Blackburn with Darwen Council leader Phil Riley hopes people can “keep making the borough go forward” in 2024.

Cllr Riley delivered a New Year’s message to residents of the borough that was posted on the council’s social media pages, where he talked about the challenges faced in 2023 but also the positives such as the Lancashire Devolution Deal, festivals in the town, and the opening of new restaurants.

The council leader also discussed the desire to bring growth and prosperity to the borough and making sure nobody is left behind.

He said: “There are a lot of changes that have happened in the borough and probably the most sensible thing to begin with, in terms of a summary, is to talk about the Lancashire devolution deal, which we signed a couple of weeks ago.

“It's taken an awfully long time to get to this stage. But with the help of colleagues in Lancashire County Council and Blackpool Council, we've signed a deal with the government which will start the process of transferring powers from Westminster to Lancashire, which is what we've always wanted to do.

“There is a consultation process going on at the moment and I'd really encourage people to have a look at that and if you like what you see then please say so.

“We've had our usual numbers of festivals, the Festival of Making and the biennial. We’re proud to have those festivals in Blackburn and we obviously hope to have them again next year.

“There are new places opening. You'll have noticed new restaurants in the area of Sudell Cross. We're not far away from the opening of Akbar's, which we're all quite excited about, and the Ribblesdale Tap has reopened in the old Ribblesdale pub and we're really pleased about that.

“In Darwen, progress with the Darwen Town Deal as next year unfolds, you'll see things changing in terms of the town centre square, with work in the market and in the library to go with other features that have changed, including things like the exciting skate park and changes to Darwen FC and, of course the, the work that we did to preserve the Darwen Tower.

“We are really keen on a borough where we have growth because the growth brings prosperity, which brings with it opportunities. And that's what we want. We have this saying in the council about trying to make sure that no one is left behind.

“I'll finish at that stage by wishing you all the best for the new year. And let's hope we can keep making the borough go forward."