BREAKAWAY bids by district councils from Lancashire County Council look set to fail.

Today is the deadline for councils to tell Communities Secretary Ruth Kelly MP what they want to do over a proposed shake-up of local government.

The plans allow the creation of more unitary councils, which would run all the services in their area, or improvements to the current two-tier working between districts authorities and Lancashire County Council.

Pendle confirmed earlier this week that it wanted to become a unitary with Burnley. And Burnley councillors were expected to vote for the move last night.

Preston and Lancaster are also pressing ahead with plans to go it alone.

But Ribble Valley Council has opted to continue with the two-tier system, as have Rossendale. Hyndburn has abandoned plans to become a unitary authority.

As a result, council officials are highly sceptical the plans will ever come to fruition.

Ms Kelly said that unitary moves had to be agreed by all councils in a county to be given the go-ahead. Coun Peter Britcliffe, Hyndburn leader, said: "In Hyndburn we have decided to accept the status quo as there has been little encouragement from central government for us to become a unitary authority."

Duncan Ruddick, leader of Rossendale, said: "I think it is clear that plans for unitaries in Lancashire are not going to succeed.

"We have signed up to enhanced two-tier working. We need to have more seamless services, and stop blaming each other."

Coun Alan Davies, leader of Pendle, said his council's proposal to go it alone with Burnley would save between £2million and £9million, which could be ploughed back into services.

Coun Gordon Birtwistle, leader of Burnley, said: "We want to control our own destiny. We feel that being a unitary council would be better for Burnley. We can't see any reason for Ruth Kelly to turn it down. We have got a superb business case."

Blackburn with Darwen and Blackpool broke away from the county council in 1998 in a previous bout of reorganis-ation.

Coun Kate Hollern, leader of Blackburn with Darwen, said: "We are not required to do anything as we are already a unitary council."

Official confirmation of whether Burnley and Pendle will be allowed to merge will be given in March.