PENDLE Council has to begin merger discussions with Burnley in a bid to secure the best future for local people, its leading councillors have said.

The authority's Lib Dem-run executive committee last night discussed the Government's new "strong and prosperous communities" white paper.

It leaves the borough with the options of going it alone without Lancashire County Council, merging with another borough to form a unitary authority, or maintaining the current two-tier system, which Pendle councillors fear will allow the county to take control of more services.

The council must decide within 10 weeks, although there is no guarantee the Government will authorise any merger. Coun David Whipp said Lancashire was "dancing with delight" at the prospect of hoovering up district council services as part of a so-called enhanced two-tier system. He said: "They are over the moon that the Government is giving them a clear run to take over."

Members agreed to look into a possible merger with Burnley as the "least worst" option, with Coun David Foster urging people to look at the "appalling" social services and the "disgraceful" roads, both run by county.

Coun Tony Greaves said: "The last thing I want to do is get involved in the problems in Burnley, but I have real fears that places like Nelson, Colne and Brierfield will become peripheral places under the dictatorship of Lancashire."

But he said the situation could soon change, if Preston, South Ribble and Lancaster all decided to go for separate unitary authority status alongside Blackburn, because then the remaining county council would be geographically split in two, making a "stupid" and unviable option.

Coun Whipp said the county authority had a "derisory" attitude to devolution, despite its recent introduction of Lancashire Local meetings to engage with residents. He said the new committees had only a total £15,000 budget to spend in the entire of the borough, compared to the £400,000 which is controlled by committees outside the executive in Pendle.

The members dismissed the idea that Pendle could set out on its own as an independent authority, because it would be too small to operate economically, and were told that Burnley was willing to form the partnership.