Local Democracy Reporting Service

Preston school 'consumed by issues' fights against 'inadequate' Ofsted rating

Will the changes to winter fuel allowance affect how residents decide to heat their homes in the coming months?

Winter fuel allowance cuts: here's how many Lancashire pensioners will lose out

The empty shop on Market Street, where a new homeless shelter will be based from next month (image: Google)

Homeless shelter to open in Preston city centre

Cllr Stephen Atkinson says Ribble Valley residents must have the final say over the future of the council that serves them

Residents will get referendum over whether council is abolished

Does Lancashire need its own Andy Burnham to fly the flag for the county?

New government ‘wants Lancashire to have an Andy Burnham-style elected mayor’

Angie Ridgwell will hand over the reins at the top of Lancashire County Council to Mark Wynn, who will become acting chief executive

New boss for Lancashire County Council - before the current one has even left

Lancashire County Council has revealed the budgetary pressures it faced during the last financial year

School transport and children's services put council budget under pressure

The candidates largely kept quiet while each of them was speaking - not least because they had to share a mic! From left to right: Katherine Fletcher (Conservative), Paul Foster (Labour), Andy Hunter (Reform UK) and Ange Turner (Liberal Democrats)

IN PICTURES: all the action from our South Ribble election debate

Could Ribbleton Avenue be the site of Preston's latest bus lane? (main image: Google)

Preston's NEXT possible bus lane location is already being eyed up

Covid vaccine boosters are now available privately - but NHS and public health leaders in Lancashiee have been silent on the subject

'Don't ask us': NHS and public health silence over private Covid booster

Kirsty Reader, general manager of Granthams, during a rare moment of parking peace on Hope Street

I run a century-old Preston firm and parking chaos is killing custom

Marks & Spencer is recalling M&S Plant Kitchen Mushroom Pie because it contains soya which is not mentioned on the label. Picture: Google

M&S threaten to vacate as Issa Brothers’ firm oppose planning refusal

Some of Lancashire's Long Covid patients - [clockwise from left] Melanie, Miriam and Alissa

'Long Covid left me housebound': Lancashire sufferers tell their stories

At the signing of Lancashire's devolution deal at Lancaster Castle in November: [from left] Blackburn with Darwen Council leader Phil Riley, Lancashire County Council leader Phillippa Williamson, Levelling Up Minister Jacob Young and Blackpool Council leader Lynn Williams after the devolution deal was signed at Lancaster Castle (image: Martin Bostock Photography)

Lancashire residents and businesses back long-awaited county devolution deal

Assumptions have been made about how much Lancashire County Council will increase its council tax bills in the the years ahead - but nothing is certain until members decide

Five percent council tax rise ‘assumed’ by county council for next three years

Eight district councils gave a resounding 'no' when Lancashire County Council asked if they would like on-street pay and display machines in their area

Pay and display rethink after districts say they do not want on-street machines

The prospect of on-street pay and display machines being introduced in parts of Lancashire where kerbside parking is currently free has been ruled out in two thirds of the county’s districts.

Paul Faulkner

Social care is under pressure across both adult and children's services

Here's how much Lancashire will get from government cash boost for social care

Leslie Eastham (left) has found friends at his local warm hub

How Lancashire's warm hubs are providing friendship as well as as sanctuary

Chorley's proposed new civic square would provide a focal point for events and be a place to meet

Chorley's £20m town centre facelift is back on after Levelling Up Fund boost

Andy Walker, chief exceutive of the Lancashire Enterprise Partnership, welcomes Lieutenant General Tom Copinger-Symes CBE, Deputy Commander, UK Strategic Command, to the county for the launch of the Lancashire Cyber Partnership

Lancashire preparing to lead the way in cyber defence as ‘one of the good guys’

Does Lancashire need better bus services?

How Lancashire plans to spend 'unexpected' £7m on the county's bus network

Is Lancashire finally on the cusp of a devolution deal?

Lancashire devolution explained: what does it mean and how will it work?

There is concern that artificial grass laid on the Tolkien Trail in Hurst Green could pollute the River Ribble

‘Environmental timebomb’ on the banks of the Ribble sparks pollution fears

The rate of hospital discharge delays is down, but some people are still not leaving the wards as soon as they should

The most common reasons for hospital discharge delays across Lancashire

This is the North was held in Manchester last year, but will pitch up in Preston in November (images: National World/People's Powerhouse)

Convention on 'how to make life better' is coming to Preston

Lancashire fire brigade had a busy time last year

Lancashire firefighters stopped most house blazes from spreading last year

Utility companies can be fined if they do not stick to conditions about their roadworks sites - including how long a route is dug up (image: Andy Mellin)

Huge rise in roadworks across Lancashire - with hundreds of jobs overrunning

The number of roadworks carried out by utility companies on Lancashire's highways has rocketed by 75 percent in the space of a year, new figures have revealed.

Paul Faulkner

Sheila and John Sheasby were delighted to downsize in retirement when they moved to Penwortham

Ageing population needs bungalows option, says retirement homes boss

How are County Hall's coffers coping?

Autumn date set for Lancashire County Council financial healthcheck

Tanterton Green playground is not currently the place to be after heavy rain - but that is about to change (image: Google)

Playground revamp could 'double the number of days it can be used'

Protestors hope that the fracking experiment at Preston New Road is finally over

Fracking firm to leave Preston New Road site as campaigners say: 'Good riddance'

County Hall's move to a new patments and accounting platrform has caused problems

Council's accounts delayed by system that has also 'caused wage problems'

Work to convert the vacant shop at the junction of Harewood Road and St. George's Road was found to be "substandard"

Bid to flatten Preston shop unit after 'botched' café conversion

The Natwest branch on Fishergate is on the move

Preston city bank branch closes its doors on 180 years of history ahead of move

Lamvashire County Council leader Phillippa Williamson is celebrating "fantastic news" about devolution

Lancashire devolution deal edges closer as minister 'expresses her commitment'

The entrance to the now approved estate on Charter Lane, shown on the left of the picture (image: Google)

Village to get new affordable housing estate in spite of residents' roads fears

The new lung cancer diagnosis kit in action at the Royal Preston

Hope new lung cancer kit at Royal Preston will help increase survival rates

Chorley Council has amended the record to reflect the actual election result in one of its wards

Chorley election result corrected after vote declaration mix-up

Cllr Paul Foster basking in a rare Labour majority in South Ribble

Labour put historic South Ribble victory down to 'being in touch'

Dr. Ann Robinson (front left) and salaried GP Dr. Anna Ressel led a delegation of Withnell Health Centre staff protesting at regional NHS offices over plans to transfer their surgery to a new operator

'Reprieve' for Chorley GP who looked set to lose her surgery after 10 years

The Brick Veil Mosque has finally been given the go-ahead, a year after city councillors approved it

This is why the government has approved Preston's 'motorway mosque'

Cllr James Nevett says politics works best when different generations are represented in the council chamber

'The same could happen to you': Chorley councillor quits Labour with a warning

Lancashire County Council's gritters are set for a re-route

Less gritting and longer grass on the cards as county council seeks £84m savings

Railway Street in Adlington in full bloom (image: Google)

Lancashire's hanging baskets and Christmas bunting 'saved' after lamppost U-turn

The access point to the waste recycling centre off Tom Benson Way, which Lancashire County Council says needs changing in order to accommodate the planned new Aldi and housing development

New Preston Aldi could depend on £550K roads fee being dropped, developer claims

The number of people seeing an NHS dentist in Lancashire in the past two years has fallen sharply - from just under two thirds to just over a third

Drop in Lancashire NHS dental visits means check-ups not done often enough

Wyre Council's chief executive will depart from the authority in March 2023

Wyre Council boss to retire after 36-year career in local government

A sign at the Chorley household waste recycling centre caused confusion

Confusion over whether waste recycling centre staff can help to unload cars

Filling potholes in winter can prove a challenge when conditions are wet and cold

How Lancashire will make winter pothole repairs last longer

A single site to analyse all of Lancashire and South Cumbria's routine pathology samples might not come to pass

‘No guarantees’ over Lancashire blood test hub as boss announces retirement

Phil Woodford could not get a thrombectomy, because his stroke happened at the weekend

Two years until "game changing" stroke treatment available 24/7 in Lancashire

County Hall spent less than it planned lasy year - but it's not counting on being in the same position again

Here's how Lancashire County Council will spend 'leftover' £30m

Kevin McGee, chief executive of Lancashire Teaching Hospitals, and his counterpart at Blackpool Teaching Hospitals, Trish Armstrong-Child, have written to pathology consultants to thank them for their "dedication" after they were irked by comments made about them by the man leading moves to overhaul testing services in Lancashire and South Cumbria

Hospital bosses ask manager to "reflect" on claim consultants silence some staff

Currently, all blood tests and other pathology samples are processed at local hospital sites across Lancashire, but under the planned changes, routine samples ordered by GPs and other out-of-hospital services would be ferried to Samlesbury for analysis in a new state-of-the-art centre - no matter where in Lancashire the patient lives

Preston and Blackpool hospital consultants' anger over 'intimidation' claim

The proportion of Lancashire residents with high blood pressure - and who were having it properly controlled - fell during the first year of the pandemic

Here's how hundreds of heart attacks and strokes could be avoided in Lancashire