Blackpool Council puts forward its preferred method for abolishing itself - but what else could happen?

Blackpool Council is on borrowed time. But what comes next?

Hello and welcome to The Blackpool Lead.

Today we unpick the various different options on the table for when Blackpool Council is no more.

Under local government reorganisation plans, every council in Lancashire will be abolished and replaced with anywhere between two to five authorities of somewhat equal size. It means, more than likely, that Blackpool will be merging with Wyre and Fylde at the very least in the near future.

But the plans are not popular - at the very least with the authorities themselves - for various different reasons. We’ve unpicked the different options and the context behind them for you today. Local government reorganisation can be seen as a dry topic - but it matters a great deal for how we all live our lives and the services provided to us.

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Blackpool briefing

📍 Residents in part of Blackpool’s North Shore are to learn more about an updated masterplan which can help improve their area. The ‘Our Claremont: People’s Plan’ is to launch online today (November 30) after being put together by local residents. The Plan, created by local people, for local people, sets out a shared vision for a stronger, more connected and thriving Claremont, built through months of conversation, collaboration and community ideas. Its aim is to ensure the area is ready for capital investment which can revitalise the area, listed as one of the most deprived in the country. It sets out key themes identified by the community, including Homes, Community, Access to Work, Health and Happiness and Environment, along with both immediate ‘quick wins’ and long-term ambitions.

🗑️ The first deliveries of new bins for Blackpool – including brown ones- have arrived as part of the shake-up of waste collections coming in next year. From April 2026 major updates are coming to Blackpool’s waste and recycling collections – including new bins, food waste caddies and a refreshed collection schedule as part of the Government’s nationwide Simpler Recycling initiative. Blackpool’s overall waste service will move to a three-weekly cycle. Food waste will be collected weekly, garden waste fortnightly (for subscribers) and general waste, paper and cardboard, and mixed recycling will each be collected once every three weeks.

🛏️ A house in Blackpool could be used as a residential care home for adults with learning difficulties, if the plans get the green light. Proposals have been lodged with planners at Blackpool Council for use of a property as a residential care home, which would be for up to two adults aged 18 and over with learning disabilities, physical disabilities, and mental health conditions. The application is in respect of a property located on William Street, Layton, and would see a change of use of the property from from class c3 (dwelling house) to c2 care home for two persons.

Blackpool Council puts forward its preferred method for abolishing itself - but what else could happen?

Image by Mark McNeill

By Luke Beardsworth

Blackpool Council has formally decided the way that it wants to abolish itself - and if nothing else they appear to have put forward the most unique suggestion.

The Labour-led authority has put forward a proposal that would see a new local authority created that includes Blackpool, Fylde, Preston - and half of Wyre.

It is the only proposal that suggests reshaping Lancashire in this manner - all other proposals put forward by authorities see areas group together in the shape they currently are.

This is part of the Local Government Reorganisation plans being insisted by the government that essentially see all two-tier council systems removed and replaced by unitary authorities serving populations of around 500,000.

Blackpool, and Blackburn with Darwen, are unique in Lancashire as already serving both tiers of local government. In Fylde and Wyre, for example, roads, adult social care, education and a raft of other services are instead overseen by Lancashire County Council.

This would mean the 15 existing local authorities in Lancashire will be replaced by two-to-five new councils, depending on whose preference gets the green light.

The plans have been unsurprisingly unpopular with local authorities themselves, who ultimately have to decide their preferred model for abolishing themselves.

Blackpool Council’s Labour leader Lynn Williams said the plan they put forward made sense on many levels.

She said: “Blackpool and Preston are areas that are really pushing the issue of regeneration and [we both have] that urbanness – so there is far more in common [between us than not].

The shape of Blackpool’s preferred new council

“I think [the proposed area] also reflects how people live and how they travel to work – a lot of people who live in Blackpool work in Preston and vice versa. You’ve got the connectivity of the M55, so there’s [west-east travel] as much as there is up to Cleveleys, Poulton and Fleetwood [which we have] a lot in common with.

“So there’s a real feeling of connectivity, work and community.”

Cllr Paul Galley, leader of Blackpool’s Conservative opposition, told a meeting this month that the process felt rushed and added: “Blackpool is so unique – trying to merge a coastal town like ours with industrial Preston doesn’t make sense.

“Why are we allowing this to happen with a whimper and not a shout?”