Notes from the North: Door left open to fracking in Lancashire and inquest rules council enforced house sale contributed to suicide
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Each Wednesday and Sunday our award-winning editions of The Lead North are published, as we go beyond the headlines to provide vital rigorous independent local journalism in towns and regions in the North of England.
Begun in early 2024, the Lead North publishes in Blackpool, Lancashire, Calderdale, Teesside and Southport. Each week our senior editor for The Lead North, Luke Beardsworth, highlight some of the stories we’ve been breaking exclusively, covering extensively and staying the course on to ensure communities have access to verified independent journalism. If you have any stories you think we should be covering, or tip-offs, you can contact luke@thelead.uk
Fracking on in the Fylde?
Lancashire is one of the more interesting case studies for Reform UK in local government. There have been ongoing controversies - that promised savings so far have amounted to plans to cut funding to nurseries and close care homes - but also a sense of organisation and professionalism that hasn’t been the case elsewhere. The leader, Stephen Atkinson, is the former Tory leader of Ribble Valley Borough Council. But their stance on fracking in Lancashire has softened from ‘will not happen here’ to ‘will probably happen if Farage is Prime Minister’ in just a matter of weeks. The Lancashire Lead reported in-depth from full council:
Council enforced house sale contributed to man’s death
The enforced sale of a family home by Blackpool Council to facilitate the development of a higher education site was a contributing factor in the suicide of a well-known barber and much-loved dad, an inquest has concluded. The Blackpool Lead’s investigation uncovered the concerns about the council’s approach earlier this year and at the conclusion of the inquest, the family thanked us for our coverage of the issue.
A green bounce
The leader of Calderdale’s Green Party is confident his party’s policies are finally cutting through as they prepare for next year’s council elections. Membership numbers, both locally and nationally, have surged in recent weeks on the back of the party electing Zack Polanski as its new leader. In Calderdale, membership has hit a historic high of 550 – more than double the number at this time last year, with more than 200 people - many ex-Labour members - having joined since Polanski got the top job last month.
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