East Lancashire News

What began as an April Fool’s prank has turned into a highly anticipated real-life event.

Licensing talks are under-way regarding pubs, clubs, accusations of disorder and disturbances in a popular Ribble Valley village, councillors have been told.

A HISTORIC town centre building once home to a flagship pub is to become nine flats for young professionals.

A chemicals factory is seeking a new warehouse as part of its plans to expand.

A LOCAL authority Labour group leader has urged it bosses to spend part of its half-million pound underspend on its main town centre, street cleaning and improving its green spaces.

The Mayor of Pendle has apologised for breaching the borough’s code of conduct  in a mosque argument with a council licensing officer during Ramadan two years ago.

A community-run swimming pool in Rossendale which was threatened with closure last year is due to reopen to the public in August.

A 1950s former council estate is to get 68 new homes as the latest stage of a £20million facelift.

EVERY secondary school in Blackburn with Darwen is set to be part of a pioneering technology education pilot project.

A man has admitted to murdering his housemate in Colne.

BURNLEY Council has prosecuted 34 people over fly-tipping and waste offences in four months with another 44 on their way to court.

BURNLEY Council is to press ahead with naming a street after cricketing legend James Anderson after his retirement from the the international game.

People will enjoy more frequent and later bus services thanks to improvements taking effect from this week.

BLACKBURN with Darwen Borough Council has launched a WhatsApp channel to send residents news, updates, and information.

PLANS have been submitted for 149 new smaller and affordable homes as the latest phases of a multi-million pound housing development in Feniscowles, Blackburn.

WORK has started on a controversial new housing estate on the site of a former Darwen school.

In the last 12 months, more than 2,600 people have been arrested for drink or drug driving offences in Lancashire.

A BLACKBURN school complex which caters for children who struggle to thrive in mainstream education is set to get two new multi-use games areas.

A body has been found by Spanish police searching for missing Briton Jay Slater, it has been reported.

A woman has been given a 12-year sentence for committing three knifepoint robberies at shops in Nelson. 

Latest stages of work in redeveloping Colne’s market hall have generally been welcomed by Pendle councillors – and a revived idea to potentially open a cinema there.

Three Rossendale town and village areas could get £20million over ten years, if councillors approve a new town board including members who are not elected by the public, such as local business owners, which is required under rules drawn-up by the previous Conservative government.

A half-million pound drive to upgrade traffic lights in an East Lancashire borough has been launched.

A NEW play area has been officially opened in Clayton-Le-Moors.

Introducing car park charges in Pendle would ruin Colne town centre’s shopping scene which has been carefully nurtured through hard work, councillors have said.

WORK has started on a major 205 home development close to the Royal Blackburn Hospital.

A LOCAL authority is to buy seven more empty homes in its borough.

A man has been found guilty of rape in Burnley.

Book lovers in Burnley could enjoy a new library service in a Victorian building which holds the world's last surviving 19th Century steam powered mill.

A consultation is being held for people to have their say on a proposed pump track for Marsden Park in Nelson.

A prestigious fund set up more than a century ago to support the arts and education in Burnley is set to benefit a range of East Lancs community groups. 

Hopes about including a new cinema in Colne’s redeveloped market hall are being looked at by staff working on the project, Pendle councillors are being told.

The family of a man who died in a collision in Colne last week have paid tribute to a ‘very loving’ grandad and great grandad. 

A family has paid an emotional tribute to a man from Padiham who died following an industrial accident in Burnley earlier this week.

A sexual predator has been given a 30-year sentence for a catalogue of offending against five children and two women. 

Labour’s Andy MacNae, a former councillor, has been elected as MP for Rossendale and Darwen in the general election, beating Conservative Jake Berry, who had won the previous four elections.

BLACKBURN provided the shock of the general election as Labour lost the once safe seat by just 132 votes as the rest of East Lancashire and the UK turned red.

LABOUR ousted health minister Andrew Stephenson in the sprawling new Pendle and Clitheroe constituency.

LABOUR regained Burnley as its candidate Oliver Ryan ousted the first Tory MP for the town in more than 100 years.

THREE proposals to turn family houses into small children’s care homes will be debated by councillors next week.

A VACANT former pub and conference centre last used as a business hub is set for a new life as a banqueting hall.

A plan for changes and creation of new flats above a Rossendale tapas restaurant has been approved by councillors.

Pendle taxi arrangements are being reviewed including whether drivers should be strictly prevented from re-applying for a licence within  a 12-month period, if their application is refused or their licence revoked.

Artist impressions show a proposed new events space, street upgrades and a sculpture. along with a new platform for a landmark lamp in a Rossendale town.

PLANS to rebuild a vape factory gutted by fire have been approved.

A man from East Lancashire has been charged with a string of sexual offences.

BLACKBURN’S renovated Blakey Moor Terrace building is looking ‘magnificent’ and ready for prospective operators to view its flagship restaurant.

A plan to change the use of a family house in Bacup into a children’s care home has been refused after objections including overcrowding and ‘cramped conditons’, a lack of staff car parking and rubbish being burnt outside during refurbishment.

THE full details of Blackburn’s proposed £60million Cyber Skills and Education Campus have been revealed along with images of two of the new buildings at its heart.

A Darwen councillor has appealed to residents of the town for help in catching the fly-tipper who has been systematically dumping rubbish in a back alley.

The first phase of a £10million Blackburn commercial estate on near the M65 has been completed.

There are calls for safety works at a ‘high risk’ East Lancashire reservoir to combat the impact of climate change.

AN East Lancashire social housing association has been given a government ‘green’ grant to improve the energy performance of dozens of its properties and cut householders’ bills.

Four drug dealers who conspired to flood the streets of East Lancashire with cocaine from their bases in Blackburn have been jailed.

A closure order has been secured by police for a property in Burnley.

A paedophile who sexually assaulted four teenage girls has been jailed for 14 and a half years.

A paedophile has been jailed for trying to rape a 14-year-old girl in Brierfield.

A man from Burnley seen with a knife has been charged after found him hiding in a stream following a chase.

Work to carry out further improvements at Stoops & Hargher Clough Park in Burnley is expected to begin this week.

Police are appealing for information and footage following a fatal collision in Pendleton.

A number of local people from East Lancashire have been recognised in the King’s Birthday Honours list.

A childminder has been jailed for killing a baby under her care in Hapton. 

Work is due to start later this month on improvements to playing fields in Burnley.

Investigations continue after a bus was set on fire at Burnley bus station.

Blackburn Museum has used its 150th anniversary to honour one of its volunteers.

Police are appealing for information and witnesses after a serious assault in Rawtenstall.

A childminder has admitted to killing a baby under her care in Hapton.

Two new Special Educational Needs (SEN) units will be created in East Lancashire after the county council’s cabinet approved the plans.

Artwork from Towneley Hall in Burnley has pride of place alongside work by famous artists such as Lucian Freud, Francis Bacon and Piet Mondrian as part of a prestigious exhibition in London organised by international auction house Sotheby's.

A Nelson man has been jailed for causing death by careless driving while over the prescribed drug limit.

A Blackburn man has been jailed for sexually assaulting a young woman.

People are being asked to plan their journeys around overnight road closures in the centre of Burnley due to begin next week.

A former police officer has been jailed following an investigation into his misconduct.

A woman has died following a collision in a supermarket carpark in Blackburn.

New public recreational facilities have been officially opened in Burnley.

Lancashire Trading Standards have been busy undertaking test purchases for knives across the county last week as part of Operation Sceptre.

Residents are being reminded to dispose of their batteries in the correct manner after a fire broke out in a recycling vehicle due to a suspected ruptured lithium battery.

A paedophile who sexually assaulted three young boys in East Lancashire has been given a sentence totalling 17 years.

Pendle Borough Council took action against 156 offenders, issuing 116 Fixed Penalty Notices and 40 cautions in a recent 12 month period.

Police are appealing for information after a large-scale fight left a man unconscious.

Darwen Live is back this Bank Holiday weekend and organisers are bringing the party as it celebrates 25 years.

A man has been jailed for the rape of a woman at a flat in Blackburn.

A family has paid a heartfelt tribute to a ‘kind and caring’ man who died in a road traffic collision in Rossendale. 

An Accrington man who installed a secret camera so he could film girls for his sexual gratification has been jailed for more than six years.

Accrington will come alive with the sound of music for this year's OAK FEST with pop sensation Kate Nash taking to the stage.

A private landlord who let three of his properties fall into dangerous disrepair has been ordered to pay almost £14,000 after a court case brought by Burnley Council.

Nelson is one of 75 towns awarded additional funding worth £20m over the next 10 years to drive ambitious regeneration plans in the town.

Councillor Brian Taylor will take on the ceremonial role as The Mayor of Blackburn with Darwen borough council, replacing Councillor Parwaiz Akhtar.

A man has been jailed for two years and four months after leading police on a pursuit through Haslingden.

A Colne man has been sent to prison for a vicious attack on two women.

A man has suffered life changing injuries following a collision on the M65 over the Bank Holiday weekend.

A swoop across three Lancashire businesses saw e-cigarettes sold to underage test purchasers, including one dressed in school uniform.

An Accrington man has been found guilty of an offence of electoral fraud in relation to a local election.

A speeding driver has been jailed for causing a collision which killed a man on a country road in East Lancashire.

Labour’s Clive Grunshaw has become Lancashire’s Police and Crime Commissioner for a second time.

Two people have been given life sentences for murdering a man inside the home they shared in Nelson. 

A gang who supplied cocaine across East Lancashire have been jailed for more than 30 years.

A Blackburn man has been jailed for a violent street attack that left a man with a fractured eye socket.

Bomb disposal experts were called to Darwen town centre over the weekend to deal with an unexploded grenade.

A Darwen man has been jailed after biting a man’s ear off in a horrific attack.

Police are hunting for a man who absconded from a secure unit during a visit to Preston.

Burnley FC have condemned the ‘tragedy chanting’ that took place during their game against Manchester United at Old Trafford.

A body found in Burnley is believed to be that of a missing man.

A church is Blackburn was burgled this week.

An entrepreneur from Blackburn landed a life changing contract with a major national supermarket after being chosen on a TV show.

The British Empire Medal will be presented to a number of Lancashire recipients next month.

A man has been jailed for 15 years on Monday after being found guilty of raping a 15-year-old girl in Burnley in the early 1990s.

A Blackburn man will be sentenced later this year after being convicted of the sexual assault of a young woman.

Underage teenage testers were able to buy alcohol and vapes at eight businesses across Lancashire during a test purchasing crackdown during the Easter period.

A pervert has been jailed for 24 years after being found guilty of six sexual offences in Blackburn.

Visitors to Accrington town centre were treated to a spectacular display of music, art and creativity over the weekend, as the Accrington Spring Parade took centre stage.

A man has been jailed for 14 months after leading police on a pursuit through Burnley.

A gang who conspired to hide millions of pounds of Class A drugs in cheese in Blackburn have been jailed for more than 40 years.

A counterfeiter has been jailed for 31 months after selling thousands of potentially dangerous false vehicle service booklets.

Painting Padiham, the annual open-air painting event, is back.

A man from Burnley has appeared in court charged with murder after a woman was stabbed on a street in Bradford.

A special visit has been made by The Princess Royal to a Lancashire museum.

A brand new state-of-the-art Changing Places toilet has been installed in Thompson Park, Burnley, to help make the popular visitor attraction even more accessible for all.

A new planning application has been submitted to repair the roof of the historic King George’s Hall.

Police want to speak to a man in connection with a knife-point robbery, that happened in the early hours of Friday morning.

Police are appealing for witnesses and footage after a police officer was struck by a stolen vehicle in a hit-and-run in Blackburn.

The family of a man who died after being hit by an e-bike in Burnley have paid a heartbreaking tribute.

Police are appealing for witnesses and footage after a man was seriously assaulted in a Burnley Park.

Police have charged a man with murder following a fatal stabbing in Colne.

Thousands of people headed to Colne for the Town Council’s Easter Extravaganza.

Police are appealing for witnesses and footage following a fatal collision in Brierfield.

The family of a teenager who died after his vehicle came off the carriageway in Worsthorne have paid a loving tribute to him.

Police are appealing for witnesses and footage after a pedestrian was seriously injured in a fail-to-stop collision in Blackburn.

A total of 23 people from Pendle have been found guilty and fined a combined total of £20,306.83 for littering bags of household waste on the borough’s back streets.

Corporation Park is set to benefit from £750,000 of new funding successfully secured by Blackburn with Darwen Council.

Police are appealing for information after a collision in Burnley left two people with serious injuries.

As homelessness continues to increase nationally, Burnley Council has been working on various projects to increase the number of properties that it owns for use as temporary accommodation.

Police are appealing for witnesses and footage after a man in his 80’s was seriously injured in Burnley.

A fraudster jailed for more than three and a half years for creating counterfeit posters has been ordered to pay back more than £500,000.

We've compiled a superb list of Easter activities this year!

Residents, businesses, community groups and organisations in Burnley are being asked to have their say on how they would spend £20 million of funding that the town will receive from the Government’s Long Term Plan for Towns (LTP) fund.

A man has this week been jailed for two years and seven months for breaching his sexual harm prevention order.

More than 40,000 illegal vapes with a street value of £420,000 have been seized by the Council’s trading standards officers, supported by police.

Hyndburn Borough Council has begun the tender process to select a professional team to develop a masterplan for Accrington town centre.

The doors are set to temporarily close on Darwen Youth Centre to allow for a £3.3m transformation.

There’s a huge amount of new investment planned for Darwen town centre.

The family of a woman who died in a collision on the M65 have paid tribute to “a shining light in all our lives”.

A woman seriously injured in a collision on the M65 has died.

17 people have been arrested and almost £150,000 has been seized from across East Lancashire, as part of a major national operation to crackdown on County Lines offenders.

Residents of Burnley are being invited to find out about a draft masterplan to make the town more accessible and vibrant for drivers, pedestrians and cyclists.

Police are appealing for information after a collision on the M65 left a woman with serious injuries.

Detectives are continuing to appeal for information after the death of a man from Burnley.

Blackburn with Darwen Borough Council has joined together with partners using legal powers to protect the environment and prevent wildfire devastation on moorland.

Police have launched an investigation after the death of a man from Burnley.

Burnley Council has become the first local authority in Lancashire to become a Silver level Carbon Literate Organisation.

A 17 year old boy from Blackburn has been named as Lancashire’s Young Citizen of the Year 2024.

Rossendale Borough Council has been awarded additional money for Rawtenstall from the Long-Term Plan for Town initiative.

Two playgrounds in Darwen are set to be transformed.

A man has been given a nine month custodial sentence for blocking the entrance to Queen’s Park in Blackburn.

Ground has been broken at the site of a brand new, state-of-the-art police station in Pendle. 

Plans for an historic devolution deal to bring extra powers and money to Lancashire have received support in a public consultation.

Officers from Lancashire County Council's Trading Standards team joined forces with licensing officers from Pendle District and Lancashire Police and seized 588 packs of illegal tobacco and vapes worth around £9,000.

Accrington Stanley FC have announced John Doolan has been appointed as Interim Manager.

Residents and landlords are set to be consulted on whether to continue selective licensing schemes in several areas of Burnley and Padiham.

The ribbon has been officially cut on two playgrounds at Blackburn’s popular Witton Park following a £350,000 transformation.

Blackburn with Darwen Council has successfully secured £20m of new Levelling Up funding from Government – taking the grand total to more than £125m.

A gang have been jailed for a total of 33 years over an armed robbery conspiracy in East Lancashire.

Pendle Borough Council say they’re struggling to operate local leisure facilities with the available funding they have.

Councillors are being asked to give the green light to a strategy that aims to build on Burnley Council’s work so far in reducing its carbon emissions.

The Council has spoken out following a racially aggravated hate crime that took place at a house in Blackburn last week.

Police in Nelson are urging parents to be aware of where their children are and what they may be involved in.

Lancashire County Council will raise council tax by the maximum permitted amount of almost 5%.

Sacha Hatchett is set to become the new Chief Constable of Lancashire Constabulary.

The NHS in Lancashire is bracing itself for more industrial action, with junior doctors set to strike this weekend.

A couple from East Lancashire have won a whopping £61.7 million EuroMillions jackpot.

Police are investigating after a pig's head and a brick were thrown through the front window of a house in Blackburn.

A man has been arrested on suspicion of money laundering after cash was found in a car stopped on the M65 in East Lancashire.

A man from Darwen has been charged with a number of after a Lancashire Police investigation.

Blackburn Council say protecting services that people rely on and keeping the momentum with improvement projects is at the heart of their financial plan for the coming year.

A man who engaged in tragedy chanting prior to Burnley Football Club’s fixture with Manchester United has been given a five-year Football Banning Order.

Burnley Council’s share of council tax for the coming financial year will increase as it aims to meet its financial challenges whilst continuing to deliver high-quality services.

Courier Fraud is on the rise in East Lancashire, with another two recent reports of attempted courier fraud in Blackburn.

The family of a woman who died following a collision in Burnley have paid tribute to her.

A programme of Easter events has been announced for Colne.

A group of men who conspired to flood the streets of Blackburn and Darwen with heroin and crack cocaine have been jailed for a total of 18 years and three months.

Towneley Hall in Burnley is to close temporarily to allow essential renovation works on the historic building to be completed.

Police have confirmed that human remains have been found at an industrial estate in Darwen.

A man from East Lancashire has been jailed after his driving tragically led to the death of two of his passengers.

A consultation is being held for people to express their views on a potential new skate park for Colne.

Police are appealing for information and dashcam footage following a fatal collision in Burnley.

The concept design for the £8.3million redevelopment of Bacup Market and Union Street has been given the green light by Rossendale Borough Council.

A Blackburn woman who strives to change the lives of the young deaf community is this year’s recipient of the prestigious One Voice Leader’s Award.

A Burnley man has been charged with the manslaughter of a Blackpool football fan.

A yellow Cold-Health Alert is being issued across the whole of Lancashire.

Recovery collaborative Spark are set to provide a new service offer for people across Blackburn with Darwen with gambling addictions.

Several new projects that aim to create different types of more specialist school places will be reviewed this week as part of ongoing work to boost provision across East Lancashire.

Police are investigating a report of a serious sexual assault in Burnley and are asking for your help to identify a man.

People will have a shorter wait for their bus, and be able to travel later into the evening, thanks to recent improvements to a number of services.

A major new housing development is set to take a step forward next week when Executive Board councillors meet.

£70,000 worth of stolen plant machinery has been recovered from a building site in Hyndburn.

Hyndburn Borough Council has unveiled a packed events programme for 2024, promising a year of vibrant celebrations, creative expression, and community spirit across the borough.

More pupils in Blackburn with Darwen will be able to enjoy the benefits of walking to school, thanks to a new partnership between Blackburn with Darwen Borough Council and Living Streets, the UK charity for everyday walking.

Residents and businesses have just one week left to take part in a consultation which will shape the future of Lancashire.

Libraries across Burnley will be boosted with a £88,000 grant for a new project which aims to create volunteering opportunities and tackle loneliness.

Police are launching a renewed appeal for information and dashcam footage to help find missing man Thomas Green.