East Lancs to be ruled from Blackburn?

A new unitary super council is just one of the possiblities being looked at by councillors in Blackburn with Darwen.

Other unitary boundary options are also being examined ahead of a 2004 referendum which will see the people of Lancashire vote on whether to sweep away the current system of county councils and district councils - and replace it with a North West Regional Assembly plus unitary authorities.

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If the county and borough councils ARE voted out of existence the public will have various unitary boundary choices to choose from.

One of them could be an East Lancashire-wide unitary council - controlling Burnley, Clitheroe, Accrington and other towns - probably based in Blackburn, which already operates as a unitary authority.

The possibility has prompted widespread concern about a backlash - especially in Burnley - in towns which have traditional rivalries with Blackburn and who fear being swallowed up.

Hyndburn Council Labour group leader Coun Jean Battle said: "People are very proud of their hometowns and I don't how they will react to the prospect of being ruled from elsewhere.

"But in truth I don't think it will go down very well. I just hope they don't vote along football lines.

"We were told at the recent local government, by Deputy PM John Prescott, that staying the same is not an option, and I know our council leader Coun Peter Britcliffe will announce in September his desire for a link with the Ribble Valley.

"The Labour party is holding a meeting this Friday, but my personal preference is to be linked with Blackburn because Hyndburn has more in common with Blackburn than it does with Burnley."

Burnley Lib Dem group leader and former mayor Gordon Birtwistle: "I don't think the people of Burnley would be happy about being ruled from Blackburn and some would say 'over my dead body' because of the traditional rivalry between the two towns generated by the football teams.

"And I think an East Lancashire authority would be too big and too much like the county council we have now."

Rita Walsh secretary of the Burnley and District Chamber of Trade said: "I think it would be an extremely tough challenge to bind our authorities together.

"It could almost be unrealistic, but it may have to come to that. I think it would be unpopular in Burnley because we are so parochial."

And Ribble Valley MP Nigel Evans said: "It is the most ghastly idea. It will be massively unpopular in our area, but hopefully just the prospect of it will get enough people out to vote against a regional assembly in the first place, which would cancel out this whole idea."

The prospect of one unitary council for the whole of East Lancashire emerged when the Government announced a referendum on regional assemblies in the North West, Yorkshire and Humber and the North East, would be held next autumn.

The Government asked the Boundary Commission to draw up proposals for new unitary councils and each authority is being asked to submit two suggestions for changed boundaries.

No decision has been taken on which council officials will lead a new super-authority if it gets the go-ahead, but all councillors will have to stand for re-election.

Councils have until September 8 to put their suggestions to the Boundary Commission.

Burnley's MP Peter Pike has led support for an East Lancashire Council and said: "Things like who rules who from where should be put to one side, because there are more important things to consider. They would have to be considered in due course but first people will have to accept what is the best way forward.

"Putting East Lancashire together would give us a city-sized authority and I think that is the way ahead."

But Burnley Council deputy leader Coun Peter Kenyon, who was brought up on the outskirts of Blackburn, said an East Lancashire authority being run from Blackburn was "neither necessary nor desirable."

He added: "I am quite happy with the idea of an East Lancashire authority but it is not our preferred option. It is our second choice after a link-up between Burnley, Pendle and Rossendale."

Asked how the people of Burnley would react to an East Lancashire authority being run from Blackburn Coun Kenyon added: "Some people would be quite angry about that and it doesn't actually make a lot of sense to run an authority from one end of the area."

Burnley Council leader Stuart Caddy said: "The option which seems to make sense is to link Burnley, Pendle and Rossendale as a new authority."

Coun Chris Holtom, leader of Ribble Valley Council, the authority most likely to be carved up between the new unitaries because it is so big, said: "Councillors need to realise that staying still is not option, and if we don't put our opinions forward, we'll end up losing out.

"Certainly I think one authority for the whole area is the least favoured option and would prove unpopular."

Coun Sir Bill Taylor, leader of Blackburn with Darwen, said: "We have been presented by four or five options from officers, ranging from staying as we are to merging with virtually the rest of East Lancashire, which would give us a population of about 450,000 and only exclude the top of the Ribble Valley. We've yet to make a decision about which option we prefer but talks are going on between all the authorities."

Mike Damms, chief executive of the East Lancashire Chamber of Commerce, said: "We fee two councils will be the preferred option and it would certainly make more sense than any of the other options. We are consulting local businesses asking for their opinions at the moment."

Any shake-up would lead to a massive overhaul for staff working in the public sector.

And it would lead to a massive cut in the number of councillors serving, possibly with as many as two-thirds falling by the wayside.

If a yes vote does win the referendum, it does not guarantee a shake-up of local government, as the Government may decide the majority was not high enough or the turn-out too low to reflect public opinion.