The government has announced it is willing to enter into a devolution deal with Lancashire County Council, Blackburn with Darwen Council and Blackpool Council.  Meetings held in late November at the three authorities unanimously supported a draft proposal go out to public consultation.

The deal, if given final approval, will transfer new money and powers from central government to a newly created Combined County Authority, allowing it to tackle key local priorities.

This is based on the 2022 White Paper on Levelling Up.

This should not mean any changes to the established county, borough and district councils across the area, who will continue to deliver services such as bin collections and local libraries.

It would also not require an elected mayor, as the CCA would be made up of existing elected councillors, and would not require an extra charge on Council Tax.

However it may bring improvements in areas like housing, improving transport across the county and joint work on ‘net zero’.

Find out more and have your say on the proposals here.