Decision on Burnley, Pendle and East Lancashire council mergers 'to be retaken' - with all options back on the table

The process of deciding which Lancashire council areas will merge with each other is to be re-run, the Burnley Express understands.

The government announced in July that four new standalone ‘super councils’ - including one for Lancaster, Preston and Ribble Valley - would be created as part of a streamlining project under which all 15 of the county's main authorities were to be axed.

However, last month, local government secretary Angela Rayner made the shock announcement that the long-established timetable for the transition to the new councils was being ripped up while a review was undertaken to check whether the way the decision was taken was lawful.

It is understood that Lancashire leaders have now been told that the government has withdrawn its chosen option of establishing new authorities for areas dubbed ‘North Lancashire’ (made up of the existing Preston, Lancaster and Ribble Valley council areas;); ‘South Lancashire’ (Chorley, South Ribble and West Lancashire); ‘Pennine Lancashire’ (Blackburn with Darwen, Burnley, Hyndburn, Rossendale and Pendle); and ‘Fylde Coast’ (Blackpool, Fylde and Wyre).

Ministers will reassess all five suggestions put forward by Lancashire’s existing councils for the number and geographical shape of the organisations that should replace them as part of the government-ordered ‘local government reorganisation’ (LGR) changes. These were for two, three and five new councils, along with two versions of a four-authority configuration, including the one that was ultimately successful.

The move puts all of the proposals (see below) back on the table - although the eventual outcome could be unchanged.

Specifically, the government will look again at the financial modelling and travel-to-work patterns that underpinned the proposals.

Shadow elections for the new authorities are now set to take place in May 2028 -a year later than previously planned. Those embryonic organisations will then exist alongside the current authorities, which will remain in place until the spring of 2029 when they will finally be abolished.

It means next May's local elections in Lancashire will be for the 13 existing councils that were due to hold them on the normal timetable - Blackpool, Blackburn with Darwen, Burnley, Chorley, Fylde Hyndburn, Lancaster, Pendle, Preston, Ribble Valley, South Ribble, West Lancashire and Wyre. Only Rossendale Council and Lancashire County Council were not scheduled to hold polls in 2027.

The four-council option that had previously been chosen was the one that was most widely-supported by existing councils - being backed by Preston, Lancaster, Ribble Valley, Chorley, South Ribble, West Lancashire

THINKING AGAIN

These are the five LGR options that the government will now put back under the microscope before making a fresh decision:

Two councils

Council 1: Blackpool, Fylde, Lancaster, Preston, Ribble Valley and Wyre (722,045 residents)

Council 2: Blackburn with Darwen, Burnley, Chorley, Hyndburn, Pendle, Rossendale, South Ribble and West Lancashire (879,510 residents)

Promoted by: Lancashire County Council

Three councils

Council 1: Blackpool, Fylde, Lancaster and Wyre (493,387 residents)

Council 2: Chorley, Preston, South Ribble and West Lancashire (521,811 residents)

Council 3: Blackburn with Darwen, Burnley, Hyndburn, Pendle, Ribble Valley and Rossendale (586,357 residents)

Promoted by: Blackburn with Darwen, Fylde, Hyndburn, Rossendale and Wyre councils

Four councils (version 1)

Council 1: Blackpool, Fylde and Wyre (348,381 residents)

Council 2: Chorley, South Ribble and West Lancashire (358,947 residents)

Council 3: Blackburn with Darwen, Burnley, Hyndburn, Pendle and Rossendale (520,563 residents)

Council 4: Lancaster, Preston and Ribble Valley (373,664 residents)

Promoted by: Chorley, Lancaster, Preston, Ribble Valley, South Ribble and West Lancashire councils

Four councils (version 2)

Council 1: Blackpool, Fylde, Preston and western Wyre (475,222 residents)

Council 2: Chorley, South Ribble and West Lancashire (358,947 residents)

Council 3: Blackburn with Darwen, Burnley, Hyndburn, Pendle, southernmost Ribble Valley and Rossendale (565,968 residents)

Council 4: Lancaster, most of Ribble Valley [excluding Clitheroe and southernmost areas] and eastern and northern Wyre (201,508 residents)

Promoted by: Blackpool Council

Five councils

Council 1: Blackpool, Fylde and Preston (348,381 residents)

Council 2: Chorley, South Ribble and West Lancashire (358,947 residents)

Council 3: Blackburn with Darwen, Hyndburn, Ribble Valley (314,302 residents)

Council 4: Lancaster and Wyre (263,749 residents)

Council 5: Burnley, Rossendale and Pendle (272,055 residents)