The future of Accrington Stanley being used for political football
PLUS: Councillors of all colours continue to drag their feet on local government reorganisation
Hello and welcome to The Lancashire Lead.
I’ve not been able to move this week without seeing a new post about the row engulfing Hyndburn regarding the treatment of Accrington Stanley.
The club have been described all week as a local gem and even as one of the few good things about Accrington still standing - and that has meant owner Andy Holt has courted a lot of sympathy following some typically outspoken posting.
But as of right now, local politicians appear more intent on strengthening the position of their party than resolving the issue in any meaningful way. The topic, at least, is being discussed.
We’ve produced the most in-depth report on the matter at the end of a week where the conversation really captured the public’s imagination.
Accrington Stanley noise row being used for political football
By Luke Beardsworth
A very public row has erupted between the current owner of Accrington Stanley and Hyndburn Council.
In a typically fierce series of posts on LinkedIn, Andy Holt accused the council of holding the town back and failing to support the football club.
Accrington Stanley has lost the right to host live music and amplified music after complaints from residents.
Holt further accused Hyndburn Council, currently under Labour control, of going behind his back, failing to work with him, and outright telling him they hated the club.
But the council hit back, stating the club acknowledged at a hearing they were being a ‘public nuisance’, voluntarily proposed that there be changes implemented - including the removal of live music- and promised to sound-proof the venue before events return.
On Tuesday evening, the Hyndburn Conservatives waded into the conversation, putting forward a motion for the next full council meeting of Hyndburn Council, to be held on Thursday (27 March), that proposes the council foot a £286,000 bill towards soundproofing the venue. They face accusations of trying to stage a ‘political stunt’ as a result.
They described Accrington Stanley as the ‘lifeblood’ of the town, that they believed the council working with the private sector can create positive change and even cited Labour working with Manchester United on a new stadium.
Holt will likely feel What More UK’s £6,484 donation to the Conservatives prior to the general election was value for money if Hyndburn Council stumps up that money.
Holt has frequently been very vocal with criticism of the council, as well other organisations such as The FA, The English Football League (EFL) and national governments, but the latest row is perhaps the most fierce attack on the local authority.
Among recent online posts, he has said: “Getting back to our lousy Hyndburn Borough council, their actions and attitude towards Accrington Stanley is totally unacceptable and has been so for decades.
“They’ve created a dump of a town and when any individual business tries to grow it or change it, they deliberately block it.”
Some of his accusations in the noise row appear to directly contradict concessions made by the club behind closed doors and the licensing row comes off the back of a related argument in which the function room was built differently to the agreed planning permission.
The town’s former MP, Conservative Sara Britcliffe, was a close ally of Holt but relations with the council have often been fraught. He was awarded the “Freedom of the Borough” but handed it back in 2022 during the noise row. At the time, he said: “I want to be free of Hyndburn.
“The poison at its heart has seen it continue on its inexorable downward path.”
He has received the support of Britcliffe’s replacement Sarah Smith but has appeared reluctant to offer the same to the Labour representative in return.
After the council’s noise decision, she used social media to defend the club, writing: “I am doing all I can and working closely with the club and Hyndburn Council to find a solution to this issue which is very complicated due to issues ongoing for the last few years.
“The notion that the club should be subjected to noise limitations on match days is totally unreasonable (and while they are able to operate on match days there is a noise limitation condition). A lively atmosphere is essential to the success of any football club and any resident living in a house near the club should reasonably expect noise on match days. I share the frustration of supporters.
“I will continue to advocate for Accrington Stanley and will do anything in my power to ensure that any complications arising from this situation are addressed promptly and fairly.
“The club is a vital part of our community, and one of the best things about Hyndburn and I stand with its supporters in preserving its integrity and spirit.”
Many of the comments in response to that post focused on the point that the complaints broadly related to non-matchdays and late night events.
A spokesperson for Hyndburn Council told The Lancashire Lead: “On the 14th January 2025 the Council received an application submitted under section 51 of the Licensing Act 2003 to review the premise licence of ASFC. The application was submitted by a local resident on the grounds that the statutory licensing objective relating to the prevention of public nuisance was not being upheld at the premises.
“A statutory Licensing-Sub Committee hearing was held on the 6th March 2025, at which members were presented with evidence by the applicant, a number of representations from other local residents, representations from Planning and Environmental Health officers, and evidence from ASFC as the premises license holder.
“At the hearing ASFC acknowledged that they were causing a public nuisance in respect of the noise emanating from their premises, they accepted that something had to be done to address this, and they voluntarily proposed a number of changes to their premises licence, including the removal of all live and recorded music (except on matchdays to 7:30pm). ASFC’s proposed conditions were accepted and adopted by the Sub-Committee. ASFC also informed the Sub-Committee that they intend to complete remedial sound proofing works to the venues, to the satisfaction of Environmental Health officers, before seeking to recommence any live or recorded music at the premises.
“Accrington Stanley Football Club is an important community asset, and the Council remain committed to working with the club.”
Cllr Munsif Dad, Labour’s leader of Hyndburn Council, said: "It's just a political stunt as far as I’m concerned as it’s election time [county council elections]. These sort of things, any opposition party will take an opportunity to make those comments. We’re committed to working with Accrington Stanley on all fronts.
"This is a very important club. They play a pivotal role in the community. We are very much supportive of them.
"As far we’re concerned we have a very good working relationship with them and we will continue building that relationship.
"We have proposed a motion to try and have a discussion at the full council about the continuing support and how we can work together to try and achieve what both the council and the club is trying to achieve."
Since deleting his X profile, where he often posted long threads with his views on football or political governance, Holt has started using LinkedIn to share his opinions and has been heavily critical of Prime Minister Sir Keir Starmer and chancellor Rachel Reeves, in particular the planned rise in National Insurance contributions for employers.
With Holt vocal in his frustrations with the Labour government and Hyndburn Council, the borough Conservative group appear to have seen an opportunity to court his support. As well as the company’s donation to the Hyndburn Conservative group, he was pictured offering his support to Cllr David Heap ahead of a Baxenden ward by-election in February.
On Facebook, Cllr Heap wrote: “Today I had the pleasure of sitting down with Andy Holt, owner of WhamWorld and Accrington Stanley and I listened to the devastating effects Labour have had on his business and football club.
“Local businesses and sports groups are a massive part of our community and should be looked after by giving them the support they need to flourish.
“Labour's attack on businesses isn't just an attack on the owners of the business but everybody employed there too.
“I will always stand up for businesses and the families they employ!”
While there are no local elections on Hyndburn Council this year, there are elections taking place at Lancashire County Council and the Conservatives will be hoping to take advantage of the row to gain support.
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Lancashire’s councils decline the option to put specific reorganisation plans before the government
By Paul Faulkner
Only one of Lancashire’s 15 councils has sent the government its own specific preferences for the outcome of a forthcoming local authority shake-up.
Pendle Council leader Asjad Mahmood has written to local government minister Jim McMahon to tell him his authority wants to see the creation of either four or five new councils after all of the existing ones are scrapped.
It emerged yesterday that all of the county’s council leaders had signed a joint letter to Mr. McMahon in response to a government request for more than 20 local areas across England to submit an “interim plan” for a radical revamp of their current council arrangements.
That document set out options for between one and five new local authorities – or ‘unitaries’ – to cover Lancashire as part of the overhaul.
The inclusion of such a spread of possibilities – and the absence of any specifics about which areas could merge as part of the process – were likely necessary to secure the agreement of all 15 leaders over what is an historically divisive subject amongst Lancashire politicians.
While the government had urged councils in areas affected by the restructure to make “every effort” to come up with a unified – if not necessarily a detailed – position by Friday (21 March), it acknowledged that it might not be possible to do so. The deadline for formal and final proposals to be submitted for consideration by ministers is 28th November.
In Lancashire, preferred scenarios – and some red lines – for the shape of local government reorganisation have previously been floated by some individual authorities, with others expressed privately. However, most have resisted the temptation to express them directly to ministers at this stage in the process.
Blackpool, Blackburn with Darwen, Burnley, Chorley, Fylde, Hyndburn, Lancaster, Preston, Ribble Valley, Rossendale, South Ribble, West Lancashire and Wyre councils have all said that they signed only the joint letter and have not sent any additional correspondence to the government.
Lancashire County Council’s cabinet approved the county-wide document at a meeting on Thursday. Alluding to the range of opinions on the matter, the deputy leader of the authority, Alan Vincent, said a common approach to the government at this point made sense, asking: “If we were to try [to] put forward a plan now, how many plans would we [send]?”
In the supplementary letter from Pendle, Cllr Mahmood said that of the five options listed in the joint letter, his borough believes “only [those] that could create four or five unitary councils in Lancashire would ensure the complex and urgent needs of our community are addressed and that local democracy would underpin the work and decision making of any unitary council”.
He adds: “We believe that these two options will ensure unitaries of the right size, improve existing capacity, withstand financial shocks and deliver efficient and effective local government for our area. We are determined through this process, and based on these two options, we can and will deliver services of the highest quality and sustainability to all within our community.”
As with the joint letter, the correspondence from Pendle swerves the most contentious aspect of the reorganisation process – namely, the exact configurations that will determine which parts of the county will merge with which.
Burnley Council – although not having sent a separate letter specifying this preference – resolved this month that it wants to see a five-council option, designed in such a way that the town is not bound together with Blackburn with Darwen.
Last November, before the government had even officially announced its reorganisation plans, the leaders of Chorley and South Ribble councils proposed to ministers a merger between their two authorities and West Lancashire Borough Council.
While the pair have this week simply rowed in behind the multitude of numerical-only options put forward in the joint letter to the government, Chorley Council last month formally expressed its support for a tie-up with South Ribble and West Lancashire, which would mean at least four new authorities would have to be created across the county.
In a statement after the Lancashire-wide letter was sent to the government this week, Chorley leader Alsiarir Bradley said: “We are continuing to work with authorities across Lancashire in line with the government’s timeline for local government reorganisation.
“Chorley Council’s position is clear – as discussed and agreed by all political parties at our recent full council. We support a four-unitary model for the county. This would see the current two-tier model replaced and a South Lancashire Council set up to cover Chorley, South Ribble and West Lancashire.
“We are committed to finding a way forward that provides value for money, is sustainable and meets the needs of all our communities. The current proposed changes present a great opportunity for both Chorley and Lancashire to benefit from proper devolution that we are currently missing out on and like Manchester and Liverpool we look forward to seeing the exciting proposals unlock economic growth and greater prosperity for our residents.
“Chorley will of course maintain its identity as a historic borough and the ambitions we have can be aligned with our neighbours to maximise the benefits for all.”
Meanwhile, South Ribble Borough Council leader Jacky Alty said: “We are working alongside our colleagues across Lancashire to ensure devolution of powers from central government benefits the communities we serve. We already have a strong partnership with Chorley Council and we will be debating our position on local government reorganisation at council next week.”
Earlier this month, the ruling Labour group on Preston City Council announced that it had agreed which other authorities the city should join, but said it would be keeping its preference to itself until after the joint letter had been agreed.
Speaking of his authority’s position following the submission of the joint letter, Rossendale Council’s chief executive Rob Huntington said: “A number of options are being explored, from a single council covering all of Lancashire to multiple smaller councils, but views are mixed. Lancashire is a complex county with a mix of rural and urban areas, strong local cultural identities and different financial challenges. Because of this, we need more time to properly understand what would work best.
“Whatever happens, the most important thing is making sure public services remain high quality and efficient, that local communities are properly represented and that any changes help to bring more investment and opportunity to Lancashire.
“Here in Rossendale, we will continue talking to local people, businesses, and organisations to make sure their views are considered. Our priority is to make sure any changes are right for Rossendale and its people – and we will keep residents informed as this work moves forward.”
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Luke, Jamie, Ed, Sophie and the team.