assassination of American right-wing figure Charlie Kirk as being ‘good riddance’.

Lancashire County Council should make it “official policy” to paint the St. George’s Cross on all mini-roundabouts – according to one of its own cabinet members.

A woman has been given a hospital order after pleading guilty to manslaughter in East Lancashire.

An East Lancashire councillor has resigned over a social media comment she posted about the assassination of American right-wing figure Charlie Kirk being ‘good riddance’.

Proposed changes intended to fix a problem roundabout described as ‘dangerous’ will not alleviate the key issues, says a road campaigner.

A proposed windfarm project would see underground cables laid through parts of Wyre – including environmentally sensitive parts of Fleetwood and Thornton – if plans progress.

The growth of women and girls’ football in Rossendale, from large clubs to small community teams, and other sport and leisure trends were highlighted to councillors in a new report about local pitches and public demand.

A paedophile has been jailed after he was extradited from the United States to face justice for crimes he committed in East Lancashire almost 50 years ago.

The first round of work is under way to transform one of Blackpool’s most iconic pubs as part of a multi-million pound project.

The Environment Agency says it is investigating a ‘small liquid discharge’ close to the River Wyre from a controversial landfill site in Fleetwood.

A man from Blackburn has been convicted of sharing incident images of children on social media.

Seven different flags will be permitted to be flown above Lancashire County Council’s headquarters after the authority’s cabinet agreed a new policy that members said was designed to encourage a collective pride in country and county.

Two novel attractions new to Blackpool are being proposed for a seafront site close to the town’s famous South Pier.

Her Royal Highness The Princess Royal this week visited Lancashire Constabulary’s Headquarters in Hutton, Preston, for the launch of Victim Care Lancashire.

Two e-scooters were seized in Rishton last week as part of Operation Centurion.

It’s all set for Fleetwood Colour Run, a fun-packed family event on the beach which takes place this weekend.

A further 10 illegal E-bikes and E-scooters have been seized in Preston as part of another day of action to tackle anti-social behaviour and nuisance vehicles.

New proposals for two rides to operate either side of Blackpool’s famous South Pier have been thrown out by planners.

An organised crime group have been jailed after importing drugs from the USA to be supplied in Blackpool.

Councillors have sent education bosses back to the drawing board after telling them that the parking arrangements for a planned new primary school on the outskirts of Preston are devoid of “common sense”.

A pair of dilapidated phoneboxes in Preston city centre are to be replaced with a modern ‘digital hub’ offering free wi-fi.

Teaching and research staff at Lancaster University are to be balloted on strike action next month.

Parking enforcement around Blackburn Rovers’ Ewood Park is being stepped up.

A by-election will be held on Preston City Council next month after a long-serving member decided to call it a day – almost 40 years after he first took up his seat.

Plans are in the pipeline for a new launderette in Blackpool’s South Shore – if the scheme is approved.

Police are appealing for help to find two missing teenagers.

Ribble Valley Council is checking the safety of all headstones in cemeteries it manages, following the death of a young boy at a Rossendale cemetery this summer.

A former Lancashire primary school teacher has been banned from the profession after being jailed for offences involving indecent images of children.

This year's Encounter festival will once again provide a free programme of outdoor theatre shows, games, and live music at various locations around Preston City Centre.

Fylde Council has agreed a contract extension with the YMCA to operate St Annes Swimming Pool until the end of March next year.

An attempt to transform a Grade II listed radar station into a unique house with remarkable views over a beach has been thrown out by planners.

Marks & Spencer has responded to rumours that the chain is to close its Blackpool town centre store.

Poulton could get another new housing development – comprising more than 200 homes – if plans are approved.

Blackpool is set to light up the skies once again as it launches a thrilling new chapter in its firework championships.

A drug dealer who crashed his car into a tree trying to get away from police in Bamber Bridge has been jailed.

Friends and family have got together to pay glowing tribute to a much loved midwife who tragically died aged just 37.

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.

As The Harris prepares to welcome visitors back through its doors, excitement is building for its reopening exhibition, Wallace and Gromit in A Case at the Museum.

A bold new initiative aimed at helping to restore civic pride is sweeping its way across Lancashire.

Fewer cancers are diagnosed before they start to spread in Lancashire and South Cumbria than across most other parts of England.

Lancashire’s district councils are being encouraged to start emptying general household waste bins only once every three weeks, it has been claimed.

A £750,000 plus energy-efficiency upgrade a major East Lancashire fitness and recreation hub has been completed.

The leader of the Conservative group on Preston City Council has defected to Reform UK, the Local Democracy Reporting Service (LDRS) can reveal.

Suggestions for the use of Blackburn’s landmark Corporation Park Conservatory after its hoped for multi-million pound restoration include a wedding and events venue, a restaurant and creating a new plant and butterfly house.

The sister of a young man killed in a motorcycle crash has paid tribute, calling him her “protector and safe place.”

Two men have been arrested after a five-year-old boy was struck by a car in Accrington.

More than 20,000 people packed into Blackpool on Friday night to see Olly Murs switch on this year’s Illuminations.

Another deadline by which a decision was due to be made on where to build a new secondary school in Preston is to be missed.

The Reform UK leader of Lancashire County Council has spoken about suggested changes to landfill sites and waste management, which he says will benefit residents and the environment, and criticised recent comments about the changes and potential costs at Pendle Council’s executive.

A Blackpool scheme is helping young people take their next steps into work, training or education. 

A drug dealer has been found guilty of murdering former prison officer Lenny Scott in Skelmersdale. 

A £40m plan has been unveiled for a 30-storey tower in Preston — set to become Lancashire’s tallest building. 

Usdaw is urging Debenhams to end what it calls its “anti-union stance” after announcing the closure of its Burnley warehouse. 

Pop superstar Olly Murs is set to light up Blackpool tonight as the headline performer for the world-famous Blackpool Illuminations Switch-On event.

Hundreds of thousands of pounds worth of illegal cigarettes and vapes have been seized after a joint operation in Preston.

A man from Preston - the mastermind of one of the UK’s biggest ever carousel tax frauds - has been ordered to pay back more than £90 million.

A man has admitted to fatally assaulting a man in Leyland.

Two men and a boy have been arrested after police stopped a car on the M6 near Preston.

If you go down to Cleveleys seafront this weekend you might be mistaken in thinking you’ve walked onto the set of a Star Wars production.

Plans have been unveiled to build a 30-storey tower block in Preston city centre that would become the tallest residential or office building anywhere in Lancashire.

Residents in Fylde have a chance to find out more about proposals which could bring electric cables through the borough to connect an offshore wind farm to the national grid at Penwortham.

St Annes International Kite Festival makes a return at the end of this week and continues throughout the weekend.

Fylde Council is urging residents to attend upcoming community information events about Ørsted’s proposed East Irish Sea Transmission Project, which could bring electricity cables through the borough to connect an offshore wind farm to the national grid at Penwortham.

A Blackburn businessman has been sentenced following a major operation that uncovered almost 40,000 illegal vapes and thousands of counterfeit products.

Delays in kitting out dozens of new minibuses bought by Lancashire County Council to help cut the costs of transport for children with special educational needs and disabilities mean only half of them will be ready to come into service at the start of the new school year.

An East Lancashire local authority has taken to Facebook to combat ‘fear and intolerance’ after a property in the borough rumoured to be being turned into a house of multiple occupation or “illegal migrant housing” was hit by a possible arson attack.

Blackpool is preparing for one of the most magical nights in its calendar when, for one night only, the six miles of Promenade will be closed to give cyclists a sneak preview of this year’s Illuminations.

Marton Mere Holiday Village in Blackpool is planning to site extra static caravans on the park.

Blackburn with Darwen Council’s environmental crime team have secured another nine waste prosecutions for eight people, totalling almost £5,000.

Work to build another 20,000sqft of industrial units at Blackpool Airport Enterprise Zone has reached a key stage.

Developers behind ambitious proposals to build a new M&S food hall at Norcross have responded to a long list of concerns raised via a huge public reaction.

A mother whose unborn baby was killed by a dangerous driver has spoken of the devastating impact on her life.

Four men have been jailed following the discovery of a cannabis farm in Blackpool.

A man who sexually and physically assaulted a woman in East Lancashire has been jailed.

An e-bike rider has been jailed for causing the death of 86-year-old man in Burnley.

The contract for the roof repairs to Oswaldtwistle Civic Arts Centre and Theatre will go out to tender later this month with works set to start urgently.

Marks and Spencer have unveiled plans for a major expansion of their store on Preston’s Deepdale Shopping Park.

All future options for potential waste transfer sites available to Pendle Council will increase costs, after a Lancashire County Council agreement with a landfill site in Hyndburn ends next year, councillors are being advised.

Blackpool’s Showtown museum of fun and entertainment is calling on little people to help lead a pioneering new project.

Police are appealing for witnesses and footage after a woman very sadly died following a collision in Lytham over the weekend.

Blackpool’s former Abingdon Street Post Office is on the brink of a multi-million pound transformation into a top-name hotel.

The date has been set for a drop-in session to discuss the ongoing odour issues with a landfill site in Fleetwood.

The new operator of Blackpool’s Backlot Cinema is set to take over this Friday – and has reassured customers that there will be no immediate changes.

A Blackpool man has avoided prison after admitting killing a motorcyclist while driving in Knott End.

A man has been jailed after admitting a strong of sex offences against a teenage girl.

Lancashire Police say arrests for drink and drug driving have risen by 20% compared to the same period last year.

There’s a new team out to lend assistance to passengers on Blackpool’s trams and buses – and their distinctive uniforms are hard to miss.

Plans to turn a vacant office building in Preston city centre into dozens of bedsits have been blocked – amid fears the location would prove too noisy for future residents.

Defender dragons, pampered pooches and wild wonders of the woodland are set to light up Blackpool, all created in collaboration with four nationally acclaimed artists.

A man has been jailed after leaving a baby with significant injuries in Burnley.

Police have charged 20 people and seized numerous weapons as part of an operation to tackle Class A drug dealing in Blackpool and the Fylde.

Blackburn with Darwen Council’s finance boss has warned that the authority faces a potential cash gap of £7.8million by the end of the financial year based on spending figures for the three months to June 30.

A row has broken out over whether plans for a Lancashire school to teach some of its students maths using a teacher in Devon amount to a return to the remote learning of the Covid lockdown era.

Work is finally able to press ahead on multi-million pound regeneration plans at one of Blackpool’s most iconic pubs.

Chorley Council does not want traveller families in the borough, according to the representative of a community which has been told it must leave a site where it had hoped to create a permanent home.

Police are appealing for information and witnesses after a man was left seriously injured following a collision in Rivington.

Police are appealing for information and footage after serious collision in Blackpool.

Police have arrested three men following a fatal collision in Clayton-le-Woods on Thursday.

Police are investigating a serious collision after a car travelled the wrong way on the M65 in East Lancashire.

Police are appealing for information and footage after a pedestrian was fatally struck by a vehicle while crossing the road in Crawshawbooth on Friday night.

A man has been further charged with attempted murder as part of an investigation into two serious incidents in Accrington last month.

A cobbled street on the cusp of Preston's green city oasis Winckley Square is the focus for the final episode of the second series of The Parched Pea Podcast.

A leading swimming club member has welcomed Fylde Council’s move to officially regain ownership of the Kirkham Pool site – but he believes a longer term vision is needed.

A man who fatally stabbed a teenager in Ormskirk and then went on the run for 18 months has today been jailed for life.  

Morecambe Football Club has been suspended by the National League with immediate effect after failing to meet financial criteria.

A new £6.6 million bridge over the River Ribble is set to open by spring 2026.

A long-awaited revamp of one of the busiest roads in Central Lancashire is set to get the government funding needed to make it a reality.

Fleetwood’s iconic Tram Sunday – officially known as Fleetwood Festival of Transport – celebrates its 40th anniversary this weekend.

A gang who worked to flood the streets of East Lancashire with cocaine have been jailed.

A man from Burnley has been sent to prison for ten years for drug dealing.

Police have warned motorists after footage circulated online following a collision on the M6 in which nine people were injured.

The price of parking at Preston Bus Station is to increase by 20 percent.

Blackpool North and Fleetwood MP Lorraine Beavers has joined calls for action to be taken over Norcross roundabout and the continued congestion problems on parts of the A585.

Volunteers are helping to ensure that rail visitors arriving directly outside Blackpool’s famous Pleasure Beach Resort have a good impression before they even enter the amusement park.

A new film festival is being launched on the Fylde coast which has an international dimension and also invites local filmmakers to take part.

Major changes coming in for Blackpool’s bin collections have met with an unfavourable reaction from some residents, although others have been more supportive.

A taxi driver who engaged in sexual activity with a 14-year-old girl while working as a taxi driver in Burnley, has been jailed.

A man has been jailed for 12 years and nine months at Preston Crown Court following an investigation into a stabbing which took place in Ingol last September.

Police have served a closure order at an illegal waste site in Great Harwood.

It has been an eyesore since it closed seven years ago but finally Blackpool’s former police station is coming down.

Huge changes to Blackpool’s bin collections are on their way after getting the green light.

A petition has been set up in support of the continuation of the historic Fleetwood to Knott End Ferry service.

Campaigners against a stinking landfill site have welcomed confirmation that an end date is finally in sight.

Blackpool’s iconic heritage trams are on track for a return to service on the seafront this autumn as work is underway to get the trams and track ready.

BAE Systems has rejected a union’s claim that hundreds of jobs are at risk at its Lancashire military aircraft factories because the government has failed to order more of the Eurofighter Typhoon jet.

Preston’s iconic cultural landmark, The Harris, will officially reopen its doors to the public on Sunday, September 28.

A derelict pub in Preston city centre is to be partially demolished.

An innovative sports skills project for youngsters which launched two years ago is facing closure after losing a planning bid.

Blackburn with Darwen Council is to scrap some of its dedicated buses to four of the borough’s biggest secondary schools and increase fares for pupils on those that remain.

Lancashire’s Police and Crime Commissioner has unveiled a new funding initiative aimed at supporting projects that address violence against women and girls across the county.

A new campaign has been launched to tackle street begging by asking people approached for cash to donate to local charities rather than hand over their change.

Plans to extend a Fylde coast community centre will provide the vital space needed to allow more activities there, say supporters of the project.

A man in his 30s has died after a crash on the A6 near Garstang.

A man has been jailed for 30 years after stabbing a man in a frenzied attack in Blackpool.

Major changes to Blackpool’s bin collection service – including domestic waste being collected every three weeks - are being considered by the council.

Tributes have been paid to a murdered Blackburn man as the investigation into his death continues.

Children at Lea Community Primary School have praised the huge revamp of their school which will see the school's intake gradually double.

A two-day Lancashire music festival due to be held in Accrington later this year has been cancelled due to poor ticket sales.

Preston is to enter into a friendship agreement with the Palestinian city of Hebron.

The leader of Blackburn with Darwen Council has expressed his enthusiasm for next weekend’s ‘showcase’ Festival of Making.

Drugs worth £80,000 were seized when Lancashire Police officers stopped a car which had been travelling on the M6.

Health secretary Wes Streeting said Blackpool was a place he enjoyed visiting when he was younger but was a place he now needed to visit to highlight health inequalities in the nation.

Lancashire is in line for its first branch of a chicken chain restaurant that has more than 1,500 outlets around the world.

Work will start on the first £400,000 phase of the transformation of Great Harwood’s historic Mercer Hall leisure complex later this summer with a view to it fully reopening in December with a pantomime.

Blackpool Air Show is set to return later this summer with two days of spectacular aerial displays from some of the world’s finest military and civilian aircraft over the seafront.

Fylde Council has confirmed it will take over Fairhaven Lake Visitor Centre and shop following the RSPB’s departure next week.

Preston’s Spud Bros look set to be granted permission to replace the city’s iconic hot potato tram with a larger unit.

Blackpool’s three council-run Family Hubs are aiming to reach as many people as possible by launching a new campaign to shine a light on what they offer.

A man who targeted a vulnerable victim twice has been jailed for nine and a half years.

A man has been jailed for a total of 22 years after being found guilty of the rape of two women in Blackburn.

Three people have been arrested on suspicion of murder after a man was found dead at a home in Blackburn.

Two delivery men who sexually assaulted a teenage girl in her own home, have been jailed.

A ground breaking £2 million youth and community centre has opened in Preston.

Two high schools on the Fylde coast will be able to carry out vital repairs thanks to a share in a regional funding boost of over £54m.

Fleetwood Carnival is back this weekend as the town prepares for one of the biggest community events of the year.

Two men have been jailed after trying to arrange the sale of a deadly handgun over an encrypted global communication service used by criminals.

During the last two weeks police have carried out a series of warrants targeting people suspected of operating drug lines to supply heroin and cocaine in Preston.

The Premier League fixtures for the 2025/26 campaign have been released and Scott Parker and his men will kick-off the season away at Tottenham Hotspur on Saturday 16th August.

The family of a motorbike rider who died after a collision in Walton-le-Dale this week have paid tribute to him.

A Blackpool charity which provides vital support for vulnerable young people has been awarded £475,000 funding from the National Lottery.

Three friends from Lancashire are aiming to complete an epic charity challenge to climb the ten highest mountains in Scotland back to back as fast as possible.

Senior Preston councillors are being urged to delay plans to demolish an historic pub – and instead consider whether it could be turned to a heritage centre for the city.

The streets outside a Blackpool school were lined with pupils, parents and staff paying their respects to a much-loved teacher who died last month aged just 38.

Blackpool Council has clarified that a huge ‘pothole’ which held up traffic on the promenade Monday was in fact emergency work by a utilities firm.

A multi-agency day of action by a road safety partnership found that none of the part-worn tyres inspected at a series of garages across Preston met legal requirements.

A man who assaulted two nurses and a paramedic as he caused chaos in a hospital ward near to where a seriously ill baby was being treated, has been jailed.

The Force is definitely with Cleveleys after a new brass marker was unveiled, commemorating the town and Wyre’s connection to one of the most iconic film franchises in history, Star Wars.

Proposals to radically transform a shop front in the middle of Blackpool town centre have been lodged with planners.

A family say they’re worried that proposals for a quarry in their village will mean the works would be right next to their garden.

A new planning application has been submitted for a multi-million-pound post 16 Special Educational Needs centre in Blackburn town centre.

Three youths had to be rescued after being swept out to sea near North Pier in Blackpool.

Lancashire’s Police and Crime Commissioner, Clive Grunshaw, has joined growing calls for urgent government action to address disruptions on the M6 motorway.

A Leyland man has been jailed after a stop and search found him to be carrying a knife.

Nigel Farage has told the new Reform UK administration at Lancashire County Council that how they perform will play a part in how well the party does at the next general election in 2029.

Police have charged two men as part of an ongoing investigation into the death of a baby boy in Blackpool.

The scaffolding is back up on Little Marton Mill, ready for the next round of work to begin.

Lancashire Constabulary is set to benefit from an additional 53 Police Officers, as well as 30 new Police Community Support Officers and 20 Special Constables, thanks to extra Home Office funding.

A rogue trader who scammed elderly and vulnerable residents out of more than £500,000 has been hit with further sanctions to prevent him preying on more victims in the future.

Blackpool South MP Chris Webb says he is helping inform pensioners of their entitlements in the wake of the Winter Fuel Allowance U-turn by the Government.

A review is currently underway into the effectiveness of a multi-million pound bypass hailed as the answer to chronic congestion, a road campaigner has been told.

A new indoor sports centre in Preston will be based around padel and five-a-side football, the Local Democracy Reporting Service (LDRS) can reveal.

Raids by police and trading standards officers aided a detection dog on four Blackburn businesses have seized more than £50,000 worth of illegal cigarettes and vapes.

King Charles has visited Lancaster Castle, his first engagement in Lancashire since he became Monarch.

People in Preston aged 55 to 74 who have ever smoked and are registered with a participating GP practice, will soon be invited for potentially life-saving lung cancer screening.

Blackpool South MP Chris Webb has urged the Government to go further in its new free school meals initiative – by expanding the offer to ALL children.

A man has pleaded guilty to causing the death of a baby by dangerous driving.

A burglar who targeted homes in Preston, including that of a pensioner in his 90s, has been jailed.

The resort’s most famous landmark, the Blackpool Tower, will be managed by the council’s wholly-owned tourism company, Blackpool Tourism Limited, from later this year, it’s been announced.

A new housing development on the outskirts of Preston is set to include a school and care home – if it gets the go-ahead.

Blackpool’s bus service is a shining example of how a council-run amenity can be run in the right way, a Government minister said after visiting the resort.

Lancashire County Council is next on the list to get a visit from a Reform UK team that has modelled itself on Elon Musk’s controversial Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE) in the United States.

Proposals to set up a new banking hub in Garstang have now reached the planning stage, with an application lodged with Wyre Council.

More attractions have been announced for next month’s Blackburn’s National Festival of Making including TV architect George Clarke.

A former Blackpool man who tried to blame an imaginary twin, who didn't exist, for his sexual offences, has been jailed.

King Charles will make an official visit to Lancaster next month, his first trip to Lancashire since becoming monarch, Buckingham Palace has announced.

Chorley Police have teamed up with Lancashire Trading Standards and young volunteers from across the area to conduct an under-age sales operation as part of Operation Sceptre – a national, intensive week of action to tackle knife crime. 

A Blackburn man has been given a 14-year sentence for robbing women in Blackburn.

Community and voluntary groups in Preston have been told they will not be left in limbo after it emerged government cash earmarked for local projects will take longer to come through than first expected.

Residents fighting to protect a precious greenspace in front of their homes will make their case at a key council meeting next week.