Lancashire County Council in the context of "Lancashire Combined County Authority"

Lancaster (/ˈlæŋkəstər/ LANG-kə-stər or /ˈlænkæstər/ LANG-kast-ər) is a city in Lancashire, England, and the main cultural hub, economic and commercial centre of City of Lancaster district. The city is on the River Lune, directly inland from Morecambe Bay. Lancaster is the county town, although Lancashire County Council has been based at County Hall in Preston since its formation in 1889.

The city's long history is marked by Lancaster Roman Fort, Lancaster Castle, Lancaster Priory Church, Lancaster Cathedral and the Ashton Memorial. It is the seat of Lancaster University and has a campus of the University of Cumbria. It had a population of 52,234 in the 2011 census, compared to the district, which had a population of 138,375.

Lancashire (/ˈlæŋkəʃər/ LANG-kə-shər, /-ʃɪər/ -⁠sheer; abbreviated Lancs) is a ceremonial county in North West England. It is bordered by Cumbria to the north, North Yorkshire and West Yorkshire to the east, Greater Manchester and Merseyside to the south, and the Irish Sea to the west. The largest settlement is the city of Preston.

The county has an area of 3,079 square kilometres (1,189 sq mi) and had a population of 1,601,645 in 2024. Preston and Blackburn are located near the centre, Burnley in the east, the seaside resort of Blackpool on the Irish Sea coast in the west, and the city of Lancaster in the north. For local government purposes the county comprises a non-metropolitan county, with twelve districts, and two unitary authority areas: Blackburn with Darwen and Blackpool. Lancashire County Council and the two unitary councils collaborate through the Lancashire Combined County Authority. The county historically included the Furness and Cartmel peninsulas of Cumbria, northern Greater Manchester and Merseyside, and Warrington, but excluded the eastern part of the Forest of Bowland.

County Hall is a municipal building in Fishergate, Preston, Lancashire, England. It is the headquarters of Lancashire County Council.

The 2025 Lancashire County Council election took place on 1 May 2025 to elect members to Lancashire County Council in Lancashire, England. All 84 seats were elected. This was on the same day as other local elections. The council was under Conservative majority control prior to the election. At the election, Reform UK won a majority of the seats on the council.

Padiham (/ˈpædiəm/ PAD-i-əm) is a market town and civil parish on the River Calder, in the Borough of Burnley in Lancashire, England. It is located north west of Burnley, and north east of the towns of Clayton le Moors and Great Harwood. It is edged by the foothills of Pendle Hill to the north-west and north-east. The United Kingdom Census 2011 gave a parish population of 10,098, estimated in 2019 at 10,138.

Blackpool Council is the local authority of the Borough of Blackpool, in the ceremonial county of Lancashire, England. Since 1998 it has been a unitary authority, being a district council which also performs the functions of a county council; it is independent from Lancashire County Council. The borough council has been a member of the Lancashire Combined County Authority since its formation in 2025.

The council has been under Labour majority control since 1991. It meets at Blackpool Town Hall and has its offices in the adjoining Municipal Buildings and at Bickerstaffe Square.

Blackburn with Darwen Borough Council is the local authority of Blackburn with Darwen in the ceremonial county of Lancashire, England. Since 1998 it has been a unitary authority, being a district council which also performs the functions of a county council; it is independent from Lancashire County Council. The borough council has been a member of the Lancashire Combined County Authority since its formation in 2025.

The council has been under Labour majority control since 2011. It is based at Blackburn Town Hall.

The Preston Bypass was the United Kingdom's first motorway, opened in 1958. It was designed and engineered by Lancashire County Council surveyor James Drake as part of a larger initiative to create a north-south motorway network that would later form part of the M6 motorway. The original 8+1⁄4-mile (13.3 km) motorway ran around the east side of Preston between Bamber Bridge (now the M6 junction 29) and Broughton (now the M55 junction 1) and crossed over the River Ribble at Samlesbury at the M6 junction 31.

Planning started in 1937, despite the lack of legal powers permitting motorway construction until the introduction of the Special Roads Act 1949. Early work was hampered by heavy rainfall, resulting in the postponement of various heavy engineering works, such as the base foundation; the result of the weather meant the original two-year plan was delayed by a further five months. The bypass was opened on 5 December 1958 by the then Prime Minister, Harold Macmillan. Nearly £3 million was spent on its construction. Weeks after opening, the road had to close temporarily due to water causing other problems when the base layer was damaged by a rapid freeze and thaw cycle.