Preston’s city status protection plan

The King could be involved in the process of ensuring Preston doesn’t lose its status as a city when the current council is abolished.

Preston is set to be subsumed into a larger local authority patch in 2029 – a change that would see the city title surrendered unless action were taken to protect them. That is because the honour is conferred via the councils themselves – which would then no longer exist.

Local government minister Jim McMahon last month moved to reassure cities in the almost two dozen parts of England going through a similar shake-up to Lancashire that their identities as such would be “preserved”.

The Local Democracy Reporting Service (LDRS) understands that Preston has been advised that the mechanism by which their city status will be protected is likely to be through the issuing of ‘letters patent’ – legal documents that are authorised by the monarch, normally upon the advice of ministers.

The government had previously stated that the establishment of ‘Charter Trustees’ – individuals empowered to “hold historic property, such as charters or insignia” for a city – would be the usual solution in such a scenario.

However, there were concerns over the complexity of the process – along with a warning from local government history. Rochester, in Kent, accidentally lost its city status in 1998 when it became part of the new Medway Council – and failed to appoint the necessary trustees to guard the title.

Preston became a city in 2002 as part of Queen Elizabeth II’s silver jubilee celebrations, and along with Lancastetr is one of only two cities in Lancashire.

The county’s 15 main councils are set to be scrapped as part of a government-ordered overhaul that will see them replaced with a handful of new, streamlined authorities.

In July, ministers announced that four new councils would be created – one of which would merge the existing Preston, Lancaster and Ribble Valley local authority footprints. However, last month, that decision was ripped up over legal concerns and will now be retaken after the government has once assessed the five different configurations the current councils had proposed to succeed them.

Amid that ongoing uncertainty, Preston City Council leader Matthew Brown welcomed the removal of any risk to city status.

“Preston is a proud city, home to many ancient traditions, and the largest place in Lancashire – an economic gateway with a strong, culturally rich identity.

“It is vital that Preston’s city status is protected for generations to come and I fully support the use of letters patent to protect the City of Preston.

“Whatever the decision may be around local government reorganisation, Preston must remain a city in its own right – with its name, identity and civic status preserved,” Cllr Brown told the LDRS.