Plans for Lancashire Combined County Authority met with lukewarm response in Burnley

On Tuesday, the Statutory Instrument which will enable the formation of the new body was laid in parliament, and the first shadow meeting of the organisation was also held at County Hall in Preston, in preparation for the first full meeting of the authority in the new year.

However, there has been much opposition to the proposed plans from all political colours in Burnley.

The LCCA is a proposed model of local government for Lancashire that would give more powers and funding to the area's councils. The LCCA would be made up of the three upper tier councils in Lancashire: Lancashire County Council, Blackburn with Darwen Council, and Blackpool Council.

The independent leader of Burnley Borough Council, Coun. Afrasiab Anwar, and the town’s Labour MP Oliver Ryan, both urged a note of caution upon hearing the news.

Mr Ryan, who like some of his fellow Lancashire’s Labour MPs wants the government to strike a more extensive devolution agreement with the county, which – unlike the current one – which would bring with it an elected mayor and a slashing of local councils.

Mr Ryan said: “As a Lancashire MP, of course more powers are good news for Lancashire, especially because we've missed out on so much over the last few years without a Mayor – but let's not accept bronze when we deserve gold.

“The CCA would, in an ideal scenario, still exist but would be chaired by our own Lancashire Mayor, to inject some democracy into this agreement and to have Lancashire represented on the national and international stage.

“I remain of the view that because of dither and delay, we're missing out. Dither and delay which I'm afraid is in part manufactured to favour the current Conservatives installed in County Hall and some district council leaders who quite enjoy the status quo.”

However, Ribble Valley Borough Council’s Tory leader Stephen Atkinson – a longstanding opponent of a Lancashire mayor and any redrawing of the local authority map in Lancashire – said the implementation of the current devolution deal “proves that we do not need to change councils”.

“We can achieve devolution with the existing local government structure in Lancashire, which keeps councils local to their communities, but [means they] can operate at a strategic level through the combined county authority,” Coun. Atkinson told the Local Democracy Reporting Service.

The government has already released £20million of funding agreed as part of the devolution deal to create the new CCA, which was confirmed in September.

The money will fund a number of projects supporting place-based economic regeneration, innovation-led growth and net zero ambitions.

Further powers and funding for adult education, transport, employment and skills will also be unlocked when the new authority comes into being.

However, the leader of Burnley Council urged a note of caution, and said the county needed “collective effort and transparency.”

Coun. Anwar said: “It is another step forward that the instrument for the CCA has been laid in parliament. Reaching this point has been a long journey.

“Any discussions about local government reorganisation or carving up Lancashire risk becoming a distraction and are unhelpful. What we need is collective effort and transparency.

“Burnley punches above its weight because we understand our communities and that is why we have a resolution opposing the abolition of Burnley Council and any proposal to have services run from Blackburn.”

The CCA aims to provide a single body for the whole of the county to champion its interests, deliver on local priorities and give it greater decision-making powers.