NEWS RELEASE

Have your say on future of LOCAL GOVERNMENT IN LANCASHIRE

RESIDENTS, businesses and community groups in Ribble Valley are invited to have their say on the future of local government in Lancashire.

Ribble Valley Borough Council could be abolished by 2028 in the biggest shake-up of local government in over 50 years.

Currently, Lancashire County Council provides services such as social care, education, roads and libraries, while district and borough councils manage services such as recycling and refuse collection, planning, housing and leisure.

Unitary authorities in Blackpool and Blackburn with Darwen deliver all of their services.

The Government wants to dissolve councils in Lancashire and replace them with single-tier authorities delivering all services.

All of Lancashire’s 15 councils are now working together to develop proposals for what these new authorities might look like.

And they are calling on residents, businesses and community organisations to have their say in a short survey.

Questions include what your experience of council services has been and what you think about the creation of the new unitary authorities, including the benefits and opportunities, as well as concerns.

The answers will help councils shape their proposals, which must be submitted to the Government by November 28.

Ribble Valley Borough Council leader Simon Hore said: “Although the council believes that our residents are best served by the current system of local government in Lancashire, they can rest assured that we will be fighting for the best outcome for the borough if reorganisation goes ahead

“It is important that residents and businesses make their views heard in the survey on the future of local government in Lancashire.”

A range of options for the creation of two to five unitary councils in Lancashire are being considered.

The proposals must demonstrate:

●          Stronger local leadership

●          Improved service delivery and outcomes

●          Value for money and financial sustainability

●          Economic growth and prosperity

●          Community identity and effective local partnerships

The Government is expected to lead a public consultation on the proposals early next year with a preferred option selected in the summer.

New elections for the shadow authorities could take place in May 2027 with the new councils taking over services on April 1 2028.

Parish and town councils will not be affected by the proposed changes.

To take part in the survey visit givemyview.com/lancashirelgr or Lancashire libraries in person.

Paper copies are available at the Ribble Valley Borough Council Offices in Church Walk, Clitheroe, or by phoning 0300 1236701.

Wednesday 3rd September Agenda (pdf)

Brierfield Mobile Library route: parks on the car park by the cricket club 10:50 am – 11: 30 am on the following upcoming Fridays in 2025: 22 August, 12 September, 3 October, 24 October, 14 November. For more information contact Kevin via text or voice on mobile 07774335889 or email brierfield.mobile@lancashire.gov.uk

Scam gardening services offered
Beware cold callers offering garden
services knocking on doors in the West
Lancashire area. In one incident the
elderly householder agreed to the
traders, described as two males in their
20’s, both with dark hair, tidying up the
garden and taking away some cuttings.
The traders were only there 10 to 15
minutes, did very little work and did not
take the cuttings away, took £500 from
the householder and tried to bully them
into giving a further £700.

In another incident in the Chorley area, a
resident agreed to cold callers pruning a
medium sized a tree. The householder
agreed as she initially believed she had
used the trader before, but this was not
the case. The traders charged nearly
£1000 for the work which was very
poorly done. The following day they
returned trying to get further work agreed
to, luckily the householder refused.
Bogus fencing work
A Hyndburn resident looking for some
fencing work to be carried out took the
recommendation of a friend of a friend.
The fencer came to look at the job and
asked for £500 up front for materials
which was provided in cash, but did not
return. The householder was provided
with no paperwork and had no address
details to contact the trader.
Always do your own research before
agreeing to work. Be wary if traders ask
for money upfront. Remember, if you
agree there and then in your own home
the trader should give you paperwork
informing you of your 14 day right to
cancel, which should also include a business address.

If you are struggling
to find a known local tradesman, The
Safetrader scheme can help you find
a trader in your area, contact 0303 333
1111 or go to www.safetrader.org.uk.
Trading Standards advice is to always
say no to cold callers.

Scam parking penalty notice text.
Beware receiving a text claiming that
you’ve been issued a parking penalty
notice (PCN). The text tells you that you
must pay a £20 parking fine and says
that this is your final notice. The text
uses a spoofed mobile number and
email address. It goes on to scare the
recipient by claiming that legal action
could be taken against you if you don’t
pay and includes a malicious link to
follow to make the payment.

TV Licence scam
Genuine emails from the TV Licencing
organisation will be sent from either
donotreply@tvlicensing.co.uk or
donotreply@spp.tvlicensing.co.uk. Do
not trust any emails that look suspicious
or unusual. Hover over the email
address bar, sometimes a scam address
can be hidden, and check what address
appears between the < > symbols.
Report scam emails by forwarding
them to report@phishing.gov.uk.

Report scam texts by forwarding to
7726.

Contact the Trading Standards
Service via the Citizens Advice
consumer Helpline on 0808 223 1133

Lancashire County Council are running our summer campaign again this year from 21 July to 1 September!

#LancsSummer brings everything together that Lancashire residents need to have a great summer. From free sessions at Family Hubs, low-cost fun days out and health tips, to visiting our Reuse shops, getting ready for a new school term and starting a career with LCC, there’s something for everyone.  

Visit the webpage here: www.lancashire.gov.uk/summer

2nd July 2025 (pdf) awaiting approval

Scam tree services offered

Reports have been received regarding cold callers offering tree and shrub cutting services in the Hyndburn area.  In one instance the traders claimed the overhanging branches were dangerous, wanted cash and claimed more money was required than the initial agreed amount. 

Often these traders will carry out very little work, will not take the cuttings away and charge a lot of money for their services.  Be wary of flyers put through your door offering similar services.  

Bogus roofers

Be on the alert for cold callers offering to carry out roof work and repairs.  A householder in the Fylde area agreed to a cold caller replacing facia boards and soffits, they agreed a price and paid an upfront deposit of £700, the traders never returned. 

This is a common scenario – always make sure you use known local traders.  Even if cold callers provide paperwork, often the address may not be legitimate, contact phone numbers that look like local landline numbers may not be local but divert to untraceable mobile phones. 

Trading Standards advice is to always say no to cold callers.  The Safetrader scheme can help you find a trader in your area, contact 0303 333 1111 or go to www.safetrader.org.uk.  

Current phishing scams.   

Be on the alert if you receive an email alleging to be from Apple iCloud stating your payment method has expired and your account has been disabled.  The email further states that your account has been blocked and that you could lose all your photos, providing a link to click on to update your details. 

A scam text claiming to be from Lloyds Bank is also currently doing the rounds, claiming a new direct debit for £126.99 has been set up on your account today.  Asking, if you didn’t authorise the direct debit to click on the link provided. 

It is easy for scammers to send such messages out to millions of people, often they imply a sense of urgency, not giving you time to think and can lead to you providing personal and financial information.  

Pet microchip database scam

Pet owners beware receiving a scam email asking you to renew expired microchip registrations. Such scam emails may take your money but your registration will not be valid or legally compliant and will not be of use if your pet is lost or stolen.  Always double check the database you are using is registered and listed on the government website, Get your dog or cat microchipped – GOV.UK. 

Report scam emails by forwarding them to report@phishing.gov.uk.  Report scam texts by forwarding to 7726.

Report it to Action Fraud on 0300 123 2040 or via www.actionfraud.police.uk.

Contact the Trading Standards Service via the Citizens Advice consumer Helpline on 0808 223 1133

Please be advised that notice of the period for the exercise of public rights and a declaration that the accounting statements are yet unaudited, will commence on Tuesday the 1^st of July 2025 and will be available to until Tuesday the 12^th of August 2025.

They will then be available to view in our Finance section of the website.

Any person interested has the right to inspect and make copies of the accounting records and the unaudited AGAR (subject to change as a result of review by appointed auditor) for the financial year to which the audit relates and all books, deeds, contracts, bills, vouchers, receipts and other documents relating to those records must be made available for inspection by any person interested. For the year ended 31 March 2025, these documents will be available on reasonable notice by application to:

Dr Anna Haines, Read Parish Clerk, Read Parish Council, 19 Windsor Close, Read, BB12 7QH

readparishcouncilclerk@gmail.com

Local government electors and their representatives also have the opportunity to question the appointed auditor about the accounting records; and the right to make an objection which concerns a matter in respect of which the appointed auditor could either make a public interest report or apply to the court for a declaration that an item of account is unlawful. Written notice of an objection must first be given to the auditor and a copy sent to the smaller authority.

The smaller authority’s AGAR is subject to review by the appointed auditor under the provisions of the Local Audit and Accountability Act 2014, the Accounts and Audit Regulations 2015 and the NAO’s Code of Audit Practice 2015.  The appointed auditor is PKF Littlejohn LLP.

This announcement is made by Dr Anna Haines, Parish Clerk, Read Parish Council

Dear residents of Read,

This week we’ve had the theft of some patio furniture reported to us. Offenders have reached over the garden gate to un-bolt it and then entered the garden and stolen a table and 3 chairs out of 4 (presumably they didn’t have room for the 4th!). We have no witnesses or any CCTV so offenders will likely remain undetected. 

Please take this opportunity to think about the value of items that may be readily accessible in your gardens and if relevant check your home insurance policy to see if you have adequate cover for them.

Take care

PCSO Katie Ferguson

2nd July 2025 Agenda (pdf)