Preston and Lancaster city status could need King’s protection

Preston and Lancaster are set to be subsumed into larger local authorities in 2029 as part of a major reorganisation of local government across the county.

The changes mean their existing councils will cease to exist, potentially putting their city titles at risk unless specific action is taken to preserve them.

Local government minister Jim McMahon last month moved to reassure cities in areas undergoing similar shake-ups that their identities would be “preserved”.

The Local Democracy Reporting Service understands Preston and Lancaster have been advised that this is likely to be done through the issuing of “letters patent”, legal documents authorised by the monarch, normally on the advice of ministers.

The government had previously stated that the establishment of “Charter Trustees”, individuals empowered to hold historic property such as charters or insignia for a city, would be the usual solution.

However, there were concerns over the complexity of that process, and history shows what can happen if the necessary protections are not put in place. Rochester, in Kent, accidentally lost its city status in 1998 when it became part of the new Medway Council and failed to appoint the necessary trustees.

Preston became a city in 2002 as part of Queen Elizabeth II’s Golden Jubilee celebrations, while Lancaster was given the title in 1937. They remain Lancashire’s only two cities.

The county’s 15 main councils are set to be scrapped as part of a government-ordered overhaul that will see them replaced with a handful of new, streamlined authorities.

In July, ministers announced that four new councils would be created – one of which would merge the existing Preston, Lancaster and Ribble Valley local authority footprints. However, last month, that decision was ripped up over legal concerns and will now be retaken after the government has assessed the five different configurations the current councils had proposed to succeed them.

Amid that ongoing uncertainty, Preston City Council leader Matthew Brown welcomed the removal of any risk to city status.

“Preston is a proud city, home to many ancient traditions, and the largest place in Lancashire – an economic gateway with a strong, culturally rich identity.

“It is vital that Preston’s city status is protected for generations to come and I fully support the use of letters patent to protect the City of Preston.

“Whatever the decision may be around local government reorganisation, Preston must remain a city in its own right – with its name, identity and civic status preserved,” Cllr Brown told the LDRS.

Lancaster City Council leader Caroline Jackson said it made sense to simplify – and centralise – what would otherwise have been a “complicated and expensive” undertaking.

“There are risks that you can lose your city status by doing something inadvertent. So [by giving] us letters patent, the government can [make the arrangements], instead of expecting us to go through a very complex legal process,” Cllr Jackson added.

Letters patent are ordinarily the way in which city status is conferred on an area in the first place.

According to the House of Commons library, they are open letters which express “the will of the Monarch, usually on ministerial advice”.

The documents are classed as primary legislation and can either be statutory – whereby an Act of Parliament provides for their use – or issued under “the royal prerogative”.