Council urges government to adopt three-authority Lancashire model

Blackburn with Darwen Council has told the government the best structure for local government after Lancashire devolution in 2028 is three new all-purpose councils for the county.

It said these new unitary authorities (UAs) should include one merging the borough with Burnley, Hyndburn, Pendle, Ribble Valley and Rossendale.

In a submission to the Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government (MHCLG) it says ministers should ignore four alternative local government reorganisation proposals.

They are for two new UAs from Lancashire County Council; four new UAs from Chorley, Lancaster, Preston, Ribble Valley, South Ribble and West Lancashire councils; four new UAs from Blackpool Council; and five new UAs from Burnley and Pendle Councils.

The latter plan would see Blackburn with Darwen, Hyndburn, Ribble Valley in one council area and Burnley, Rossendale and Pendle in a second separate one.

In a report to Blackburn with Darwen Council’s executive board on Thursday its leader Cllr Phil Riley outlined the authority’s submission to government.

It said: “We firmly believe that the 3UA model offers the best future for Lancashire whilst also offering a smoother transition to the new authorities for service users, residents, communities, partners and the local government workforce.

“The model builds on the existing three upper tier authority structure across Lancashire, thereby offering the opportunity to swiftly align strategic plans and priorities for key statutory services such as adults and children’s social care.

“This swift alignment will allow us to reduce any service disruption whilst quickly moving towards more integrated services.

“The 3UA model builds on the natural geographies and communities, economic areas and travel patterns that have long existed across Lancashire.

“The 5UA model presents numerous challenges regarding scale, financial resilience, population sizes and alignment to economic geography.

“Whilst it reflects more local community identities, it poses significant risks around higher service delivery costs, duplicate administrative functions and financial stability and sustainability.

“It also creates fragmentation for Lancashire as a whole.

“The financial costs associated with having five leadership teams is also not insignificant.

“The 2UA model proposes two geographically large unitaries, North and South, with populations that are significantly higher than the 500,000 recommended by MHCLG.

“Unitaries of this size and scale carry a clear risk of not being able to respond to distinct local needs, with potential for inefficiencies and higher costs through diseconomies of scale.

“We do not believe this option is conducive to a successful Lancashire especially when consideration is given to the negative impact it will likely have on local identities and that it cuts across economic geographies, travel patterns and public sector partner arrangements that are already in existence.

“The 4UA model (with no boundary changes) proposes authorities of sizes which may be insufficient to ensure financial resilience.
“In addition to this, the proposal could result in uneven pressures around deprivation for some of the new authorities.

“The 4UA model proposed by Blackpool Council is significantly different to all the other proposals in that it would require boundary modifications.

“The proposal requires that Ribble Valley district wards are to be divided between the proposed Eastern authority and the proposed Northern authority..

“The cost and time involved in boundary changes could also have a negative impact on existing identities, communities and services.”