Government set to announce plans for Lancashire lockdown tomorrow

Areas in local lockdown will include Lancaster, Preston, Chorley and Fylde to name a few.


Following the announcement of new lockdown rules in the North East which will come into place on Friday, the UK government has decided to include Lancashire in the list of counties under stricter lockdown restrictions.

These new rules will come into play from Saturday 19th September and will impact almost everywhere in the county other than certain areas of Blackpool. However, it is currently still unclear which specific areas of Blackpool will be exempt.

The restrictions will forbid households mixing in all circumstances including being out in public restaurants and bars. Public transport will also be limited to essential trips for hospital appointments, education and work.

A source at the Labour party confirmed to reporters at LancsLive that the government have made this decision in the last couple of hours. Confirmation of this decision is set to come on Friday 18th September before the new rules go live on Saturday.

LancsLive have also reported that the included Burroughs are suggested to be Preston, Lancaster, Wyre, Fylde, Chorley, South Ribble, West Lancashire, Ribble Valley, Blackburn with Darwen, Burnley, Pendle, Hyndburn, and Rossendale.

These restrictions were said to have been called for by “those leading Lancashire’s coronavirus response” asking for the Department of Health to tighten restrictions to stop households “mixing socially.”

LancsLive quoted the restrictions as being “less severe than Bolton” and claimed that it is “quite unlikely” that the government wouldn’t agree to further restrictions in Lancashire.

In a second article by LancsLive, a Blackburn with Darwen Borough Council spokesperson said: “We know that there are local media articles circulating about what additional restrictions might come in for Blackburn with Darwen in the next few days.

“We are currently working closely with central government to understand the national position and new recommendations. As soon as we are in a position to let you know what these are and how BwD will be affected, we will issue a statement with the full facts.”

Secondly, Chief Executive at Rossendale Borough Council, Neil Shaw, acknowledged LancsLive’s reports on Twitter: “He confirmed the council is fighting against new lockdown restrictions in the district” according to LancsLive.

Mr Shaw was quoted to have said: “To be clear, no leader in Rossendale has called for the introduction of tighter restrictions. The Government may impose these at some point but we are making the case why they shouldn’t.”

Last Friday, Dr Sakthi Karunanithi, director of public health for Lancashire County Council, told LancsLive “we must not hesitate to bring in control measures swiftly” if the situation worsens.

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