We held off reporting on happenings in Coppull this week - wanting to speak to everyone we possibly could in an effort to approach the incident responsibly.

For those who haven’t seen - a pub posted to social media about a ‘scary incident’ involving three men allegedly following two women and a young boy on Sunday. Police investigated and concluded no crime had been committed and that they were not following.

But the clear suggestion is that these three men were immigrants - and the pub described them as ‘black - and so the response from some (Reform UK included) was one of disbelief.

This is a challenging issue to cover from my perspective.

On one hand - and most importantly - we have an instance of three people feeling genuinely unsafe in a public space when the sun is up. Their concerns have to be taken seriously.

On the other, we have seen a loud refusal to accept that no crime has been committed (by lots of people that are not the women in question) despite those assertions from police. As Reform UK themselves pointed out in publicly criticising the police response, this leads to the danger of vigilante response against three people police are convinced have done nothing wrong.

We’ve done our best to unpack what’s happened in Coppull this week as police have gone back and forth with local Reform UK councillors and the public.

Lancashire briefing

🌳 Preston’s main shopping street will once again see its trees lit up after final funding was approved to replace a display that went dark after developing a series of faults.

The £234k project, which has been given the go-ahead by Preston City Council’s cabinet, will see new lighting installed in the 56 trees that line Fishergate and the southern section of Corporation Street.

They were planted as part of the ‘shared space’ scheme that transformed the main thoroughfare – by widening its pavements and and restricting vehicular access to buses and taxis – back in 2014/15. Prior to that, Fishergate and Corporation Street were a tree-free zone. The lights were introduced shortly after the revamp was completed.

According to a report presented to cabinet members, the lighting arrangement acts as an additional public protection measure during the evening and overnight.

The document states that the lights had to be disconnected due to “several faults”, while the infrastructure supporting it had “deteriorated due to lack of maintenance”.

During a feasibility study undertaken last year, it was discovered that the existing electrics from the previous installation was “faulty, not up to current regulation and needed several upgrades, before the lights could be replaced”. Following a subsequent testing survey, plans were drawn up to create “a fully maintainable system”.

🔎 An investigation has uncovered links between a community volunteer organisation in East Lancashire and a proscribed neo-Nazi group.

In recent months, social media pages for Great Harwood have been awash with discussions about a new “crime-prevention group” in the town that promises to patrol problem areas and organise self defence classes.

Called the Guardians of Great Harwood, the group was founded at the start of June by Mickii Edwards, a former Rugby League player who is a well-known face in the town for his charitable work.

But while this group has rushed to get its patrollers DBS-checked, concerning past links between the Guardians’ self-defence coach, simply named Jimmy, and a banned racist group have been detailed in an investigation released today.

On the volunteer group’s website, the Guardians’ describe these classes as: “Free self-defence sessions taught by Jimmy, a local coach who has trained world-class MMA fighters for the UFC.

“We are starting with women and children, with more sessions to follow.”

However, the anti-extremist organisation Hope Not Hate’s investigation into the group found that this man is actually Jimmy Hey, whose previous self defence experience was training the militant members of National Action at the same gym in Great Harwood.

The Guardians of Great Harwood have said in a statement that they are not affiliated with Hey, with leader Mickii Edwards saying that he is personally ‘not political’ and had never heard of National Action before.

🗳️ The government is being urged to speed up the process that will officially cancel a set of abandoned local elections in Lancashire – so councils can focus on organising the polls that will be held in their place.

On the current electoral calendar, 13 of the county’s local authorities are scheduled to stage votes in May 2027.

However, a government-ordered shake-up means that all 15 Lancashire councils – Blackburn with Darwen, Blackpool, Burnley, Chorley, Fylde, Hyndburn, Lancaster, Pendle, Preston, Ribble Valley, Rossendale ,South Ribble, West Lancashire, Wyre and Lancashire County Council – are to be scrapped less than 12 months later and replaced with just four new authorities covering the whole of the county between them.

As part of the overhaul, elections to so-called ‘shadow’ versions of the successor councils are to be held next May instead of votes for the authorities whose days are numbered.

However, that change to the voting arrangements will be officially confirmed only once legislation enacting the transition arrangements – known as a structural changes order (SCO) – completes its passage through Parliament.

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Police repeatedly stress no crime was committed in Coppull incident

By Luke Beardsworth

Police were forced to repeatedly insist that no crime had been committed after an incident in Coppull this week.

Three people, understood to be a grandmother, mother and son, entered The Wheatsheaf pub on Sunday evening (9 August) after being left feeling frightened by the presence and alleged behaviour of three men outside the pub.

The pub posted a warning to social media - now deleted on police advice but seen by The Lancashire Lead - that spoke of a “scary incident” where women had been followed by “three black men” and finished with a warning of “be careful!”.

This sparked a significant volume of concern in the local community that would not be tempered by Lancashire Constabulary investigating and insisting that no crime had been committed.

Police say that they spoke with the men who said that they were in the area looking for a friend’s address. They said they also spoke with that friend who verified that version of events.

Supt Martyn Holt, of Lancashire Constabulary, said: “We spoke to the men identified, who told us they were on that street looking for a friend’s address, who they were intending on meeting up with that evening.

“We have also spoken to the friend who the men were looking for, who confirmed that this was the case. The CCTV shows the men stopping on the street, looking for that address, and doesn’t show them interacting with anyone else on the street. They do not enter the pub at any point.”

Not present in the Lancashire Constabulary statement is the detail from the CCTV that the men in question never crossed to the same side of the road as the two women who entered the pub.

The mother who entered the pub told The Lancashire Lead that she did feel uncomfortable and intimidated by the incident but that the response has been ridiculous and she would like people to move on from it.

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In 2026 there have technically been fewer wildfires in Europe - or periods of burning - than in 2025. It’s a piece of information that reads as good news until you see that both years are dramatically up on the rolling average.

But that doesn’t mean the information isn’t being leapt on by climate-sceptics as evidence that talk of climate change is just fear-mongering.

They are having that conversation as most of the UK sits in a drought, the countryside is at regular risk of fire and the fifth heatwave of the summer bears down on us.

One reader recently told me: “It’s just summer” over on that reliable barometer of public opinion Facebook.

The purpose of coverage of climate change - beyond pointing out that it’s going to be sunny where the majority of analysis is focused - is not to alarm people. It is instead to raise the point that this is something that it is impacting us now - and it’s going to become more severe as the years progress and the younger population of Lancashire grow old.

Lancashire briefing

🏠 A major housing estate will be built in rural Preston after a government-appointed inspector reversed a local decision to refuse permission for the project.

Developer Wain Homes last year lodged plans for a 167-dwelling development on land off James Towers Way in Broughton.

However, members of Preston City Council’s planning committee rejected the proposal in December – on the advice of the authority’s planning officers – after hearing it would eat into a buffer zone designed to prevent the village from merging with the northern part of urban Preston.

The 10.3-hectare site – west of the Broughton bypass and south of Whittingham Lane – also lies in an area designated as open countryside, where local policy dictates any developments should usually be small-scale.

But the housebuilder appealed to the Planning Inspectorate, which has now overturned the refusal after concluding the scheme would do more good than harm.

During the meeting at which they debated the application, councillors on the committee were confronted with an uncommon quandary. While they were told by town hall planners that they should reject the development, they learned local opinion was largely in favour of the blueprint – a rare reversal of the usual situation faced by planning committee members.

Broughton Parish Council strongly supported the scheme, because of the new infrastructure that Wain Homes had promised would accompany its housing. That included a community centre, care home, allotments and more car parking space for an expanding local primary school.

⚽ Supporters of Burnley FC may soon be able to use a new ‘vomitory’ when they are watching a home game, after the Clarets’ plans were signed off by the council.

This planning approval is just the latest improvement planned for Turf Moor, with recent months also seeing the club also reveal its intention to put up new LED signage around the outside of their stadium on Harry Potts Way.

That is in addition to the controversial traffic scheme that would allow Burnley FC to shut down a number of roads around the stadium at-will to better manage the flow of fans, which left groups from the clergy to the cricket club concerned about access.

This new vomitory will also be a radical alteration to how fans use the stadium. Though, despite what the name might suggest, this new addition is not for stomach-churning moments, like the Clarets recent 4-3 win against Notts County on penalties.

Vomitories are large staircases that help fans to enter or exit the stadium, in this case allowing better access to the Barnfield stand. This comes from the Latin for ‘to spew forth’.

In addition to providing a quicker access route for fans heading to the top of the 4500-capacity stand, this new stairway will also improve fan safety as it doubles as a fire escape.

🫣 Reform UK home affairs spokesperson Zia Yusuf has been caught in a war of words on the former-Twitter with former Conservative defence secretary Ben Wallace.

Wallace, once MP for Lancaster and Wyre and Wyre and Preston North, criticised Reform UK’s pledge to deport foreign nationals from jails to countries such as El Salvador. In response, Yusuf called him a moron and a traitor.

It was beyond the pale for even Nigel Farage, who promised to give him a ‘ticking off’.

Andrew Snowden, Conservative MP for Fylde, told The Lancashire Lead: “Zia Yusuf, a former banker, calling Ben Wallace, a former Army officer who was mentioned in despatches for gallantry, a ‘moron, says far more about Reform’s leadership than it does about anything else.

“Reform tells people what they want to hear, without any credible plans to actually deliver. When challenged, its leaders resort to lashing out and trading insults rather than answering serious questions.”

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‘Take climate change seriously’ warning as Lancashire braces for fifth heatwave

By Luke Beardsworth

Climate change needs to be taken more seriously as Lancashire braces for further impact on hospitals, farming and other services this week.

An amber heat-health alert has been issued by the UK Health Security Agency (UKHSA) which says that significant impacts are likely across health and social care settings due to high temperatures.

Lancashire is expected to see temperatures reach as high as 31C on both Wednesday (12 August) and Thursday (13 August) during the fifth heatwave of the summer. The spell of weather will not be as prolonged or intense as previous ones, but there will be an impact.

Almost three-quarters of England is now experiencing drought conditions that are expected to worsen until significant rainfall comes - and it is not expected to in the near future.

And for one senior Green Party councillor, it is disappointing to see how little attention the matter is getting.

Cllr Gabie Lowe, who leads the Greens at Preston City Council, said: “We really need to start taking climate change more seriously. The weather is only going to get more extreme.

“People are dying and, rather than seeing climate change as the public health crisis that it is, people are seeing it as a means of political point scoring. It is a priority for everyone. If we carry on the way we are, food insecurity is only going to get worse, and that will increase the cost of living.

“It feels as though our future is being sold to the highest bidder. The best thing for the government to do is to invest in our renewable energy infrastructure which, not only is predicted to bring over 100,000 jobs to the North West, but will increase our fuel security, and be a major step in slowing climate change.”

But renewable energy projects in Lancashire continue to see strong opposition from sceptics along with Reform UK and some Conservative politicians.

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Earlier this week, we reported on the leader of the opposition at Lancashire County Council saying that the county’s reluctance to embrace the mayoral path was leaving us ‘stuck on the harder shoulder’.

The subject of today’s interview rather doubles down on that idea.

Those resistant to the idea of a mayor are also the same politicians who repeatedly bemoan the lack of real-world experience in politics. Mo Isap OBE has plenty of real-life business experience but is struggling to get his head around the idea of further delays while Lancashire pays the price.

Unless, as he suggests, it is all about political capital.

Lancashire briefing

🩺 Hyndburn Borough Council has approved plans to knock down a derelict historic hospital in Accrington, making way for a new health and care hub.

Victoria Community Hospital was closed down in late 2024 after serving the health needs of the community for 126 years, due to multiple issues with the site that included a collapsing ceiling, broken boilers, and asbestos.

East Lancashire Hospitals NHS Trust moved its services out of the Haywood Road hospital over these problems, before working with a variety of organisations from the council to patient groups and MP Sarah Smith to come up with a new future for the site.

Those plans were finally revealed in March of this year, with the former hospital being demolished to make way for a new holistic approach to healthcare in Accrington.

🗳️ A delayed attempt to oust the only elected Restore Britain official in Lancashire from the chair of a key committee at Burnley Council was withdrawn on Thursday evening.

The issue of Cllr Don Whitaker’s chairmanship of the Audit and Scrutiny Committee came to a head at the last full council meeting, which was held on July 15 but was cut short just shy of a vote on the Restore politician’s future, just in time for the England v Argentina World Cup match.

The matter was the first item on the agenda when Burnley councillors reconvened the meeting on Thursday (August 6), with chief executive Lukman Patel reminding members of the motion brought forward by Labour group leader Cllr Mark Townsend and seconded by Cllr Gordon Birtwistle (Lib Dem).

That motion argued that Cllr Whitaker, who had represented the Whittlefield with Ightenhill ward as a Conservative since 2021 before turning to Restore after the May local elections, had won the chairmanship during a ‘chaotic’ appointments meeting that same month.

It argued that members had been unaware of the councillor’s new affiliation and the standard appointments process, with the meeting also appointing a vice chair to the planning committee who was not even a member.

🎒 The revival of Blackburn’s town centre has taken a major step forward, with the selection of a constructor to deliver the £45 million first phase of the wider £250 million regeneration plan.

Kier Group, the largest infrastructure and property firm of its kind in the UK, has been appointed to oversee the huge Star Square development project, which will see work start as soon as next year on a new building and pocket park on Brown Street.

Announcing that Kier would be overseeing the latest scheme to revive the heart of the town, Blackburn with Darwen Council praised the regeneration project as one of the most ‘significant’ of its kind in the county that will attract visitors and strengthen the local economy.

The anchor for this plan is Star Academies, a multi-academy education trust that became the namesake for the project when it agreed to pay £10.3 million for the freehold of the 93,000 sq ft building at the centre of this first phase.

Called 1 Star Square, when plans for this large new building on Brown Street were first submitted in 2024, the University of Lancashire had been the intended occupant.

However, as with the advanced manufacturing project in Darwen that was scrapped by the University of Sheffield in recent months, the higher education institution pulled out over concerning financial headwinds facing the sector.

But with Star Academies planning to move their headquarters into the building once it has been built, its future as a national education hub in the centre of Blackburn has been secured. The trust has previously stated that it will be used for leadership training, research, and as a focal point for innovation.

Senior Lancashire business leader Mo Isap delivers withering assessment of Lancashire’s devolution dithering

By Ed Walker

One of the county’s most senior business figures has delivered a withering assessment of its devolution journey so far - and warned the window is slipping away for any chance of Lancashire having a Mayor in place by 2028.

Chair of the Lancashire Business Board, which is part of the Lancashire Combined County Authority, Mo Isap OBE, has indicated if there are not significant steps taken towards securing a Mayoral authority then he will stand down from the role he has held since July 2024.

Speaking exclusively to The Lancashire Lead this week, the self-made multi-millionaire, who heads up IN4 and STAR Academies and is Blackburn born-and-bred, gave his verdict as councils shake-ups play out and the Prime Minister delivered a clear direction for more powers and significant funding to be pumped down into strategic authorities which have a Mayor.

While Lancashire has a strategic authority, something Isap says the county was strong at getting established relatively quickly compared to other places, without the figurehead of a Mayor it will struggle to compete as the likes of Cheshire, Cumbria, Kent and others power ahead with their new Mayoral set ups now in some cases months away from becoming a reality.

Isap said of Burnham’s recent announcement, a man he knows well having worked with the new PM while on the Manchester Local Enterprise Partnership (LEP): “It’s very consistent to what Andy said from day dot. You know, let’s be honest, he’s led the mayoral charge for devolution. He’s been very clear about increased devolution, but the point is that that can only happen., where there’s a Mayor.

“In every local subregion or every combined authority region, there are leaders of their respective councils. It’s a very democratic process, but you need a Mayor to bat for the region. It does not work any other way, because otherwise, what you’re saying to the government is we’re going to pose you a higher risk.

“What the government’s not going to do, and it doesn’t need to do, is take unnecessary risks. What Andy wants is success, and he can mitigate the risks by having a mayor that has a mandate that then has a team of local authority leadership and the governance across that to execute, but you need somebody backing for you.

“We’re in competition with every other combined authority. We’re not in some luxurious economic climate, there’s only so much money to go round and, while of course Lancashire should collaborate, it also has to compete.

“There’s a deep pecking order. Also, there’s a limited amount to be devolved. So what would you do if you were sitting there as Burnham? So what’s the safer bet? A safer bet is Steve Rotheram, my mate, who’s got everything in place. He’s got his own inside under the bonnet all sorted out. There’s no wrangles. There’s no infighting. He’s the guy I’m doing a deal with. It makes life a lot easier.

“Now, if I’m coming up to a consortia that is patchwork at best, politically completely diverse in every sense, and I’m doing deals in the hundreds of millions and billions. I’m expecting a return in three years’ time. I mean, you don’t need a business brain to understand where you would go because ultimately results are results. So if I put it into now Cheshire, Warrington or Cumbria, I’ll get a return. For me, as a leader of the country, I want a return. If something goes pear-shaped, I know who to blame too.”

The man who would be King?

Isap’s had a ringside seat to Greater Manchester’s devolution journey and economic regeneration and says it acts as a ‘blueprint’ for other places - although the task is far from finished because while the university growth corridor there may command significant wages there’s also areas just a stones throw away with extreme poverty.

Who does he think could be Mayor to kick start Lancashire’s growth? And would he stand himself?

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Devolution is always something that Lancashire has been reluctant to embrace, as our regular readers will be all too aware of.

The full powers and funding that go with any devolution deal have always been dependent on having a mayor - so Lancashire does not have the top level of devolution deal available.

That does mean fewer powers and less funding, ultimately, though there are some who believe it protects the power of more local decision making.

But the temperature on that debate got turned up significantly last week when new Prime Minister Andy Burnham, who became essentially the only well-liked high profile politician left on the back of his mayorality in Greater Manchester, announced even greater powers through devolution.

But only if you have a mayor - which Lancashire does not, and is still not confirmed to eventually get.

On current forecast, Lancashire will soon be the only place in a north of England without a mayor. And now that’s worrying people to an even greater degree than before.

Lancashire briefing

🍔 McDonald’s plans to open its main Preston city centre branch around the clock, it has emerged.

The fast food chain has asked Preston City Council to confirm that there are no existing planning conditions in place that would prevent the outlet on Friargate from operating around-the-clock.

At the moment, the eatery is open between 5am and 11pm seven days a week.

The city centre’s other McDonald’s branch – which is located in the Fishergate Shopping Centre – trades from 7.45am until 6pm, Monday to Saturday, and 10am to 5pm on Sundays.

The Friargate outlet was granted planning permission more than 40 years ago, back in March 1985.

💅🏻 Plans have gone in to rescue a historic pub building in Darwen that has lain empty and boarded up for years, becoming an eyesore on a busy street in the town.

The Engineers Arms on Duckworth was first turned into a public house around the start of the 20^th century and was named after the union of highly skilled tradesmen who worked on the machines and mills, who would often meet in the establishment.

But after a century of serving pints to the local community, in 2020 the pub’s doors closed and have remained shut ever since, with the exception of a serious loft fire in 2021 that saw four fire crews respond.

However, the building may soon have a new purpose that could breathe new life into its spot on the corner of Dove Lane, with a plan being submitted to Blackburn with Darwen Council to convert into shops and flats.

If approved, the ground floor of the Engineers Arms will be converted into three shopfronts, with applicant Suleman Tahir stating that the main business unit will be a nail salon.

🗳️ A Reform councillor is calling for people in Skelmersdale and Ormskirk to have their own dedicated town councils, as the whole of Lancashire faces a major shake-up.

Aaron Body, elected to West Lancashire Council in May, says people in Skelmersdale are ‘under-represented’ and want change.

In an emotional speech to borough councillors, he said he has campaigned for a Skelmersdale council for years. And now he has won support in calling on the borough to explore options for new town and parish councils including for Ormskirk.

However, some councillors say honesty will be needed with residents about the likelihood of extra local taxes needed for new councils.

It comes as West Lancashire faces a merger with Chorley and South Ribble in 2028, in a Lancashire-wide restructure of councils.

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Lancashire ‘stuck on hard shoulder’ while other regions speed past in fast lane in devolution race

By Luke Beardsworth

Lancashire’s grapple with the very concept of a mayor shows no sign of abating despite promises of greater financial power by new Prime Minister Andy Burnham.

As part of an introductory flurry of new policies, the detail of which will become apparent later in the year, Burnham promised areas with a mayor would be allowed to retain a portion of income tax to spend locally.

But it is not entirely clear whether such powers will be exclusively available to areas with a mayor - something of particular importance to Lancashire. Regional mayors have been hailed for their impact in Greater Manchester and the Liverpool City Region but Lancashire continues to be without a concrete plan to elect one.

There is a pencilled-in plan for a mayoral contest to be held in 2028 but it is far from confirmed. Now, Cllr Stephen Atkinson, who leads Reform UK at Lancashire County Council, says he has assurances that a mayor is not mandatory.

With that in mind, he has repeated his calls for greater clarity over exactly what the benefits will be, given a mayor would likely mean a small percentage increase in council tax.

He also hinted that Lancashire County Council could then launch a consultation asking for views on a mayor - although it is unlikely the outcome of any such consultation would be binding.

In contrast, the Progressive Lancashire leader of the opposition has called for egos to be put to one side for the betterment of people and investment in Lancashire.

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Cllr Atkinson told The Lancashire Lead: “The new government have made it clear that it is up to local areas if they want a mayor.

“Reform at Lancashire County Council are committed to listening to our residents and will widely consult with them when we have the details on the following:

“In the Manchester mayoral election, the turnout was only 25% - is there a mandate for a mayor? Greater Manchester Residents pay an extra £62 per year (band D property) to fund the Mayoralty – do Lancashire residents want to pay a mayoral precept?

“Is there additional funding for Lancashire and if so how much? A Labour MP said there was no additional funding in this spending round.

“With regards to keeping a percentage of income tax, Lancashire residents need to understand if this is additional funding to the grant paid to Lancashire or will it replace some or all the grant? And will this be an additional income tax?

“Lancashire Combined County Authority have tried to meet with the government to discuss this and have had a number of meetings cancelled, we are still waiting for a date for the next one.

“We need this information so that we can then consult with our residents to make an informed decision.”

Although the new government did not state exactly how much areas would receive from income tax, it could be a significant fundraising mechanism in Lancashire which contributes roughly £4 billion to the Exchequer through income tax each year.

Cllr Azhar Ali, who is the leader of the Progressive Lancashire opposition at Lancashire County Council, has already written to Andy Burnham to ask for the mayoral election to be brought forward.

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Last month, it was confirmed very quietly that the £1 bus fare used for nine million journeys in Lancashire would be scrapped in September.

We say quietly because no announcement was made - it was only reporting by The Lancashire Lead that made the public aware of it.

But additional transport funding for local authorities provided by Andy Burnham’s £2 bus fare cap announcement means that the £1 cap could be revisited, something that but be a very welcome boost in a cost-of-living crisis.

You can read all about that down below once you read through the 59 new routes which will see additional resurfacing work over the next 12 months.

Lancashire briefing

🚗 Dozens more roads have been added to the number that will be resurfaced by Lancashire County Council this year.

The authority decided in May that it would add £5m to the highways budget to boost the tally of pre-planned surface upgrades and “preventative” treatments carried out by next spring.

The full list of projects shows that it incorporates 59 routes across 41 individual schemes in the county council’s patch – an area that excludes Blackpool and Blackburn with Darwen.

That takes the total number of roads to be upgraded during the 2026/27 financial year to more than 160 and the overall projects to 121.

Reform UK cabinet member for highways and transport Warren Goldsworthy reiterated at a recent full council meeting a previous message that the additional projects would be determined solely by the “data” showing which routes were in need of attention – and not by councillors clamouring on behalf of their own areas.

🚖 Those roads in full are:

Burnley

• Pendle Way – extent to be determined – surface dressing

Chorley

• Lower Burgh Way – from Dale View to Burgh Hill Road roundabout and from Burgh Hill Road roundabout to Booth Avenue – resurfacing

• Peel Street/Belmont Road/Mayfield Avenue/Rivington Drive, Adlington – resurfacing

Fylde

• A584, Preston New Road – Lily Cottage to Lower Lane – resurfacing

• Lytham Road – extension of already approved scheme – resurfacing

Hyndburn

• B6237, Queens Road and Penny House Lane – from Whalley Road to Burnley Road – surface dressing

• Charter Street, Accrington – from Willows Lane to Pickup Street – surface dressing

• Lancaster Avenue and Gloucester Avenue, Accrington – from Whalley Road to Queens Road West – resurfacing

• Plantation Street/Plantation Road, Accrington – from Abbey Street to Arden Park – surface dressing

• Southwood Drive, Accrington – from Manchester Road to the end – surface dressing

Lancaster

• A6, Scotland Road – from Burton Road roundabout to Market Street traffic light junction – surface dressing

• B5273, Oxcliffe Road, Heysham – from Southgate to Westcliffe Drive – surface dressing

• B6254, Kirkby Lonsdale Road, Over Kellet – from end of C-class section to Craggs Hill – surface dressing

• Cinderbarrow Lane – from the reservoir to the bridge over the motorway – surface dressing

• Earl Street and surrounding routes, Skerton – Albert Road, Earl Street, Derby Road, Lord Street, Lune Street, Lune Terrace – resurfacing

• Hutton Roof Road, Whittington – from Cumbria boundary Saddler Nook Lane – surface dressing

• Marshaw Wyre – from the cattle grid outside Marshaw Farm to the cattle grid at the summit – resurfacing

• Mewith Lane – from Eskew Beck Bridge to Lowgill Lane – drainage issues

• Rakehouse Brow – from 100m after the cattle grid beyond Jubilee Tower to outside Emmetts Methodist Church – resurfacing

• Rose Acre Lane, – from Milnthorpe Road to Flat Lane – surface dressing

• Westgate Avenue, Morecambe – extent to be confirmed – surface dressing

Pendle

• Brogden Lane, Barnoldswick – from Bower Close to Stocks Lane – surface dressing

• Carr Hall Road, Barrowford – from Wheatley Lane Road to Carr Road – surface dressing

• Gisburn Old Road – from Barnoldswick Road to the end – surface dressing

• Knotts Lane, Colne – from the old brickworks to Shelfield Lane – surface dressing

Preston

• A6, Garstang Road – sections from Blackpool Road to Broughton roundabout – resurfacing

• Greaves Town Lane/Larches Lane/Larches Avenue, Ashton – resurfacing

• Plungington Road – from Aqueduct Street to Blackpool Rd – surface dressing

• Silk Mill Lane, Inglewhite – from Inglewhite Road to Langley Rd – resurfacing

Ribble Valley

• Bolton by Bowland Road, Bolton by Bowland – extent to be determined – surface dressing

• Clitheroe Road – from Whins Lane to A59, Clitheroe Bypass – resurfacing

• Clitheroe Road, Whalley – from Whiteacre Lane to Wisewell Lane – surface dressing

• Newton Road – from Wood End Farm to newly-laid stretch at Newton By Bowland Village – resurfacing

• Trough Road – from the cattle grid at the summit to No.1 Lancaster Cottages – resurfacing

• Trough Road – from No.1 Lancaster Cottages to Newton Road – resurfacing

Rossendale

• Rawstron Street and surrounding roads – Lloyd Street/Rawstron Street/Tong Lane/William Street – resurfacing

• Booth Road, Stacksteads – from Fearns Moss to Newchurch Road – surface dressing

• Regent Street/Bury Road, Haslingden – from A680, Blackburn Road to A680, Manchester Road – surface dressing

• Eastgate, Whitworth – from Wallbank Drive to Wallbank Drive – surface dressing

• Maden Road, Bacup – from Bankside Lane to the end – surface dressing

South Ribble

• None

West Lancashire

• None

Wyre

• Ascot Road and Aintree Road Loop and surrounding roads, Thornton-Cleveleys – Ascot Road/Aintree Road/Sandown Road stretch of Cherl Drive to house no. 39 – resurfacing

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£1 bus fare used by millions could be viable after Andy Burnham’s cap announcement

By Paul Faulkner and Luke Beardsworth

Lancashire transport bosses are assessing whether the return of the national £2 bus fare cap will enable them to reverse a price hike planned for evening and Sunday services across the county.

Since January 2023, bus passengers in Lancashire have been able to travel for a flat £1 charge after 7pm from Monday to Saturday – an offer that was extended to all day Sundays and bank holidays around 18 months later.

However, as first revealed by The Lancashire Lead last month, the Lancashire Combined County Authority (LCCA) voted to increase the discounted fare to £2 from mid-September. The devolution body heard that the £5m annual cost of delivering the scheme – under which 3.5 million £1 journeys were made between April 2025 and March 2026 – had become “unaffordable”.

No announcement of the fare being increased was made and the increase was made public only because of our reporter.

A report setting out a funding shortfall of at least £1m noted that the sustainability of the local evening and Sunday rate was dependent on the majority of bus operators in Lancashire also taking part in the voluntary, England-wide £3 fare cap. That is because the difference between the two rates largely determines how much the LCCA has to reimburse bus firms for their involvement in the county initiative.

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Since then, however, new Prime Minister Andy Burnham has announced that the nationwide cap will reduce from £3 to £2 – its original level – from next January.

That would mean the Lancashire evening and Sunday cap would be equal to the national round-the-clock limit for a single adult fare – essentially ending the latter scheme by default and offering no additional local benefit for passengers in the county.

However, should the £1 evening and Sunday rate remain in Lancashire, the difference to the national cap would be only £1, instead of the current £2 – thereby reducing the reimbursement costs for the LCCA, because a greater proportion would be covered by the government.

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Zack Polanski is in the news - and rightly so. The Instagram image he “collaborated” with on Instagram - projecting it to his significant following - that could be deemed to be calling for violence against Nigel Farage was deeply ill-advised at best.

But calls from Reform UK that Polanski be arrested have been criticised as a touch rich. When the deputy leader of Reform UK here in Lancashire behaved in the same manner - they took no action against him.

There is quite clearly a reluctance - from multiple parties - to draw a line under this sort of message and behaviour with appropriate action and that needs to change. But Reform UK are on shaky ground if they want to call foul on this topic.

Lancashire briefing

🏠 A ‘deeply unpopular’ plan for new homes on farmland near a Lancashire village, which raised over 200 objections, has been refused.

The application for 85 homes – including 25 affordable ones – at Balderstone in the Ribble Valley has been rejected by councillors, despite developers asking for extra time to look at late information sent to the council.

Ribble Valley Borough Council received 240 objections to the outline housing plan for land south of Causeway Farm at Longsight Road, Balderstone. Three parish councils also objected.

People’s fears included the impact on green space, extra traffic and the loss of individual village identities. Balderstone Parish Council said the number of houses would have a ‘profound effect’ on the area’s character. The estate would be ‘incongruous, insular and lack any integrated relationship with the villages of Mellor Brook, Osbaldeston or Mellor’.

🩺 Lancashire NHS bosses are staying tight-lipped about the likelihood of Chorley and South Ribble Hospital’s A&E department reopening 24 hours a day – after the government revealed local leaders were considering “evidence” for the move.

It emerged earlier this month that a feasibility study had been conducted into restoring a round-the-clock service at the facility, which has been operating part-time for almost a decade.

A question-and-answer session in the Commons heard that the findings were being assessed by the Lancashire and South Cumbria Integrated Board (ICB).

However, when asked about that process, the organisation – which is responsible for commissioning health services in the region – pointed instead towards its implementation of long-term national plans to reduce the number of people requiring emergency care in the first place.

Meanwhile, campaigners who have spent the last 10 years calling for the reinstatement of a 24-hour emergency department at the Euxton Lane site have warned that it would have to be fully staffed and properly funded before it would win their backing.

🗳️ One of the top-rated GP surgeries in Burnley is set for a major overhaul that will effectively double it in size and allow it to see more patients, after receiving approval from the town’s planning committee.

Burnley Wood Medical Centre on Parliament Street can now go-ahead with building a large single storey extension on its North-facing side, allowing for four additional consultation rooms and a training area for its staff.

Alongside this, the practice’s 6900 patients will notice a revamped entrance, reception and waiting room when the work is completed, with the whole extension being built out of similar materials to the already existing structure.

But while the approved application to expand Burnley Wood Medical Centre, was approved at committee, the improvements were not uncontroversial.

Five objections from nearby residents and ward Cllr Jeff Sumner (Reform UK) were submitted in response to the application, raising concerns about a loss of privacy, the extension’s ‘overbearing impact’ on nearby homes, and its consequent increased demand for parking.

Reform UK accused of hypocrisy over Polanski controversy after failing to take action against deputy leader in Lancashire

By Luke Beardsworth

A senior Green politician in Lancashire has accused Reform UK of hypocrisy for the way it has handled the controversy surrounding Zack Polanski.

The Green Party’s leader Zack Polanski is under investigation by the Met Police after sharing an image which showed a man wearing a black T-shirt with the words “we’re only making plans for Nigel”, alongside a photograph of a guillotine, in clear reference to Nigel Farage.

Farage was quick to respond and said: “If I was to post anything as inciteful then I would expect to be arrested, and so should Polanski.”

And Zia Yusuf, Reform UK donor and spokesperson for home affairs, said it was ‘inciting murder’.

The Met Police has said that it is investigating the matter. The Green Party said the post, shared as a collaboration post on Instagram, was deleted when Polanski became aware of it.

Cllr Gabie Lowe, 24 and leader of the Green Party at Preston City Council, said that Polanski was right to delete the post but accused Reform UK of hypocrisy.

This is because when Reform UK’s deputy leader at Lancashire County Council, Cllr Simon Evans, shared a post calling for Labour MP Natalie Fleet to be shot, the party called it an ‘honest mistake’.

Cllr Lowe told The Lancashire Lead: “Accepting the tag request was very ill judged, and I believe that Zack was right to delete it and apologise. It is so important that we are all careful over what we post online, especially given recent events.

“There is, however, a blatant hypocrisy in the way the right wing are reacting to this. When they can hail Lucy Connolly as a hero of free speech, and when the Reform UK deputy leader of Lancashire County Council can face no consequences for sharing a post which called for a Labour politician to be shot, their reaction seems disproportionate.”

It is worth noting that Polanski’s comment came directly from the Green Party spokesperson rather than Polanski himself.

Reform UK took no action locally or nationally over the posts from Cllr Simon Evans, although The Lancashire Lead understands he was given formal advice by Lancashire Constabulary.

He posted an apology to his Facebook account when the incident occurred in February, but it has since been deleted.

For Reform UK local councillors, the difference between the two incidents is in the profile of the politicians involved and how recent the murder of Ann Widdecombe is.

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On Thursday, it was reported that the four new authorities that will run services in Lancashire had been named. And so they have, by the government. But local councils will be able to put forward alternatives that they agree on - if they can agree on them - by 17 August.

That point about the option for councils to suggest names they feel better suited was not part of the original reporting - and Lancashire County Council took the unusual step to publicly correct the record rather than accepting the reporter make the amendment to his story.

The decision to do that was an odd one - especially as the journalist in question was Paul Faulkner. He’s widely-regarded as a hard working, extremely conscientious and professional reporter who endears himself to almost everyone he comes across. But even the publication of that statement was a meal with many cooks - as today’s edition will show.

It will be the case that some of the councils put forward alternative names to the four the government has either bestowed or inflicted on the county depending on your viewpoint. Some of them will not. We’ve looked into the most likely outcomes based on the conversations we’ve had with senior politicians this week.

Lancashire briefing

🏠 Councillors in Hyndburn have finalised an important document that designates certain parts of the borough for development over the next 14 years – despite the fact it won’t exist.

The final 2040 Local Plan was given near unanimous approval at a full meeting of Hyndburn Council on Thursday night, with only Reform UK’s Cllr Anthony Mitchell voting against it. Though, many others had reservations about certain aspects of the blueprint.

With 3686 homes targeted to be built across the borough over that period, some councillors raised issues with certain allocations of land in their own patches, but ultimately agreed with the plan. In part because the alternative could be much worse.

This is because finding and allocating land for housing or business is one of the biggest responsibilities that local authorities have, as these plans are used to guide developers when they are looking for suitable plots to build on and shape the future appearance of Hyndburn.

Notably, failure to allocate this land and meet government-set targets for housebuilding would essentially result in the council losing its ability to refuse development in parts of the borough where the authority does not want to build.

✈️ A tech-focused development branded a “once in a generation” opportunity to transform Lancashire’s economy has been given the green light.

The £13.2m Samlesbury Innovation Hub aims to attract a cluster of businesses specialising in the aerospace, defence, advanced manufacturing, engineering, cyber and technology sectors.

Based within the Samlesbury Enterprise Zone, it has previously been estimated the hub will help secure 1,500 jobs indirectly related to the new National Cyber Force (NCF) headquarters on the wider site.

The roles are expected to have salaries “almost twice the current Lancashire average”, a meeting of Lancashire County Council’s cabinet was told last year.

The project is being showcased at this week’s Farnborough International Airshow as part of a BAE Systems stand hosting the North West Regional Defence and Security Cluster.

📮 Nine Lancashire Post Office services will close this week – and there is no indication of when, or even if, they will ever reopen.

The branch at Burscough Bridge is shutting its doors indefinitely on Wednesday afternoon (22 July) for what the Post Office has described as “operational reasons”.

However, the closure will have a knock-on effect across West Lancashire and beyond, because the Liverpool Road North outlet also delivers part-time ‘outreach services’ in places that do not have a fully-fledged Post Office facility.

It means that the shutters will also come down on satellite branches – which usually operate from community buildings for just a few hours a week – in Rufford, Banks, Moss, Bescar Lane and Haskayne, all in West Lancashire; Salesbury in Ribble Valley; Belmont, in Blackburn with Darwen; and Trawden, in Pendle. Three other outreach units outside of Lancashire will also be affected.

An alternative to the Burscough Bridge branch can be found just under a mile away on Square Lane. However, users of several of the Lancashire outreach facilities will have to travel between two and almost four miles to find a Post Office counter – some of which provide fewer services than those that are closing.

The Post Office says it will “continue to work hard to restore services in the area as soon as possible” – and has also appealed for “potential retail partners interested in running a branch locally” to come forward.

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What’s in a name? Councils set for rapid negotiations over official titles for new authorities

By Luke Beardsworth

Lancashire’s councils have three weeks to come to a rare consensus on names for the four new authorities that will cover the county from 2028.

If they cannot come to an agreement on a preferred alternative by 17 August, the names will be North Lancashire Council, South Lancashire Council, Fylde Coast Council and Pennine Lancashire Council.

The matter is set to be discussed at a strategic board meeting in Lancashire next week when alternatives could be put forward, but the government has said it would only consider any “unanimous” proposals for changes.

The names will not officially be instituted until the legislative process to establish the new authorities has been completed in Parliament next year.

Once they are operational, the replacement councils will have the same power as all local authorities to change their names via a vote of their memberships, should they wish to do so at any time.

Possible names were put forward for all of the councils that could have been created under the five proposed reconfigurations that Lancashire submitted to ministers last November – initially just by those authorities that backed each option. Later, the existing councils offered their opinions on how any new authority that might be adopted in their area should be identified.

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The new councils will be responsible for delivering all local services in their enlarged areas, ending the current two-tier split between Lancashire County Council and the 12 district authorities in the county. The four will each be all-service ‘unitary’ councils, as the existing Blackpool and Blackburn with Darwen councils have been since 1998.

The county council, the dozen districts and the two current unitaries will all cease to exist on 31 March, 2028.

“This isn’t accurate.”

Lancashire County Council took the unusual step to publicly correct reporting by the very well-respected journalist Paul Faulkner this week.

The original article, which was published on the Lancashire Post and the BBC on Thursday (23 July) confirmed the new names for the four councils but did not include details of action the leaders could take to change those names.

The story was later corrected.

The statement, published after articles had been corrected, reads: “You may have seen reports in the media today that the names of the four new unitary councils for Lancashire have been confirmed.

“This isn’t accurate.

“The names that have been reported have been taken from the successful proposal for four unitary councils, which the government announced was its preferred option last week.

“Councils in Lancashire have until 17 August to respond to MHCLG on preferred names – and we’ll keep residents informed when we’ve agreed those names.”

While the statement was published by Lancashire County Council, The Lancashire Lead has learned that it came as a result of lobbying from some of the chief executives and council leaders of Lancashire’s lower tier authorities.

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A son coming to terms with the death of his father was chased for £345 by Lancashire County Council - who even brought in the debt collectors to recover the cash.

They declined to say how much they spent to recover the money.

Kevin’s son Matt says that his dad worked for the County Council for more than ten years - and the first contact he had from then upon his death is when he received an invoice.

It was only when The Lancashire Lead got in touch that the money owed was dropped.

Lancashire briefing

🖼️ A historic Lancaster museum could be revamped with wider content from across the district and better experiences for visitors, if a £5m heritage lottery bid is successful.

Staff at Lancaster City Museum, which includes the King’s Own Royal Regiment Museum, are working on a National Lottery Heritage Fund bid to upgrade the site, which dates back to the 1780s and was Lancaster’s original town hall.

The museum is seen as out-dated in parts and suffers problems including damp. Yet it is also popular and has huge potential for the future, supporters say. It is also seen as vital for the wider city centre economy and for promoting tourism across the district including Morecambe.

Now, museum staff are working on the lottery funding bid, backed by Lancaster City Council.

🗣️ People living in the borough of Hyndburn can now ask questions of their elected representative, after councillors voted unanimously to allow greater public scrutiny of their actions.

Under rules that have been in place since 2017, residents could previously only ask questions at Hyndburn Borough Council meetings by submitting their queries five working days in advance.

These would then be read out by the Mayor at the meeting, with no further input from the questioner. But this has now changed following a reversal in the policy agreed on Thursday (July 16).

From now on, local residents can ask their questions directly to their representatives, with only a few restrictions. But while every councillor present backed the rule change, there was some disagreement in the chamber over who could take credit.

🍺 A community pub that struggled to attract a new landlord after closing its doors to the public is set to become a new mosque.

The Hare and Hounds on Lammack Road in Blackburn poured its last pint in October 2025, after continued attempts to turn the 226-year-old pub into a profit-generating business failed.

Its newly-approved conversion into a religious building will be the final nail in the coffin of the town’s historic Duttons Brewery, as the Hare and Hounds was among the first major pubs in its empire and upon its closure, was its last still standing.

But following a meeting of Blackburn with Darwen Council’s Planning and Highways Committee, the vacant pub property has been approved for a conversion into a place of worship.

The Lammack Community Association, backed by the EG Group’s Issa brothers, worked with Urban Future Planning to submit a proposal for the empty site in January, after outgrowing their small religious premises on the other side of the road.

Lancashire County Council sends debt recovery agency after grieving son to collect just £345

By Michael Holmes

A grieving son was hounded for £345 after the death of his father - by the county council where he spent more than a decade labouring.

Kevin Winder, 62, died from a heart attack mid-August last year and, just weeks later, his son Matt received a demand from Lancashire County Council for pension money that had been paid for the rest of the month.

The debt was later passed to bailiffs, leaving Matt, 26, furious that officials were chasing what he called a “nominal amount” from an estate with no real assets while he and his loved ones were still coming to terms with their sudden loss.

“There’s been no ounce of sympathy from them,” Matt said. “My dad gave them 10-plus years of physical labour and the first thing they send me is an invoice.”

After being contacted by The Lancashire Lead, the authority apologised and said it would cancel the debt.

“We understand that dealing with financial matters after the death of a loved one can be a difficult experience, and we always aim to communicate with sensitivity and respect,” a spokesperson said.

Kevin, of Kimberley Avenue in South Shore, left the county council in the late 1990s after working his way up to head groundskeeper over the course of 10 to 15 years, Matt said.

When neck problems began to make manual work too painful, Kevin moved into IT.

After getting a degree, he was employed in data analytics at the Department for Work and Pensions at Peel Park before retiring in 2024 and taking a part-time role at Marks & Spencer at Blackpool Victoria Hospital.

He was in his local pub, the Farmer’s Arms in Lytham Road, when he collapsed and died last summer.

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To those of you expecting today’s edition to focus on the fallout from this week’s local government reorganisation announcement for Lancashire, please accept my sincere apologies.

I have dedicated the entirety of today’s Lancashire briefing to the topic and will continue to unpick the matter in future editions.

Instead, we look to the debate on a motion calling for proper recognition and support for the national inquiry examining the failures in protecting victims of child sexual exploitation by grooming gangs.

An amendment put forward by Progressive Lancashire led to a response from a Reform UK cabinet member that would later be described as ‘the most appalling tirade ever heard in a Council chamber’.

There are calls for him to resign or be removed. That has not happened. Before reporting on this matter, it’s important to state that there was no evidence put forward for the accusations made by the cabinet member and that the cabinet member himself later admitted he had overstepped the line.

His apology is here at the top - his original rant is in the main article below the briefing.

Lancashire briefing - LGR special

🌹 The government has explained its decision to split Lancashire into four new council areas under its local government reorganisation plans.

Local government secretary Steve Reed cited the importance of reflecting each county’s “distinct local identities”.

In a letter to leaders in Lancashire, he said: “My selected option creates new councils that are more clearly rooted in the distinct local identities across the area.

“I judge that the strength of this proposal lies in the fact that it provides for sensible geographies that will be more easily recognised by residents, encompassing Lancashire’s varied identities, including the post-industrial towns of ‘Pennine Lancashire’, the rural and market town areas of ‘North Lancashire’ and ‘South Lancashire’, and the coastal communities of the ‘Fylde Coast’.

“This configuration will better ensure that the different economic, social and cultural characteristics of these areas are meaningfully reflected in the priorities of these new councils.”

➡️ Concerns in East Lancashire stem from the idea that five local authorities with high deprivation will be put together. They are Blackburn with Darwen, Hyndburn, Pendle, Burnley and Rossendale.

Oliver Ryan, Labour MP for Burnley, told Reed in the Commons: “I can’t support this, Burnley will not stand for being part of greater Blackburn. The HQ of this new authority must not be in Blackburn.

“The accountable officer must not be a Blackburner, and our people, our bondholders, our culture, our businesses, and our communities cannot be steamrolled and forgotten in this way.”

Adnan Hussein, independent MP for Blackburn, said: “Many people will see these proposals as concentrating some of Lancashire’s most deprive communities into one authority while separating them from neighbouring areas that could strengthen its economic and financial base.”

⬆️ The North Lancashire plan - the grouping of Preston, Lancaster and Ribble Valley - has broadly been met with a positive response. It is, after all, what they all put forward.

But Sir Mark Hendrick, MP for Preston, made a rare public statement and told the Preston City Council leader: “From your publically expressed wishes for a “Greater Preston” in Dec 2024, we are now seeing the absorption of Preston and Central Lancashire into a new North Lancashire Authority. A reverse takeover if there ever was one. This is a ‘fig leaf’ of a solution you opted for, after your climb down from a “Greater Preston” model.”

The South Lancashire grouping of South Ribble, Chorley and West Lancashire has likewise been met with broad approval. Again, this was the preferred outcome for those three authorities.

⬅️ The West Lancashire plan, which rather confusingly does not include the West Lancashire authority, is a little more complicated.

Blackpool had called for the authority to include Preston, and cut Wyre in half. They acknowledged it was the hardest to implement. The Labour council leader Lynn Williams has said she is disappointed, but in an unusual turn of events, the Conservative opposition leader is much more supportive of the Labour government plans.

Less supportive is long-time opponent of local government reorganisation in Conservative MP for Fylde Andrew Snowden.

He said: "I am furious. This is going to throw Lancashire into chaos. We have made our voices clear. We don’t want this. Fylde and Wyre will be used as cash cows to pay for the £500 million of debt that the Labour party has racked up running Blackpool Council.”

Which rather overlooks the £1.2bn of debt his Conservative colleagues built at Lancashire County Council.

Calls for Reform UK cabinet member to step down after ‘most appalling tirade’ at full council

By Luke Beardsworth

A Reform UK cabinet member was forced to apologise after a rant that one party leader described as ‘the most appalling tirade I have ever heard in a council chamber’.

Cllr Matthew Salter, cabinet member for education and skills, appeared to accuse all opposition party members at Lancashire County Council in being complicit in the cover up of the horrendous crimes committed by grooming gangs at a meeting of Full Council on Thursday (18 July).

He would later apologise and withdraw the comments - though that in itself was not without over an hour of debate as to what the wording of the apology should be. Cllr Salter is not expected to resign despite calls from various members of the opposition.

It came during the debate on a motion by Reform UK Cllr Ellie Close which acknowledged systemic failures in responding to child sexual exploitation by grooming gangs and called on the council to be supportive in helping the inquiry come to a full and accurate picture.

But it was a suggested amendment by Cllr Michael Lavalette, from Progressive Lancashire, which sought to add the line that “child sexual abuse takes place at all levels in society, in all communities and all victims need support” which triggered the outburst.

Cllr Salter, reading from his phone in response, felt that this was unreasonably moving the terms of the debate and said that girls were failed ‘because of that attitude’.

He said, with his voice often fluctuating dramatically in pitch, that Cllr Lavalette and Progressive Lancashire, and all of the other opposition councillors, should be ashamed of themselves.

He continued: “The reality is yes, all sexual abuse is wrong, is immoral, is awful, is evil. But it’s people like yourself doing everything you can to cover up the abuse of these young girls to grooming gangs. And we are saying ‘no more!’.”

Cllr Azhar Ali, leader of the Progressive Lancashire, stood to say: “If he thinks he’s in a theatre, he’s not. He’s a cabinet member making accusations which are wrong. If he’s got evidence - put up or shut up.”

Cllr Salter did shut up. But it was not the end of a display at Lancashire County Council that another party leader would later describe to us as ‘unhinged’.

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The move will effectively merge large swathes of Lancashire that were previously covered by separate councils.

The government has been mulling over five suggestions for the number, size and shape of the new authorities to be created after it ordered the biggest council shake-up in the county for more than 50 years.

An official announcement is due on Thursday, with council leaders expected to be briefed beforehand.

However, ministers have chosen one of two four-council configurations that were under consideration – rejecting the other, as well as proposals to split the county into two, three or five new authorities.

The selected option will see new standalone councils established that will combine, for local governance purposes:

• Preston, Lancaster and Ribble Valley;

• Chorley, South Ribble and West Lancashire;

• Blackpool, Fylde and Wyre;

• Blackburn with Darwen, Burnley, Hyndburn, Rossendale and Pendle.

The chosen arrangement was the one that had received the most backing from existing councils, which had each been asked to come up with suggestions for their replacements.

The now approved set-up was supported by Chorley, Lancaster, Preston, Ribble Valley, South Ribble and West Lancashire councils.

Together, in their business case for the proposal, they argued each new, so-called ‘unitary’ authority would be “large enough to be financially secure and stable but small enough to remain responsive to local needs and ensure fair access to democracy”.

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Even taking a “cautious approach”, they said they expected to achieve cumulative net savings of £194.9m across the four councils, with recurring annual benefits of £81.9m from 2032/33 onwards.

Meanwhile, it was estimated that the council tax rates paid by households in the existing local authority areas could shift – theoretically in either direction – under their new council by between one and 10.9 percent.

The new authorities – whose names will be agreed at a later date – will provide all council services in their area. They will formally come into being on 1st April, 2028, but will exist in shadow form from May 2027 when their first elections will be held.

The 15 current councils will continue to operate until 31st March, 2028 when all of them – Lancashire County Council and the authorities for Blackburn with Darwen, Blackpool, Burnley, Chorley, Fylde, Hyndburn, Lancaster, Pendle, Preston, Ribble Valley, Rossendale, South Ribble, West Lancashire and Wyre – will be written into history.

The government had initially said that the new authorities should cover populations of around 500,000 people – which would have required Lancashire to be divided into three.

However, ministers later indicated that they would be prepared to be flexible over the figures so that the new councils made geographic and practical sense.

The ones that got away

Blackpool Council had also backed a four-way split, but along different lines, which would have seen it merge with Preston, Fylde and a small part of Wyre, with the other authorities made up of: Chorley, South Ribble and West Lancashire; Blackburn with Darwen, Burnley, Hyndburn, Pendle, southernmost Ribble Valley and Rossendale; and Lancaster, most of Ribble Valley [excluding Clitheroe and southernmost areas] and eastern and northern Wyre.

Lancashire County Council had sought to cut the county into two huge northern and southern authorities, with the River Ribble broadly being the dividing line between them.

Blackburn with Darwen, Fylde, Hyndburn, Rossendale and Wyre councils had pushed for a three-authority option that would have bound together: Blackpool, Fylde, Lancaster and Wyre; Chorley, Preston, South Ribble and West Lancashire; and Blackburn with Darwen, Burnley, Hyndburn, Pendle, Ribble Valley and Rossendale.

Meanwhile, Burnley and Pendle councils had proposed a five-council split, with Burnley being particularly keen to avoid any tie-up with Blackburn. Their suggested authorities would have combined: Blackpool, Fylde and Preston; Chorley, South Ribble and West Lancashire; Blackburn with Darwen, Hyndburn, Ribble Valley; Lancaster and Wyre; and Burnley, Rossendale and Pendle.

What does it all mean?

The government’s decision formally sets the clock ticking on 14 Lancashire council areas that have existed in their current geographical form since 1974.

It also brings the axe into view over Lancashire County Council, which dates back to 1889, across a far broader patch than it covers today.

The replacement councils will be responsible for delivering all council services in their area ending the current ’two-tier’ system that operates across most of Lancashire.

At the moment, responsibilities are divided between the county council and the dozen district authorities – Burnley, Chorley, Fylde, Hyndburn, Lancaster, Pendle, Preston, Ribble Valley, Rossendale, South Ribble, West Lancashire and Wyre.

County Hall looks after major services including adult and children’s social care, roads, transport and schools, while the districts take care of the likes of waste collection, housing, parks and the majority of planning applications.

The new arrangement will create a handful of standalone authorities that deliver all local services, in the same way that the unitary councils of Blackpool and Blackburn with Darwen already do.

The changes will see the number of councillors across Lancashire slashed from the almost 700 that currently have seats on the upper and second-tier authorities – to anything between 198 and 313, depending on the chosen configuration.

The current set-up has been in place in Lancashire since the last major shake-up in 1974, with the only shift since being when Blackpool and Blackburn with Darwen became unitaries in 1998.

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Local politics will never be the same.

It will still be a place where some councillors look more like influencers, such is their style of posting and follower count. It will still be a place where some are elected and rarely heard from for the next four years. It will still be a place where councillors really do go above and beyond to look after people in their area. And it will still be a place where individuals doing their best will catch a world of online hurt for failings that they have little power to change compared to their national counterparts.

But our local authority borders will look very different. Place names like “South Ribble” and “Hyndburn” may be on borrowed time, although not if South Ribble has anything to say about it. There will be a big batch of all-out elections which means the political make-up of the county will likely change dramatically. And whatever comes back from London in regards to how local government reorganisation affects Lancashire - plenty of people will be unhappy.

An announcement is expected on Thursday this week - but your local councils will know later today. Don’t expect it to remain a secret for long.

In today’s edition, we look at some of the playground-like jostling for mates behind the process and then rate each of the five options on how likely we think they are. We will likely be proved wrong by midday.

Lancashire briefing

🚄 The government is being urged to make a regional outpost of one of its biggest departments the centrepiece of a long-planned transformation of Preston city centre.

A vision for the regeneration of an area branded the ‘Station Quarter’ – based around the Fishergate Shopping Centre – was first unveiled back in 2022.

The first phase of the proposal – for which formal plans were submitted to Preston City Council last December – would see the creation of five office blocks on the current car park of the retail facility. The buildings – between nine and 15 storeys tall – would offer the kind of ‘Grade A’ office space Preston is deemed to lack.

During a debate in Parliament last month about investment in Lancashire, Ribble Valley MP Maya Ellis – whose constituency covers northern Preston and parts of South Ribble near the city – asked the government whether it would “progress the office relocation requirements of His Majesty’s Revenue and Customs (HMRC) as an anchor tenant to bring forward a new office quarter around Preston station”.

Her question did not get a direct answer, but was one of several seemingly designed to put specific investment opportunities on the government’s radar.

🏠 A plan for 200 homes in Clitheroe will spoil the market town’s rural character and increase pressure on local roads, doctors and schools, objectors fear.

There are also worries that too many new houses are being built around Clitheroe, meaning the loss of important farmland.

However, developers behind the plan for land north of Pendle Road, near the A59, say it be well-designed with much-needed new homes include affordable ones.

Ribble Valley Borough Council is dealing with the outline application from Richborough Estates. But a number of objectors have sent their views to the council. They say new housing estates elsewhere on Pendle Road, Halfpenny Meadows and the Henthorn area are already changing the town.

Clitheroe Town Council has not objected but has traffic concerns and suggested a pedestrian crossing should be considered for Pendle Road. The NHS has suggested the developer pay £130,000 towards expanding services at Clitheroe Health Centre. But on education, Lancashire County Council has not requested any contribution towards local schools.

The applicant, Richborough Estates, working with Savills estate agents, says the Pendle Road scheme will be well-designed and the site is a good location. In their planning papers, they say 5.6 hectares of land will be used for new homes and 3.5 hectares for open areas, children’s play space and landscaping.

Biggest shake-up in Lancashire’s local government history to be confirmed this week

By Luke Beardsworth

One of the biggest announcements in Lancashire’s local government history will be formally published on Thursday - though it would be an achievement if it does not leak before.

Ministers are expected to deliver a decision on the size and shape of the new authorities that will be created as replacements for the 15 main councils set to be abolished.

Under the government-ordered shake-up, Lancashire County Council and the local authorities for Blackburn with Darwen, Blackpool, Burnley, Chorley, Fylde, Hyndburn, Lancaster, Pendle, Preston, Ribble Valley, Rossendale, South Ribble, West Lancashire and Wyre will all be scrapped.

In their place – from April 2028 – will come anything between two and five new councils that will cover much larger areas than all of their predecessors bar the county council.

The existing authorities were last year asked by the government to redraw the council map for Lancashire by suggesting how many new bodies should replace them – and which districts should be combined to create the new-look local authority landscape.

As has always been the case, the 15 councils failed to agree on a single proposal. They failed to even come close to agreeing on a single proposal, in fact, and so five options and 800 pages of documentation were put forward.

Government guidance indicated that the new authorities should cover populations of around 500,000 people. Lancashire’s population is approximately 1.5 million, which would have made a three-way split the only option – but the county’s leaders were later told that ministers would be flexible over size in order to ensure the new authorities made geographical and practical sense.

There is no guarantee that the government will choose one of the five options put forward - they all have their strengths and weaknesses - and so it is feasible the government will announce something different altogether.

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Your local councils are expected to publish the decision on Thursday (16 July) - but they will be informed by today (15 July). You can make your own mind up on how likely it is to be kept under wraps.

One council fits all?

Most Lancashire has been operating under a two-tier system (not that kind, Reform readers), which will now come to an end. It means that the council services in your area have been provided by two different councils.

Years of covering local politics and elections have taught me that this is a confusing way of doing things. People tend to associate themselves with the lower-tier councils (such as South Ribble, Wyre, Pendle and so on).

That makes sense as they are closest to home, but it does mean that when the roads are bad, the wrong council often gets it in the neck. The number of councillors sitting across both tiers of local government - and claiming two sets of allowances in some instances - only makes it more confusing.

Local government reorganisation, if nothing else, removes that issue entirely.

Do you wanna be in my gang?

The authorities being given the power to put forward their own suggestions is likely the right thing to do. But so often, the process started to resemble school playground cliques.

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On 25 June, Kerry Coombes was killed in an incident at a level crossing at Station Road in Hoghton where a train struck her car. Her daughter was left in a critical condition.

British Transport Police has launched a criminal investigation into the incident, and asked the public not to speculate. They have not commented on the matter in over a fortnight.

But that has not stopped concern over the safety of the crossing, which boils down to the following:

• It is a half barrier level crossing with a small window between barriers lowering and the train passing.

• There are reports that the lights flash without barriers lowering on a somewhat regular basis.

• There is little need for the crossing given how straightforward it is to walk or drive around it via the A675.

A petition has now been launched calling for the crossing to close. You can sign that here if you like.

And Sir Lindsay Hoyle, the MP for the area which is home to the crossing, has told us that Network Rail must take the concerns seriously.

Lancashire briefing

🌹 Lancashire County Council has been left disappointed after the county as a whole was snubbed in its 14 bids to be shortlisted for the first ever UK Town of Culture.

Fifteen towns were selected from 398 bids in total but ultimately places like Ilfracombe in North Devon, Great Yarmouth and Grimsby got the nod over the likes of Leyland, Blackburn, Lytham and Burnley.

Each town listed will receive £60,000 towards developing a full bid.

Cllr Ella Worthington, Reform UK’s cabinet member for Civic Pride, Lancashire County Council, told The Lancashire Lead: “While we’re naturally disappointed that no Lancashire towns have been shortlisted for the UK’s first Town of Culture competition, we’re proud of the ambition, creativity and community spirit shown by all those involved in developing bids from across the county.

“Given the level of interest from towns across the country, this was always going to be a highly competitive process. We’d like to thank the local partnerships, organisations, volunteers and residents who dedicated their time and energy to developing the bids and championing their communities.

“Strengthening civic pride is an important priority for Lancashire County Council, and we remain committed to celebrating and supporting the people, places and communities that make Lancashire special.”

🍷 Bosses at a bar accused of failing to tackle music disturbance and bad customer behaviour say it could close if late-night hours for DJs and live acts are cut.

Jabber Khan and Naseem Khan of The Aviary, in Whalley, say they have spent thousands on new sound-control equipment and insulation to cut the noise impact on neighbours.

Some locals say their lives have been ruined by noise and police say the venue has effectively become a nightclub, unsuited to a residential area with terraced streets.

The Aviary was the focus of a premises license review at Ribble Valley Council this week, attended by owners Jabber Khan and Naseem Khan, with Chelsea Chard, the designated supervisor.

Complaints from residents began in 2021 and have continued, but Jabber Khan said: “I feel some comments make us sound a lot worse than the reality. We do not have any fighting, which is common in other licensed premises. There are also reports of vomit and urine on the street. But there is another busy venue nearby. We are not responsible for their customers. We also stop taxis from driving down Queen Street. We’re doing the best we can.

“Yes, we understand the noise issues and we want to work with people on this. Our old sound monitor did not measure bass levels. But we have a new limiter which cuts the sound, if bass goes over a certain level. You are welcome to see it.”

Police Sgt Stephen Dundon said police had 71 reports linked to The Aviary since 2023. The police were not suggesting fighting or serious crime . The issues were noise disturbance and low-level anti-social behaviour.

He said: ” Jabber has conceded that door-staff get abuse when asking customers to be quiet or not smoke. Despite all the interactions, police say there is a sustained problem with music noise, customer behaviour and the management of customers leaving.

“We acknowledge The Aviary has made some changes. But we have limited confidence that they can address the issues. Councillors need to take robust action. The police say Queen Street is not a place for a nightclub. So we need to consider limits to deal with these issues, once and for all.”

Councillors were recommended to consider reducing the hours for amplified music and potentially removing Miss Chard from the supervisor role. They will announce their decision in five days and anyone wishing to appeal will have 21 days.

🎵 The government has rejected criticism of its response to calls for support to secure the future of Preston’s Guild Hall.

BID managing director Mark Whittle denounced the fact that requests for engagement over how to save or replace the mothballed venue – which have included letters from the MPs for Preston and Ribble Valley to Culture Secretary Lisa Nandy – have been redirected towards the Arts Council. A 3,300-signature petition organised by the news site Blog Preston has been met with an identikit response.

However, the Department for Culture, Media and Sport has now defended that approach.

It said: "“Arts Council England is the public body responsible for arts venues and it is absolutely right that they are the first point of contact when seeking support.

“We are committed to supporting cultural venues and we are ensuring that theatres are able to thrive across the country through our £425m Creative Foundations Fund, which will support approximately 300 capital projects in arts venues [nationwide], as part of the £1.5bn Arts Everywhere Fund.

“This is in addition to a five percent uplift this financial year for National Portfolio Organisations, which will help deliver high quality arts and cultural activity in every region of the country.”

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Half barrier level crossings generate significant public risk, says Network Rail’s own assessment

By Luke Beardsworth

Half-barrier level crossings like the one where beloved Lancashire mum Kerry Coombes was killed are a significant public risk, according to Network Rail’s own safety guidance.

Kerry, 33, was a mother, daughter, sister and partner who was killed in an incident at the Station Road level crossing in Hoghton on 25 June.

Kerry was a Lancashire County Council social worker and a coach and committee member at Lostock Hall Juniors Football Club. Her death left a community in mourning and over £13,000 was raised to support her loved ones in the aftermath.

Her daughter, who was eight, was taken to hospital in a critical condition.

In the aftermath, British Transport Police launched a criminal investigation into the incident. They have, so far, refused to answer The Lancashire Lead’s questions on who is being investigated and on suspicion of what crimes.

Both Network Rail, who manage the crossings, and the government’s Rail Accident Investigation Branch, are involved in the investigation. The Lancashire Lead understands that a nearby resident has passed CCTV footage of the incident to British Transport Police.

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But Network Rail’s own assessment of automatic half barrier level crossings - such as the one in place at Station Road in Hoghton - says that the crossings generate ‘a proportionally high level of risk’.

According to their own figures, the crossing type accounts for just 6% of the network but carries 32% of the risk.

The safety report, seen by The Lancashire Lead and published well before the incident in Hoghton, says:

There is now a petition calling on Network Rail and Lancashire County Council to close the level crossing.

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Nigel Farage stole the headlines with his hissy fit resignation as an MP, intending to put the decision about his future to the public rather than wait for the outcome of any investigation into his financial arrangements. Zoe at our national edition focused her Tuesday column on the news.

But there was political drama of a Lancashire kind after Reform UK - a party that has benefitted plenty from defections from the Conservatives - saw its first County Hall exit in the opposite direction.

Describing Reform UK - nationally, at least - as a party of protest, the councillor returns to the party he was a member of for many years before the 2025 elections.

Lancashire briefing

🗳️ The Reform UK group that runs Lancashire County Council says Nigel Farage has done “the right thing” by quitting as an MP to trigger a parliamentary by-election.

Cllr Simon Evans, the deputy leader at County Hall, backed his national party leader’s decision to resign as the member for Clacton – and then stand in the resultant content. He said the “political establishment” was trying to bring Mr. Farage down.

His comments came as Prime Minister Sir Keir Starmer described the by-election move as a “desperate stunt”, Conservative leader Kemi Badenoch branded it a “hissy fit” and the Liberal Democrats said they would boycott the poll – a stance since backed by the Tories.

🚗 The search is on for a new six-figure highways chief for Lancashire as the current boss has quit.

Matt Townsend, director of highways and transport at Lancashire County Council, is moving on after just two years in post.

The county council confirmed he was moving to a ‘more senior leadership role with another local authority’, which The Lancashire Lead understands to be Essex County Council.

Townsend was described as ‘ambitious’ by everyone The Lancashire Lead has spoken with, pointing towards an exit more to do with making career progress than the state of the county’s roads.

🎭 People in a Rossendale town are calling for a controversial pagoda-style events space, said to have cost £55,000, to be moved.

Critics say the red-roofed structure in a Waterfoot town centre car park is hampering customers trying to visit local businesses, has no planning permission and impacts on elderly residents nearby.

The pagoda – also described as a pergola – has been used to test different events and to help create a new Waterfoot ‘town square’ in a car park behind Burnley Road East. The aim is to boost events, regeneration and tourism.

Waterfoot is the focus of some recent or new government-funded schemes, as are some other towns in Rossendale. But critics say the pergola raises questions about local consultation and how government cash is spent locally.

Now, they have delivered a petition, signed by 1,400 people, about their concerns to Rossendale Council.

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Councillor defects away from Reform UK slamming group as ‘party of protest’

By Luke Beardsworth

Lancashire County Council has one Reform UK councillor fewer after the defection of one of their members.

Cllr Leon Graham, who represents West Lancashire West, has rejoined the Conservatives after initially leaving the party in 2023.

And in doing so, he took a swipe at his former party at a national level - saying it is clear the Nigel Farage-fronted Reform UK is a ‘party of protest’ rather than one ready to govern. He added that the party has had ‘some successes’ in Lancashire.

It marks the first defection at County Hall since the 2025 elections, despite persistent rumours that some may quit Reform UK to join Restore that have so far come to nothing.

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His former West Lancashire stablemate, and Reform UK deputy leader at County Hall, Cllr Simon Evans delivered a remarkable response to the news.

He wrote in a now deleted comment: “Anyone with honour should stand aside and allow the people of West Lancashire to decide, they did not vote for a Tory. Let the people vote.

“The example set by Nigel Farage today is one you should reflect on. The council is of the people not career politicians’.

It is not clear why the comment was deleted but you needn’t look far to find one potential reason.

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Andy Burnham will be the next Prime Minister of this country. Whatever your view on that, and how it has come about, it will likely mean we’ve got the first Prime Minister in some time who can point to anywhere in Lancashire (other than Blackpool) on a map with confidence.

In the coming weeks, we will find out exactly what the plans are for the council structure. We know that all 15 lower, upper and combined councils will be scrapped. We do not know whether 2, 3, 4 or 5 combined authorities will replace them and how they will be shaped. We also don’t know their names, though not-so-catchy titles such as Coastal Lancashire and Central Lancashire have been mooted. That’s not unheard of. I edit The Lancashire Lead from South Ribble and it’s a phrase I’ve never used outside of referencing South Ribble Borough Council.

But here’s the thing: Burnham means devolution will be given even more emphasis than before. More powers for local politicians to make decisions is a good thing - but only if those local politicians can finally agree on things. And one thing that would remove that issue is an elected mayor.

Ed Walker has been bending the ears of people in politics and business this week and writes for us on the topic for today’s edition.

Lancashire briefing

🗳️ A leading Pendle councillor has rejected ‘nepotism’ accusations regarding her father re-joining an area committee, despite losing his borough council seat in May.

Lola Whipp, the new deputy leader of Pendle Council, says recent social media accusations of ‘nepotism’ – giving family members unfair influence – are ‘ridiculous’, regarding David Whipp’s return to the West Craven area committee.

On social media, Reform UK’s Pendle and Clitheroe branch asked if the appointment illustrated ‘nepotism or undemocratic behaviour?’ But Lola Whipp has strongly rejected the suggestions.

David Whipp, a veteran councillor and former Pendle Council leader, narrowly lost his borough seat in early May to Reform. He had also been the West Craven area committee chairman until then.

However, Lola Whipp, who is also vice-chairperson of the West Craven committee, has insisted the arrangement follows council rules, is democratic, includes limits on powers, and follows a tradition of having county, borough and parish councillors at area committees.

🍺 After years of debate over the future of a 300-year-old pub that is council-owned, work to tear it down is set to begin.

The Blackamoor Inn in Blackburn has stood witness to the town’s transformation since the 18th century, but after falling empty and becoming dilapidated in more recent times, it is set to be demolished next week.

The former Thwaites pub on the corner of Stopes Brow and Roman Road was closed by the brewery in 2019, after a brief attempt to revive the historic building failed, ultimately leading Blackburn with Darwen Council to purchase the plot for future development.

But fitful plans to convert the derelict building for other purposes fell through, with the local authority ultimately putting in plans to knock the building down in 2024, signalling its intent to mothball the site for a future infrastructure project.

🏊🏻‍♂️ Skelmersdale could still get a brand-new swimming pool if agreement can be reached despite a major public row last year, a leading councillor believes.

Mark Anderson, the new Labour opposition leader at West Lancashire Council, says finding local agreement for a new Skelmersdale pool will be among among his priorities ahead of a major council shake-up expected in 2028.

And a pool in Ormskirk could get an upgrade too. West Lancashire Council owns the Nye Bevan Pool in Skelmersdale and Park Pool in Ormskirk.

But last year public protests arose over a Labour-backed plan at the time to close both pools before any replacements were built, to save costs.

But then this March, a U-turn followed when other councillors narrowly won a vote to create a £10.5million pot for leisure facilities, along with plans to repair the two pools in the short term.

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Unease as Lancashire continues in last place when it comes to devolution

Analysis by Ed Walker

The Devolution train is about to be put on the high speed rail line by conductor Burnham, but in Lancashire it’s yet to even leave the station.

All that may change in the coming weeks as the fate of Lancashire’s councils carve up is decided.

Politicians and council desk jockeys will huff and puff about these being two separate processes, the reality to the average Lancastrian is they are not. It’s all about who can get things done for Lancashire - councils are a catch-all, from parish to county. And it comes down to power and where it sits.

Lancashire’s two-tier, currently three-tier as the combined authority already exists, and four if you include parish councils in many places, is set for being exploded and put back together when the government makes a decision - due before MPs and schools break up on Friday 17 July.

Options on the table range from two uber authorities spanning the North and South of the county, down to five smaller unitary councils, were included in the potential proposals.

Yet whatever decision is made, Lancashire will remain the only place in the North of England without a Mayor or the confirmed prospect of one. In the meantime new figureheads will emerge for these powerful councils formed in most likely three or four powerful blocks and above them will sit a combined authority - meant to direct the strategic priorities of a county - but with no one to align them.

There are some encouraging signs of the Combined Authority beginning to flex its potential muscles - as it met with the government’s Northern Growth Envoy Tom Riordan in the past week with business round-table events taking place.

County councillor Atkinson, who chairs the Combined Authority, is right when he says essentially you can’t treat Lancashire as a mini Liverpool or Manchester: “You can’t build a strategy for the North by looking at one type of place. Lancashire has a different economy, different strengths and different challenges, and that’s exactly why it was important that our voice was part of this conversation.”

Lancashire’s Growth Plan is admirable, but it will be at a local level where it is actually delivered and becomes a reality. It is only when people in Blackburn see a derelict building for decades become something, or a business in Chorley decides to expand does the benefit get felt.

The overall message sent back to the government was ‘give us more Devolution’ and ‘hurry up with it’, but this sits uncomfortably with the apparent Reform-led administration leader’s attitude to elected-Mayor’s and local government reorganisation (essentially, the status quo is fine, we’ll have the powers but no change).

The government’s upcoming decision may just be lighting the touch paper on a more intense version of the squabbling that has come before and seen the Red Rose county lag way behind its geographic neighbours.

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Within the business and political communities there’s increasing agitation at the likes of Cumbria and Cheshire stealing a march on the Devolution deals in comparison to what Lancashire has managed to get on the table. Both Cheshire and Cumbria will have a directly-elected Mayoral authority in place by May 2027. In contrast Lancashire will be electing to councils with names remote from their communities and based on a construct (county divisions, such as the snappily titled Preston Central West) that is being eradicated in 2028.

What those new councils will be called remains to be seen - expect that to be a hotly contested debate. Documents released recently as each council gave their response to Whitehall on the consultation give some steer - a three-way carve up of the county has Coastal Lancashire, Central Lancashire and Pennine Lancashire as examples of some of the names being floated.

It means proud and distinct places like Blackpool, Preston, Chorley, Lancaster and Burnley potentially disappearing from the local government map and being replaced by bland, catch all, marketing speak places. And a growing feeling of something being ‘done to the county’ rather than it being the will of the people. That’s a dangerous place for politicians of all colours to end up.

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Over the winter period, the state of the roads was blamed on it being one of the wettest on record. It is well-established that wet weather is something that speeds up the formation of potholes.

But it wasn’t true, as reporting from The Lancashire Lead (working with the Met Office) showed.

Now it has been confirmed that data on potholes and how quickly they were repaired between October and March will not be available - making it impossible for opposition councillors and the public to draw conclusions on this period.

Keep reading below for all the details and reaction.

Lancashire briefing

🏠 Plans to build 350 homes on the former Camelot Theme Park site in Chorley have been given the go-ahead – 12 years after the first bid was made to redevelop the derelict site. A government-appointed planning inspector approved the Story Homes scheme after chairing a public inquiry into the proposal earlier this month. Andrew McGlone concluded that the development “would not be inappropriate” for its greenbelt location – judging that the Charnock Richard plot fell within a so-called ‘grey belt’ area. However, his decision has prompted fury from local politicians who have branded it “utter nonsense” and “grotesque” – and warned that it will cause chaos on the roads. Story Homes, meanwhile, said the outcome paved the way for “the transformation” of the abandoned attraction – which closed down in 2012, after 29 years in operation. The firm said the development would deliver ”much-needed homes” – half of which will be discounted ‘affordable’ properties – along with almost £5m of financial contributions towards improving local infrastructure and services. The housebuilder had twice been refused permission by Chorley Council for other visions for the site in 2014 and 2018, when it had put forward proposals for 420 and 195 homes respectively – the latter accompanied by office and workshop units.

🚮 Some Preston households may see their bin collection day changed for a second time since the spring in order to resolve problems that have arisen following a major shake-up of the city’s waste service. The overhaul came back in April when weekly food waste collections were introduced in Preston as part of a nationwide rollout. At the same time, Preston City Council redesigned its collection routes and timetables for the first time in 14 years in an attempt to make them more efficient. The move resulted in bin pick-up days changing for the majority of homes. However, the revised set-up has been beset with issues, leaving residents in some parts of the city facing repeated missed collections of all types of waste. As the Local Democracy Reporting Service has previously revealed, one street in Ashton did not have its recycling bins emptied for five weeks. The city authority has blamed the problems on the late delivery of the new wagons needed for the food waste service – and the knock-on effect that has had on all elements of their waste collection operation.

🛏️ Plans to turn a former nightclub down a ‘hostile’ back alley in Accrington town centre into apartments have been thrown out by Hyndburn Borough Council. Now functioning as a tertiary storage area and in a generally poor condition, the former Bailey’s Bar and Nightclub in an alleyway behind Dutton Street was being eyed for a major renovation into five small one-bedroom flats. Situated at the back end of the row of shops and cafes on Church Street, the application from Gulham Mohiuddin would have created new window openings and doorways to access the development from the alleyway on Back Dutton Street. However, Hyndburn planners took a dim view of the proposed flats conversion, citing a number of issues that would have resulted in ‘unacceptable living conditions for future occupants.’ The appearance of this alleyway, which would essentially be the occupants’ front porch, was seen as ‘hostile’.

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Lancashire County Council will not publish pothole repair performance data from the winter

By Luke Beardsworth

Lancashire County Council has no plans to publish data regarding its own performance on pothole repairs over the winter period.

A meeting of Lancashire County Council’s cabinet on Thursday (2 July) will hear how there is no data available for publication from Quarter 3 and Quarter 4 of the 2025/26 financial year due to migration to a new system.

This means that there is no adequate way to assess the performance of Reform UK-led Lancashire County Council on the issue of repairing potholes during a time when the public and opposition councillors say the state of the roads deteriorated significantly.

The report sets out that Highways key performance indicators will instead be available in future from April 2026. The Lancashire Lead was told that the authority does hold the data but is unwilling to publish it because it would not give a ‘fair and accurate’ picture.

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This is supported by the report which states that its new system has been ‘operationally live’ during the period and that 70,865 permanent defect repairs have been carried out.

Opposition councillors however say that the state of the roads over the winter period speaks for itself.

Cllr Mark Clifford, leader of the Lancashire Labour group, told us: “The lack of current data regarding pothole repairs is very concerning after much hype from Reform UK regarding the importance of data to drive service improvements.

“Every resident of Lancashire knows how terrible our roads have become recently. Under the Labour government LCC has received a massive uplift in their budget to fix our roads without seeing any noticeable improvement in Lancashire, it’s no wonder residents tell us they have already had enough with Reform UK.”

The Liberal Democrats go a step further and suggest that it looks like a ‘convenient excuse’ to hide the authority’s poor performance.

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On Wednesday, we reported that the cases of Preston Davey and Damion Russell had deeply concerning parallels - most notably that Damion had been seen at Blackpool Victoria Hospital the day before Preston Davey was treated there. In both instances, the hospital did not raise the alarm despite opportunities to do so. In both instances, the children would go on to be murdered.

Our reporting ultimately led that evening’s BBC North West Tonight bulletin at 6.30pm and we thank the BBC for mentioning that it was The Lead who uncovered these facts.

It was also picked up - without mentioning who did the work and the research - by The Gazette, Daily Mail, LancsLive, Daily Express, Mirror and Daily Star.

We felt strongly that the reporting was important and crucial to any campaign work to bring about any change to ensure children get the protection they are owed - that’s why we made it free for everyone to read.

But it’s an important reminder of the need to support investigative journalism at its source. This story was reported because of our work - and we hope you can take a paid subscription to back what we do.

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Lancashire briefing

💐 A 33 year-old woman who died the incident at a level-crossing in Hoghton has been named as her family pay tribute to their much loved daughter, sister, partner and devoted mum. Emergency services were called to a level-crossing on Station Road following reports at 8.50am on Thursday (25 June) that a train had struck a car. Two people were in the car and Kerry Coombes, a 33-year-old woman, was pronounced dead at the scene. An eight-year-old girl – Kerry’s’ daughter – remains in hospital in a critical but stable condition. British Transport Police confirmed it has launched a criminal investigation into the incident - but exactly who is under investigation is not yet clear.

🌳 The company awarded the main contract to build the Eden Project in Morecambe says they will ensure there are opportunities for smaller firms and young people during the build. VINCI Construction is to create the Eden attraction on Morecambe’s seafront, where a ground-breaking ceremony was held this week marking the first phase of garden work starting this summer. The Eden scheme includes two shell-shaped domes, a significant reduction on the four originally planned, and is expected to kickstart Morecambe’s regeneration and the wider regional economy. Eden bosses said the original Eden Project in Cornwall has generated £6.8billion for the local economy over 25 years. Speaking at the Winter Gardens in Blackpool at an event to celebrate the start of the building phase, VINCI’s Nick Hamer mentioned other large projects that had completed in the region. He said: “With the Blackpool King Street office, 52 per cent of supplier contracts, worth £38m, was spent within 30 miles. And a higher ration went within 50 miles. “And we have done work all over the north-west including Kendal and Preston. We have loads of connections and will be following them up for Eden in Morecambe.”

🏠 Preston City Council has moved a step closer to striking a deal that will see local authority-owned social housing return to the area after an absence of more than two decades. During a meeting of the full council on Thursday, members gave the green light to the purchase of 18 new-build properties in an as-yet-unidentified location. The move – which was agreed in a private session for reasons of commercial confidentiality – secured unanimous cross-party support. It means the Labour-run authority can now enter into a formal contract with the developer to acquire the dwellings. A conditional offer had been made and accepted in March. The cost of the arrangement remains under wraps for now, but £5m was ringfenced for new council housing when the authority’s current budget was set earlier this year. However, as the LDRS has previously revealed, the town hall is hoping to be able to fund further purchases from the same pot – coupled with other sources of finance – to develop between 40 and 50 new properties by April 2028.

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Elite cycling to find a home in Lancashire when it hosts Tour of Britain’s Women’s race

By Michael Holmes

A “carnival atmosphere” is expected to grip Lancashire when it hosts the Tour of Britain’s Women’s race for the first time later this season.

The elite race’s second stage will start in Clitheroe in the Ribble Valley and end in Blackpool by the north-west coast, with millions expected to tune in to see some of cycling’s finest female athletes speeding through the county.

While Lancashire has welcomed the men’s race before - though not for 11 years - it has never hosted the women’s.

Jonathan Day from organiser British Cycling Ventures said: “We are excited to be bringing the prestigious Lloyds Tour of Britain Women to these fantastic locations in August.

“For the first time, there is parity in the number of stages with the men’s race a few

weeks later, so it is a huge opportunity to create a real festival of cycling, with the women’s race kick-starting a brilliant few weeks of elite racing.”

A leg of the men’s race started in Clitheroe - and finished in Colne - in 2015, while Blackpool has seen a number of the cycling greats ride to victory, including Sir Mark Cavendish who won the stage in 2012 wearing his rainbow stripes of world champion.

Over in the resort, town hall bosses have pledged £50,000 to the cause and hope to showcase the “pinnacle of women’s professional road racing” and give the seaside town’s economy and reputation a welcome boost.

They also hope the publicity and buzz around the five-stage event, which will arrive in Lancashire on August 20, will spark a love of cycling in local women and girls.

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The death of Preston Davey made national headlines and there have rightly been calls - led by The Post and The Gazette - for an inquiry into the failures that allowed such prolonged and cruel abuse to take place despite opportunities from both adoption services and Blackpool Victoria Hospital to raise the alarm.

Our investigation, published today, shows that Preston was not the first. The day before an opportunity was missed to save Preston, another child was taken into Blackpool Victoria Hospital. He had a bruise on his head, the alarm wasn’t raised. That child, too, was later murdered.

The Lancashire Lead can only continue to publish investigations like today’s if we have paying subscribers. We are ad-free and clickbait free - only the news that matters most before everyone else gets to it. Consider taking a paid subscription here and keep independent journalism thriving in Lancashire.

This edition of particular importance and, for that reason, we have made it completely free for all readers.

Lancashire briefing

🗳️ MPs in Lancashire have praised Keir Starmer for his commitment after he announced plans to step down as Prime Minister. Paul Foster, who represents the South Ribble constituency, was one of more than a hundred Labour MPs who had already publicly called for the Prime Minister to quit amid the fallout from last month’s local election results. He said: “Sir Keir Starmer is a decent man, as I’ve always said – but I feel it was inevitable that he would resign following a number of continuing self-inflicted challenges his government created.” He would add: “I will be fully supporting Andy Burnham to take over as our leader and he has my wholehearted support.” Lizzi Collinge, the Morecambe and Lunesdale MP, said he had “made the right decision to resign” and “shown remarkable grace in the way he has done so” – but she did not comment on who should succeed him at number 10. Rossendale and Darwen MP Andy MacNae said that “days like today are hard on a human level”. He added: “We can no longer look like defenders of the status quo. We must share the British people’s rightful frustration at decades of underinvestment and falling standards. I look forward to working with colleagues from across the party in the weeks, months and years ahead to make this a reality.”

🚗 Local politicians should continue to make the case for a new road bridge over the River Ribble near Preston – even though it might take 50 years to come to pass. That was the message from Ribble Valley MP Maya Ellis after she made a direct call on the government to assess the economic benefits such a crossing could deliver. The long-vaunted blueprint for creating a second route across the river – between Lea and Penwortham – has been bolstered in recent years by the completion of two other road-building schemes that underpin the vision for the bridge project. The opening of the Penwortham bypass (John Horrocks Way) in 2019 and the Preston Western Distributor Road (Edith Rigby Way) four years later boosted the argument for the cross-river connection, which is also backed by the Preston and South Ribble MPs, Sir Mark Hendrick and Paul Foster. The bridge is intended to reduce congestion by completing a ring road running from the A582/M65 at Cuerden to the M55 at Bartle – via the bypass and the distributor road – which would funnel traffic away from Preston city centre and the surrounding area. One of the biggest benefits would be its capacity to act as an alternative route to the M6 through Central Lancashire when the motorway is gridlocked or closed – scenarios that currently cause chaos on local roads.

🏠 The loss of power at a Lancashire council to decide major housing plans is an ‘attack on democracy’, critics claim. Rossendale councillors have blasted a ‘designation notice’ by the government, meaning developers can now submit housing applications directly to national planning inspectors rather than the borough, if they wish. It came after figures suggested Rossendale Council had the highest rate of planning appeals granted by national inspectors between 2023 and 2025. Government ministers said they would intervene where councils are not meeting expectations and hold them accountable for performance. Housing minister Matthew Pennycook handed notices to nine councils, where more than 10 per cent of appeals were allowed by inspectors following previous refusals by councils. The aim is to speed-up the delivery of much-needed homes across the UK and help councils to show they can make ‘quality planning decisions’, the government added. However the town hall said just two applications put it over the threshold. One was for 71 homes at Fieldfare Way, Bacup, and the other was for 44 homes at Hardman Avenue, Rawtenstall. And it does not believe the designation is appropriate.

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Hospital that treated Preston Davey saw two children, later murdered, in 24 hours and failed to raise alarm

By Michael Holmes

Medics at Blackpool Victoria Hospital failed to flag a suspicious injury to another child murder victim just hours before a crucial missed opportunity to save Preston Davey, it can be revealed.

Healthcare workers noticed a bruise on two-year-old Damion Russell’s head but did not ask his father how it had happened, despite safeguarding rules requiring them to do so.

Less than eight weeks later, Damion was dead, killed in a “horrifically violent” attack by his father Daniel Hardcastle.

Damion’s Vic visit came on June 29 2023 - a day before a poorly Preston was taken to A&E with bruising that also failed to trigger an intervention.

A month later, Preston was murdered by his adoptive father, 37-year-old South Shore Academy teacher Jamie Varley.

It was the second of three A&E trips in the run-up to the 13-month-old’s slaying.

Today’s revelation, which follows a Lancashire Lead investigation, raises more questions about safeguarding at the Vic.

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Blackpool South’s Labour MP Chris Webb said: “We need to do better, and we know that the state has been failing these young kids, young babies.”

Damion was born in July 2021 and spent his first 10 months with his mother before being taken into care.

He then lived for almost nine months with foster parents, who described him as a “delight” who would “light up any room with his smile and his chuckle”.

After a DNA test proved he was Damion’s father, Hardcastle was granted sole custody and the pair moved into a Central Drive flat in May 2023.

He died three months later from a brain injury after being attacked by Hardcastle, whose murder trial was told the boy was “covered in injuries, top to toe and front to back”.

They included an adult bite mark, broken ribs, bruising and a tear inside his lip as if a drinking bottle had been shoved into his mouth.

Hardcastle claimed Damion had fallen and banged his head on a coffee table - but his trial was told the defendant had either forcefully shaken the child and banged his head or smacked it against a solid object.

Hardcastle is now serving a jail term of at least 22 years, with Preston Crown Court told he had googled several times for how to treat bruising in children and how long it lasts.

A later child protection review by Blackpool Council, similar to the one now being carried out into Preston’s life and death by Oldham Council, said Damion was seen with bruising four times between going to live with his father and his death.

A family support worker on a weekly visit saw a small bruise on the boy’s head on May 20 2023 and raised it with Hardcastle, who blamed his son for being unsteady on his feet.

Six days later, Damion was seen with a “small, faded bruise” on his head at the Home-Start toddler group. After being challenged, Hardcastle again blamed Damion’s lack of balance.

And on May 31, the support worker saw bruises on the child’s head that appeared to be “fading” - with Hardcastle telling her they were from “multiple stumbles” over the last week.

The review found: “On all of the occasions set out above, when a bruise was observed, practitioners followed expected practice by asking about the bruise.

“The conclusion of the Child Safeguarding Practice Review is that practitioners’ acceptance of the father’s explanation for the bruising on each occasion was reasonable.

“(Damion) was known to have developmental delay and the unsteadiness on his feet aligned with his development stage.

“(The boy) was also observed by professionals as being unsteady on his feet on numerous occasions and the bruises were on an exposed and prominent part of the body, which is a natural place for accidental bruising to occur.”

But the review continued: “The only time practitioners did not follow expected practice was when (Damion) was taken to hospital, having suffered a febrile convulsion, on June 29 2023.

“It was noted that (Damion) had an ‘old, mild black bruise spot’ on his forehead. The father was not asked about this, which was the expected practice.”

The Lancashire Lead asked the Vic why it was the one setting where such a basic safeguarding question was not asked.

It did not answer.

It also did not say, when asked, if Damion and Preston were seen by the same medics, or answer several other key questions.

Instead, it released a statement from chief executive Maggie Oldham saying: “This was a deeply tragic and upsetting case, and our thoughts remain with Damion’s family and loved ones.”

She said the Vic “fully accepts” the reviews findings and, while it made “no specific recommendations relating to Damion’s treatment while under the care of Blackpool Teaching Hospitals, we recognise the importance of continuing to strengthen practice and provide reassurance to families using our services”.

Oldham continued: “Importantly, work was already underway before the review was published to support staff in the Emergency Department and in other areas where children are cared for.

“This has focused on making sure appropriate examinations take place, that staff are confident in asking the right questions, and that any concerns are considered and escalated in line with safeguarding processes.

“Families bringing their children to our hospital can expect our teams to ask questions about any bumps, bruises or other injuries identified, whether recent or older. For babies who are not walking independently, our teams will carry out a full examination while they are in the Emergency Department.”

On June 30 2023, the day after Damion’s admission, Preston was taken to the Vic by his adoptive fathers Varley and John McGowan-Fazakerley, with medics noting a bruise on the youngster’s head.

Varley told nurses that Preston had pulled a toy box on to himself while playing and showed them an almost two-week-old video in a bid to hide his evil deeds.

The fact he succeeded has been branded a “massive safeguarding failure” by Children’s Commissioner Dame Rachel De Souza, who said last week: “I have huge numbers of questions and I’m not going to let go until I have the answers.”

And Webb told The Lancashire Lead: “We put in vulnerable mechanisms to protect vulnerable individuals who don’t have a voice for themselves.

“But clearly it’s not been as successful as it should be in identifying issues and making sure they’re investigated properly.”

Webb, as well as Fylde MP Andrew Snowden, has called for a public inquiry into possible safeguarding failures linked to Preston Davey.

He said: “This isn’t about pointing a finger at any individual, body, organisation, institution - there’s just been failings right across the board.

“For many of us, especially those of us with young children, especially young boys, it has been a real concern and these cases are just heartbreaking.”

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He continued: “We have to do better. This cannot happen. When you read the horrific revelations through baby Preston’s whole case and what occurred there, it’s just unimaginable.

“I had to put the reports I was getting and the briefings I was getting down several times, because it was just so hard to read and imagine that someone could do that to a child.”

Asked what answers he is specifically looking for from the inquiry into Preston’s death, Webb said there is a need to make sure the “right questions are asked, rather than how the hell were these vile, evil individuals” allowed to adopt in the first place.

“I think, for me, this is looking at where did those systems fail? When issues were raised, why weren’t they followed up?

“Why were they dismissed so easily?”

There are concerns locally that those involved in Preston’s care may have positively discriminated against his killers, refusing to believe that a teacher and his privately educated salesman boyfriend could act so malevolently.

“Why were the parents believed so easily and these concerns not flagged?” Webb asked.

“Was there an unconscious bias because they were same-sex parents?

“These are legitimate questions we do have to talk about and ask.

“Was that an issue? Were hospital staff uncomfortable raising that?

“Was it because he was a teacher, so instantly that meant, ‘Oh, he must be a good person, he’s a teacher - it will be fine, his story must check out’?”

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More than nine million £1 bus journeys have been had in Lancashire since 2023 as part of wider bus discount schemes that previously included the £2 cap on all journeys.

The £1 cap has been a welcome cost saver during a cost-of-living crisis that is very much still active - but from September, it is expected that the option will be taken away.

Today’s edition explores how that will look, why the decision has been made and calls for it to stay.

If you’re reading this, we need your support. The Lancashire Lead can only continue to publish the news that has much bigger titles scrambling to mimic us if we have paying subscribers. We are ad-free and clickbait free - only the news that matters most before everyone else gets to it. Consider taking a paid subscription here and keep independent journalism thriving in Lancashire.

Lancashire briefing

💷 A town has been urged to re-bid for a share of £1.5m for community projects, after a row over ‘rule-bending’ prompted an MP to step in. Pendle councillors say Earby Town Council must clarify what it wants and act soon for a share of the government’s Pride in Place Impact Fund. Around £34,000 is currently unspent from the first phase and Pendle Council expects more government cash soon. In March, Earby Town Council accused leading Pendle councillors of ‘dismissing’ local preferences and proposing ‘unwanted’ alternatives. The row prompted MP Jonathan Hinder to get the scheme paused for a government review. But now, Westminster officials have said the process is acceptable and Pendle Council expects the remaining cash soon.

💊 A ‘father and son business’ that has been caught selling alcohol to children multiple times, as well as shifting illicit cigarettes and prescription medications, has had its licence revoked. The off licence operated by Mohammed Nawaz has served people in Accrington for the past 40 years, but over the last seven years dozens of complaints have been sent to Lancashire Constabulary and trading standards regarding the products being sold at the corner store, as well as who they were sold to. This led to thousands of pills and cigarettes being recovered by police officers and council staff during a visit to Nawaz Food Stores on Edleston Street in March, with the inspection team spotting open packs of cigarettes behind the counter which they surmised were being illegally sold as singles. At a Hyndburn Council licensing hearing, held on Tuesday (16 June) to consider whether to revoke Nawaz’s premises licence, it was explained by the elderly store owner’s legal representative that the illicit cigarettes and controlled prescription drugs were actually being sold by his son. The licence was revoked. A police investigation is ongoing.

🔊 Bosses of a Lancashire bar accused of allowing ‘insufferable, stunningly loud’ music disturbance to local residents face a licensing review. Council officers measured the volume of music around The Aviary, in Whalley, and in nearby homes and found it breached the levels allowed. They say managers are failing to prevent nuisance to the public. Over the past five years, The Aviary on Queen Street has been the focus of complaints by some residents. Concerns about it and other bars have been discussed at various Ribble Valley Borough Council meetings. Now, their licensing committee is holding a review of the venue’s licensing conditions. Late-night opening and times allowed for DJs or amplified live music could be cut.

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£1 bus fare used for millions of journeys in Lancashire set to be scrapped from September

By Luke Beardsworth

The £1 bus fare used for millions of journeys in Lancashire will come to an end this year under new plans.

A report to the Lancashire Combined County Authority (LCCA), the body led by the leaders of Lancashire County Council, Blackburn with Darwen Council and Blackpool Council, will propose on Monday (22 June) to increase the £1 bus fares to £2 from September 2026.

The £1 bus journeys, which applied after 7pm through the week and for all of Sunday, were described as financially unviable by both Preston Bus and Blackpool Transport but otherwise saw wide use across the bus network using funding provided by central government.

It was launched in conjunction with the original central government backed £2 daytime fare cap which has subsequently increased to £3.

The report says that a real-terms drop in government funding, coupled with other increasing costs which could include fuel as an example, mean that the scheme has now become unaffordable.

The report states: “As part of a consolidated Local Transport Consolidated Funding Settlement from April 2026, the LCCA is set to receive £18.6m of Local Authority Bus Grant (LABG) revenue funding for 2026/27.

“Despite this funding containing substantial uplifts in capital investment, it does in fact equate to a reduction of circa. £560,000 in revenue funding when compared to the combined Bus Grant funding received previously by the three Constituent Councils in 2025/26.”

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The report acknowledges that the increase in the fare is highly likely to prove unpopular due to the ongoing cost of living pressures. It says that younger and working age people will be the most adversely affected as community costs increase.

But the report adds that an increase now will soften the blow for residents in April 2027 should the national £3 fare cap come to an end. This, however, is far from confirmed.

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The death of Preston Davey, and conviction of his adoptive parents first of Staining and later of Grimsargh, will just be the start of a process of trying to find answers on how something like this has been allowed to happen.

Baby Preston was born in prison and placed into foster care at five-days-old. He received treatment by the the NHS in Blackpool and social services in Oldham in his short life.

Questions will be asked - of Blackpool Victoria Hospital in particular - about whether any opportunities for intervention were missed ahead of his death in 2023.

That is the focus of today’s issue which may make for difficult reading.

If you’re reading this, we need your support. The Lancashire Lead can only continue to publish the news that has much bigger titles scrambling to mimic us if we have paying subscribers. We are ad-free and clickbait free - only the news that matters most before everyone else gets to it. Consider taking a paid subscription here and keep independent journalism thriving in Lancashire.

Lancashire briefing

🏠 A government planning inspector has been told that building 350 homes on the former Camelot Theme Park site in Chorley would bring “a great deal of public good with precious little harm”. That was the message from Story Homes – the firm behind the proposal – on the final day of a public inquiry into the plans. Crucially, the hearing was also advised that Chorley Council was not contesting an appeal lodged by the developer over the Charnock Richard project – and agreed that planning permission should be granted for it. Last week’s three-day inquiry came after the authority initially failed to reach a decision on the proposed development within the time limit for doing so – a situation it blamed on Lancashire County Council for delays in providing highways advice. Story Homes subsequently appealed to the independent Planning Inspectorate over the so-called ‘non-determination’ of its outline application – meaning an inspector will now decide whether or not the Park Hall Road scheme can go ahead.

🌹 A Lancashire council says it tried to persuade government officials not to put it into special measures after the authority rejected two major planning applications and had the decisions overturned on appeal. Labour-run Rossendale council has criticised the decision by Housing Minister Matthew Pennycook to hand it a ‘designation notice’ for under-performance linked to planning appeals. The move means developers can now chose to bypass the council and submit applications directly to national planning inspectors. Mr Pennycook issued the notices to nine councils, based on planning appeal rates where more than 10 per cent of appeals were allowed by inspectors following refusals by councils – or other issues such as failing to make a decision. Rossendale Council had the highest rate of planning appeals allowed by inspectors, at 15.4 per cent, of the nine councils in the 24-month period to late 2025. But a spokesperson for the authority said it had told the Ministry of Housing Local Government and Communities (MHCLG) it did not believe designation was “appropriate”.

⚽ A proposed traffic regulation order around Burnley FC’s ground has kicked off an uproar among civic leaders in the town, who have raised concerns about its impact on everyone from churchgoers to people in assisted living accommodation. The new traffic order from Lancashire County Council will allow the Clarets to impose further road closures around their stadium, at will, which could prevent people from accessing key services on a match day. This is because the proposed order would allow a designated match day commander from the police to impose a closure on further routes near the stadium, including Yorkshire Street, Todmorden Road and half a mile of Belvedere Road, all extending from the traffic lights near Turf Moor. In addition to the usual closure of Harry Potts Way. A number of services that would be closed off to much of the public when this takes place, include accessing the town’s registry office – raising concerns about whether births, deaths, or marriages could even be registered on a match day.

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Care of Preston Davey to be investigated in inquiry after ‘pure evil’ murder

By Michael Holmes

An inquiry into the short life of Preston Davey, who was sexually abused by his new adoptive fathers before being murdered by one of them, will look into his hat-trick of admissions to Blackpool Victoria Hospital in the run up to his death.

The baby boy was treated at the Vic, in Whinney Heys Road, three times in the four months before his death in 2023, and was later found to have suffered around 40 deliberate injuries, including to his mouth, throat and bottom.

The child protection review can get under way now that South Shore Academy textiles teacher Jamie Varley, 37, and his ex-public schoolboy and financial sales manager boyfriend John McGowan-Fazakerley, 32, both then of Staining Road in Staining and later of Chandlers Way, Grimsargh, have been convicted.

The pair’s trial heard some of the details - but now the review, which was suspended while court proceedings were ongoing, will officially examine every area of Preston’s life, from his birth in prison on June 16 2022 and placement in foster care at five days old, to his adoption by Varley and McGowan-Fazakerley on April 1 2023 and subsequent treatment by the NHS in Blackpool and social services in Oldham.

It will delve into the facts and aim to provide answers to some tough questions relating to the 13-month-old’s life and death.

An element of the review is expected to specifically look at whether any chances were missed during the care of Preston before his death.

Varley denied murder, manslaughter, and multiple child sex offences, including making indecent images of Preston, who he had renamed Elijah, and abusing him.

After an eight-week trial, he was found guilty of murder, two counts of assault by penetration, five counts of cruelty to a child, grievous bodily harm, sexual assault of a child, 13 counts of taking indecent photos or videos of a child, one of distributing an indecent photo of a child, to his co-accused, and one of making an indecent photo.

McGowan-Fazakerley denied allowing the death of a child, two counts of child cruelty and sexual assault of a child.

He was found guilty.

The couple’s trial, which exposed one of Britain’s worst child abuse cases and sickened the nation, was told about Preston’s hospital visits before his murder.

The first, on May 25, saw Varley rush into A&E with the boy at about 11.10am, telling paediatric sister Zoe Hellowell: “He’s not breathing.”

Hellowell said Preston was breathing, albeit ineffectively, but unresponsive and floppy.

He also had bruises on either side of his forehead.

Nurse Holly Edwards raised the alarm and police were contacted, with a medical report describing the injuries as “unexplained” and “inconsistent with a version of events given…”

At the time, Preston was diagnosed with a chest infection and recovered within four hours, though an expert witness for the prosecution threw the diagnosis into doubt - suggesting another cause for the boy’s symptoms.

In a statement read before the jury, Dr Mark Rosenthal, consultant respiratory paediatrician, said the condition Preston was in on the day of his hospital visit pointed towards a “non-accidental hypoxic event”, with causes including suffocation, aspiration or bleeding into the lungs.

He said Preston’s history of arriving at the hospital very unwell, confused and acidotic - when there is too much acid in the blood - along with having a seizure and then recovering could never be down to an infection.

No police action followed.

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A grim read today, I’m afraid, as we report on a teacher who has been banned from the profession for life after he reported himself for accessing pupils’ social media accounts for his own gratification.

A panel of the Teaching Regulation Agency recommended the order and that has now been signed of by their chief executive.

It found that he had shown a worrying lack of understanding about the importance of safeguarding even as he confessed what he had been doing to the school’s then-headteacher.

As a note before reading, the school in question was last inspected in December 2022 and was found to be Outstanding in all five areas.

If you’re reading this, we need your support. The Lancashire Lead can only continue to publish the news that has much bigger titles scrambling to mimic us if we have paying subscribers. We are ad-free and clickbait free - only the news that matters most before everyone else gets to it. Consider taking a paid subscription here and keep independent journalism alive and well in Lancashire.

Lancashire briefing

🌳Eden Project is hosting a ‘ground-breaking’ ceremony to mark the start of construction work at its Morecambe site and a public event explaining its next steps. Bosses say June 24 will mark the beginning of the construction phase on site. The new, approved design for the £100m attraction features two main shell-shaped domes and gardens – rather than four domes in the original plan. The design had to be reduced because of rising costs and other factors. But Eden bosses insist it will still have a ‘wow’ factor to attract visitors and help regenerate Morecambe. Building work will begin with the Bring Me Sunshine Garden this summer, following the garden’s success at the RHS Chelsea Flower Show.

🍃 The developer behind a huge moorland wind farm project has apologised after giving the public the wrong email contact details to have their say on the controversial project. Calder Energy Park says it has received more than 1,000 submissions about its plans for 34 wind turbines on the Lancashire and Yorkshire border. But some emails sent by the public before June 5 may not have been received because they went to the wrong email address. The developers have now extended the consultation period on the project at Walshaw Moor, between Colne and Hebden Bridge, to give communities more time to comment on the scheme. It comes as Pendle councillors were told that Manchester Airport and the Ministry of Defence have objected to the plan over aircraft radar concerns.

📉 Blackburn with Darwen Council is failing to meet four of its 44 key performance indicators, a progress update to the authority has revealed. Councillors heard at a meeting of the ruling executive on Thursday night that, while 27 of these indicators were rated ‘green’ for being on or above a target set by the body, four of the council’s targets were ‘red’, or significantly below target. These included key issues for the authority, such as dealing with adult safeguarding enquiries within 24 hours, or finding new foster carers for the roughly 375 children being looked after by the council. Included in the Corporate Plan Report for the last quarter, which was signed off by the executive, were detailed explanations for why the council was failing in these four areas, with employee absences and occupational therapy assessments also falling into the red. For adult safeguarding, where the council has set itself a one day target rather than the five day response goal set by other agencies, the report pointed out that the council had seen a sustained increase in concerns shared with them, reaching an average of 219 per month in the first three months of 2026. The report also stressed that every single case is reviewed by a social worker each day to identify high-risk individuals and circumstances, although a staffing vacancy had made it harder to reach their one-day goal.

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Teacher at ‘Outstanding’ school banned for life after accessing pupils Instagram pages for pleasure

By Luke Beardsworth

A teacher from Lancaster has been permanently banned from teaching after penning a letter to the former deputy headteacher where he confessed to viewing pupils’ Instagram pages for ‘sexually-motivated’ pleasure.

Jacob Woodland, now 29 and a teacher at Ripley St Thomas Church of England Academy, Lancaster, contacted the now former deputy headteacher - referred to only as Individual A - on the morning of Saturday, 24 August 2024 and said he had information that he needed to share.

The two met at what was described as a neutral location - the public car park next to Morecambe Golf Club - where Woodland would hand over a letter containing a statement confessing to using the internet to access images of former pupils.

It said: “I am truly sorry but I have done something inappropriate and I cannot live with myself without being honest. I have looked at publicly available Instagram content of some senior female pupils at school and used these to fantasise for my own pleasure.”

This sparked an investigation by Lancashire Constabulary. Woodland attended an interview, answered ‘no comment’ to all questions and no further police action was taken.

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