Which council does what? Knowing who to blame or praise when things happen in Lancashire

You may be directing your pothole anger to the wrong people

Hello and welcome to The Lancashire Lead.

Barely a week goes without me seeing a borough council being blamed for the state of the roads.

If you’ve read that sentence and thought: “And so they should, they’ve never been worse!” then there’s a good chance this article is for you.

That’s because for most of Lancashire, the roads are not managed by a borough council - they are managed by Lancashire County Council.

It is a daily occurrence - something that worries me given local elections are just over a month away. And while no politician can say they are nailing everything, it would be a shame to see people vote in borough elections in protest of potholes (or other elements they are not responsible for).

This edition unpicks the web of Lancashire’s political network. As always, we encourage you to share it.

Lancashire briefing

🎤 A Morecambe music and events venue in a historic building is set for a new look and branding, and other changes to attract more shows, if two plans are approved. The Platform is home to pop, rock, classical and comedy events, along with other events like craft fairs. It is based in a converted Grade II-listed railway station and near other Morecambe landmarks including the Winter Gardens venue and Midland Hotel. Three years ago, the venue was at the centre of debate when Lancaster City Council, which owns it, said new business models were needed instead of council subsidies. That was part of wider changes which included the closure of two staffed tourist information offices and reviews of other attractions across Morecambe and Lancaster. Now, councillors on the council’s planning committee are to look at two applications. One is for listed building permission for external signs, external redecorations and fitting a vinyl cover on the building’s inside glass ceiling. The other application is for outdoor free-standing and hanging signs, window poster holders and window graphics.

🚔 Construction of a third prison in a Chorley village has moved a step closer after plans for the energy centre needed to power it were given the green light. Chorley Council’s planning committee approved the facility, which will be built alongside the controversial new lock-up in Ulnes Walton, close to the existing Garth and Wymott jails. However, a wrangle over parking for the 1,715-inmate prison – near the border with Leyland – was reignited in the process. The government gave the go-ahead to the category C jail in December 2024, three years after it was refused permission by the local authority – and following an appeal by the Ministry of Justice (MoJ) which saw a planning inspector twice recommend that the council’s decision be upheld.

🌳 A town council has accused Pendle Council of ‘dismissing’ local people’s preferences on how a share of a £1.5million government fund is spent – and also for proposing some ‘unwanted’ alternative ideas. Earby Town Council says it is ‘disappointed and disillusioned’ about Pendle’s short-list for the new Pride in Place Impact Fund. Town council ideas include using government cash for more CCTV cameras. But this and some other ideas are not short-listed. Also, the town council does not support some alternatives suggested by Pendle Council, such as some Earby pavement and street furniture work, and work at nearby Earby Memorial Park, also known as Sough Park. And it objects to the borough wanting match-funding towards some projects. However, Pendle Council’s leader has defended the borough’s consultation and its current recommended short-list, which includes five Earby projects. The row centres on the government’s Pride in Place Impact Fund, announced in December. It is intended for community-focused projects to revive high streets and public spaces, and neighbourhood pride.

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Which council does what? Knowing who to blame or praise when things happen in Lancashire

Bins in South Ribble

By Luke Beardsworth

“I can’t believe the state of the roads. Shame on you, Preston City Council.”

So goes one of the most regular refrains heard on social media - or similar phrases in pubs - despite the roads having nothing to do with borough councils.

Local politics can sometimes feel deliberately obtuse - especially so in Lancashire.

Some areas have two, or even three, levels of local politics and some have just one. What that means is that there are over 160 different local authorities in the county and there can be significant variations in how it all works from family to family.

Just to take an extreme example - if you live in Clitheroe you may deal with Clitheroe Town Council, Ribble Valley Borough Council and Lancashire County Council. They could all be led by different political parties.

But then 11 miles down the roads, you might deal with Blackburn with Darwen Council only.

It causes confusion for people. One example I saw recently accused Hyndburn Council of lying about freezing council tax because their bill had gone up. But their bill had gone up because Lancashire County Council had raised its portion of the bill they pay.

And so while local elections have limited use in predicting how any next general election may play out - the confusion means that it is inevitable that some people vote locally to offer a verdict on the performance of the Prime Minister of the day, rather than the performance of their council.

A poll undertaken by Ipsos in 2022 found that 53% of people said they knew either ‘not very much’ or ‘nothing at all’ about the work undertaken by their local councillors.

We will today try to untangle the web of Lancashire’s local politics, and also explain what is coming next.