Liberal Democrats across Preston and central Lancashire have welcomed the announcement that the region can bid for greater local powers.

The opportunity comes following yesterdays announcement by the Deputy Prime Minister, Nick Clegg, for a second wave of City deals. Deals have already been struck for Manchester and Liverpool.

City Deals are a key part of the Government’s objectives of rebalancing the economy and boosting private sector growth.

County Councillor Mark Jewell commented, “This presents a fantastic opportunity for the region that will require the co-operation of Preston, Chorley and South Ribble with Lancashire County Council. We need to be bold and I would suggest scrapping them all and replacing them with a central Lancashire unitary authority.

“This should not however distract from the City Deal bid that will need to put forward  proposals designed to unlock the full growth potential of the area. From control over buses and trains and the freedom to plug skills gaps, to powers to ‘earn back’ tax and set up local investment funds to spend on local projects. This will require a strong political commitment and readiness to put resources into delivering the deal.  The future really is in our own hands. We just need to be bold enough to grab it.”