Hello and welcome to The Lancashire Lead. Today’s edition is something a little bit different, brought about as I enjoyed my first week off of the year so far.
A sincere thank you to Ed and Jamie who stepped in to steer the ship while I was away. It was a quiet week, aside from the so-called ‘Patriots’ rocking up in the village where I live. That is not the sort of event that lends itself to me putting my feet up and I appreciate that they were able to do a great job covering it.
It has been a privilege to edit and write The Lancashire Lead, which has been serving you in-depth, investigative journalism for over two years at this point. Lancashire is my home and the feedback has been fantastic. It’s no secret we have rattled some cages during that time, but the best journalism does exactly that.
Alongside our fellow The Lead North titles, we’ve also seen recognition with a Press Gazette Future of Media Award and nominations elsewhere. It’s no surprise to me that in this time the big-money media publishers have started to put some of their work behind a paywall too.
It’s a strange time for news in Lancashire. Social media activity is incredibly high but it frequently descends into inaccuracy, agendas and abuse - we filter through all of that to bring you what you actually need to know, written by a qualified and experienced reporter who lives in and cares about the county.
Like all genuinely independent titles, we’re also happy to give praise when it’s deserved and criticism when it is needed - regardless of who the recipient is.
The topics of local government reorganisation and devolution have demanded much of our time over the last few months. Although it can sometimes appear a little bit dry, the ramifications and impacts of whatever choices politicians make here are so important. We’re still waiting to see if Lancashire will get a mayor, which is what business leaders want, and what local government reorganisation will actually look like.
I’ve committed a lot of time to reporting on Lancashire County Council’s decision to withdraw from administering the refugee resettlement scheme. That’s not been a straightforward process. The framing of the decision has been that the authority wants to stand up for local people, but in doing so they have actively taken a decision that reduces the funding all vulnerable residents in Lancashire have access to. Frankly, even if you’re in the camp that cannot stand refugees in any form, it makes very little sense.
Capturing the risks attached to that decision is not straightforward. The debate has often broken down into one about migration as a whole, something that is an open goal for Reform UK given it is their key selling point to voters. But while that debate may have inspired the decision, it’s not what the decision is about. For that reason, and many besides, we were the only title to publish a confidential report which shows the risk Lancashire County Council is exposing itself, its staff and the taxpayer too.
And we remain committed to covering issues with clarity and precision - like this incident in Coppull in August - when they risk becoming a hotbed for misinformation and all that can come with it.
The reality is that we need to keep growing to ensure this financial model - which takes away a reliance on clickbait and adverts which block most of the screen - can be sustainable long-term. If you appreciate the work we’re doing, please consider backing us financially at the cost of less than a fiver a month.
I’m also keen to hear from you so if there’s something you’d like to see highlighted or examined, please get in touch at lancashire@thelead.uk
For those who do already take a paid subscription, your support is, as always, hugely appreciated. While there is no main article, read on for an extended briefing and I hope you have a fantastic Sunday and week ahead.
Lancashire briefing
🌹 Reform leader Nigel Farage has given an indication the party may be softening over resistance to the idea of a Mayor for Lancashire.
During a visit to Accrington, he said the party was ‘quite prepared’ to look at proposals for a Mayoral deal.
But he reiterated opposition to the local government reorganisation process, currently paused by Angela Rayner due to concerns about legal challenges which have come primarily from Reform-led county councils. Lancashire County Council is continuing to mull over whether it will launch its own push for a judicial review depending on the outcome of the government’s pause in the process.
Mr Farage, speaking to Local Democracy Reporter Will Morgan during the visit, said: “I was completely opposed to LGR, because it would mean abolishing district councils which, especially if they’re in rural or coastal areas, have different local needs to the big city.
“So you tie everything up into some amorphous mass of unitaries, the cities would dominate everything in terms of the decision-making, I was dead against that.”
He continued: “Lancashire has a strong identity. People feel that they are Lancastrians, it is their county, it is part of what they are.”
“The weird thing is that Burnham is all about devolution, he keeps talking about the North West and devolution.
“LGR is the opposite of devolution, it would be powers handed up.”
The Reform leader’s comments on a Mayor for Lancashire come as a crunch meeting recently took place between the leaders of the Lancashire Combined County Authority and the government - which included county council leader Stephen Atkinson who has been vocally sceptical about a Mayoral deal.
Cllr Atkinson holds the casting vote on the four-strong board of leaders of the Combined Authority and he, along with Reform county councillors, have said they want to understand what the financial benefit of having a Mayor would be to Lancashire before committing to any deal.
The meeting is understood to have given an indication the county would be benefit by £30million or more a year, along with unlocking further funding as it would be able to compete effectively against bigger city-regions with Mayors for major government schemes.
🏠 Plans to convert a family-sized home in Chorley into a house of multiple occupation (HMO) have been kicked out by councillors – after some of the rooms were likened to battery hen cages.
The proposal would have seen a property on Park Road in Astley become a seven-bedroom HMO on its ground, first and second floors, with a self-contained bedsit located in its basement.
The blueprint had been recommended for approval by Chorley Council planning officers after being deemed to comply with local policy.
However, the size of some of the proposed rooms drew the ire of the authority’s planning committee – in spite of the fact they exceeded nationally-set minimum space standards.
The bedrooms that were to make up the HMO – each of which was to have come with a separate ensuite – ranged in area from 6.81 to 12.96 square metres. The minimum allowable floor space for a room in an HMO is 6.51 square metres for a single occupant.
However, the compliance of the plans with that rule cut no ice with councillors – who expressed concern about the impact of the smaller rooms on their future occupants.
💨 One of Darwen’s most recognisable industrial relics has been given a striking new look, but the true meaning behind its fresh appearance is not immediately obvious.
The Cross Compound Steam Engine outside India Mill has been repainted as part of a town council restoration programme, which aims to revitalise some of the town’s most important reminders of its industrial past.
At first glance, the restoration appears to be a straightforward conservation project. The historic engine has been treated to a new colour scheme, with further groundwork and railing improvements set to be completed at a later date.
But hidden within the paintwork is a carefully designed tribute to Darwen’s centuries-old connection with the cotton trade, its relationship with India, and one of the most remarkable visits in the town’s history.
The engine has been painted in three distinct colours, each chosen for a specific historical reason.
The dominant shade, “Invisible Green”, was widely used on Victorian ironwork and machinery. Originally favoured by wealthy landowners because it blended into the landscape, it later became a familiar sight in Britain’s mill towns. According to the town council, its use on machinery was often less about worker wellbeing and more about using surplus paint left over from country estates.
The white detailing uses “Natural White”, an authentic nineteenth-century shade without modern brighteners, intended to symbolise the quality and purity of Lancashire cotton, the industry on which towns such as Darwen were built.
The final colour, “Burnt Saffron”, acknowledges the historic links and mutual respect between the workers of Darwen and India.
Together, the green, white and saffron create a subtle recreation of the colours of the Indian flag, commemorating the visit of Mahatma Gandhi to Darwen in September 1931.
A personal post readers today
WILL my Pendle-Colne Cllr spend the 5 years deleting
miss uses of public funds from public residents of Pendle?
Posted 11.10.2026
PART-1
This post is to get INFO out of Cllr /Mayor alike that we will, Be voting for in May 2027 Unless a G.E. is put to public??
Points and Question I wish answered truthfully by my Labour M.P. Mr Hinder also all-party Cllr of P.B.C.-Colne/Lancashire.
Q-1
Is the 5 years extended Cllr job on better new wages
Increased to cover up or Delete records of miss use of
public funds in my area of Lancashire Labour Govt??
P-1
Will Cllr that got council benefit help to pay their bills
Like D.H.B-Council tax benefit-rates-Energy bills yet did not turn up to meeting and resigned and did not pay their bills.
Q-2
Will the X party Cllr be taken to court for the money back and will they be prosecuted for none payment of Council tax bills and so on Y-N?
P-2
Cllr if your X Cllr get away with not paying their council tax bills and are in arrears like resident that are taken to court, Will they also be taken to court or will they all have their Council Tax arrears scrapped fully?
Q-3
When my Colne Cllr gave loans out of our public funds and Council tax money to the private sector business in my area was all the loans paid back in full with interest Y-N?
P-3
I ask this Q-3 because when I tried to get INFO out of Colne C.E.O. I only got rubbish info out of 3 of them before Colne Cllr scrapped to C.E.O. JOB then stopped replying to my emails on this matter so will their dets be written off Cllr?
PART-2
Concluding!!
Will the Cllr picked in May 2027 to keep their jobs be deleting all the INFO on loans missuses of public funds and the Cllr names involved in this scandal I beleave they have covered up for years in my area from resident views.
Q-4
Therefore, resident over the next 5 years will the Cllr and Mayors of all areas of Lancashire delete all the INFO of the missing cash payout and loans not paid back fully they would not give me access too fully Y-N?
Also take note residents /voter the Cllr over the 5 years Cllr job will have NO power to implement any policy or increase to our council tax bills according to Govt rule-laws Under the Devolution Deal being forced on us residents when we Merge with Burnley area of Lancashire the area Mayor only has the power to increase our Council tax bills when we merge.
Q-5
Resident /voter will the Devolution Deal bring us a better way of like or just more and more pain and poverty that was put together by Tory-Labour Minister back in 2017-2018 that is open to corruption and miss uses of our public funds
Plus, the taking of our Pendle-Colne area ASSETS for the mayors to waste on what every they please in other areas.