Pendle Conservative Councillors are launching a bid to break away from Lancashire County Council and for services to be delivered on a more local level claiming that they feel the huge authority is too distant and doesn’t best serve the people of Pendle.
A Unitary Authority would mean that the functions of both Pendle Borough Council and Lancashire County Council would be carried out by one Council based more locally but would probably need the support of at least one other local Council. It would likely require a strengthening of the Town and Parish Council system too.
Conservative Councillors Paul White and Graham Waugh will present a motion to the Full Council at Pendle next week urging a break away from the County Council.
Deputy Leader of the Conservatives Paul White said, “This option would mean less bureaucracy, fewer Councillors, a more joined up approach and a louder voice for Pendle when it comes to things like economic development which is so important but at the moment we’re at the furthest possible point from the Preston-based Economic Partnership. There are clear benefits too for local people for services like Highways being delivered locally. There’d be a greater knowledge and those people would only have one focus rather than competing priorities across the whole County."
“This isn’t reflective on any one Party, I think it’s something that people in Pendle have felt for a long time and we’re here to represent those people. It’s certainly how I felt when I was a member of the County Council. Local Government is having to rationalise, there are big savings to be made and one way to do that is to have one Council delivering all services rather than two. It will provide the big reset that Local Government needs in this area. At the moment we’re competing across the whole of Lancashire for our priorities but it doesn’t have to be that way”.
“We’re contacting the Leaders of all Political Parties in the East Lancashire to invite them to sit down and investigate the options for a break-away from the County Council."
Senior Conservative Councillor Graham Waugh added, “This is really the start of a conversation with other local Councils to see whether they want to break away, with Labour and the Lib Dems in Pendle to see whether they will support us in this, and with the Secretary of State to see what the parameters would be for such a move. It is likely that a Unitary Authority would need to be bigger than just Pendle, and maybe the size of say Pendle and one other Council together, but this is the start of that conversation to see what options we have to break away from the County Council be that Unitary Authority or otherwise. We’re interested to see what the Secretary of State will say and to hear what other local Councils say."
“Delivering services on a more local level can only be a positive thing”, he added.