Lancashire government reorganisation paused
May 2027 elections will use existing council boundaries, with secretary of state Angela Rayner putting the local authority overhaul on ice pending a legal review.
The review was announced on Monday and will impact 14 areas, including the county of Lancashire. Rayner said that the decision to pause the reorganisation was made based on legal advice.
Lancashire’s local government structure had been due to shrink from 15 councils to four unitary authorities in plans put forward by Rayner in 2024 and detailed further by then-secretary of state Steve Reed in July.
At the time, the county’s future was to become four distinct authorities focused on the north, west, east, and south of the area.
Preston, Lancaster, and Ribble Valley would have become a North Lancashire council, while Fylde, Wyre, and Blackpool would have made up the West Lancashire one.
Chorley, South Ribble, and West Lancashire would have been replaced by a South Lancashire council.
The remaining councils – Blackburn with Darwen, Hyndburn, Burnley, Pendle, and Rossendale – would merge to create an East Lancashire authority.
Lancashire County Council would have ceased to exist under the plans.
Lancashire County Council Leader Cllr Stephen Atkinson, a member of Reform UK, welcomed the pause to reorganisation.
“I have consistently made clear that I do not believe local government reorganisation is the right course for Lancashire,” he said.
“Changing council structures on this scale would be costly and disruptive, with no guarantee that it would improve services or deliver better value for residents.”
He added: “We will engage constructively with the government’s review, but we will continue to make the case that Lancashire’s future should be shaped by what delivers the best outcomes for its residents, not by an assumption that reorganisation is the answer.”
Mark Wynn, the senior responsible officer for local government reorganisation in Lancashire, noted the announcement.
He said: “Collectively we will consider the detail carefully and continue to work together while the review takes place.
“In the meantime, the focus of all of Lancashire’s councils remains firmly on delivering services and supporting residents and communities across the county.”
While Lancashire’s reorganisation has only been paused, four other groups had their proposals withdrawn completely. Those were in Essex, Hampshire, Norfolk, and Suffolk. Reform and Conservative-led councils in those areas had launched judicial reviews against the plans.
The full list of paused reorganisation areas is as follows;
- Derby and Derbyshire
- Devon, Plymouth and Torbay
- East Sussex and Brighton
- Gloucestershire
- Hertfordshire
- Kent and Medway
- Lancashire, Blackburn with Darwen and Blackpool
- Leicester, Leicestershire and Rutland
- Lincolnshire, North Lincolnshire and North East Lincolnshire
- Nottingham and Nottinghamshire
- Oxfordshire and West Berkshire
- Staffordshire and Stoke-on-Trent
- Warwickshire
- Worcestershire
