As of late January 2026, the biggest news regarding Favordale Home for Older People in Colne is a significant "U-turn" by Lancashire County Council that appears to have secured the facility's future. Here is the breakdown of the latest developments:
Following months of uncertainty and a public consultation that saw thousands of local residents petitioning to "Save Favordale," the ruling Reform UK group on Lancashire County Council announced in late January 2026 that they plan to invest in the care home rather than close it.
While the care home itself (Favordale) appears safe, the future of the Byron View Day Centre (which is attached to Favordale) remains less certain.
Despite the positive political announcements, the formal administrative process is still ongoing:
Note for Families: While local leaders like County Cllr David Whipp have welcomed the news as a "victory for people power," they are still calling for the council to send official written confirmation to all residents and staff to provide permanent peace of mind.
The council’s primary goal is to address what they previously called "significantly poor building conditions" without closing the doors.
While an informal "U-turn" has been announced by the ruling group, the formal legal decision and budget sign-off will happen at the following meetings:
The Reform led Lancashire County Council (LCC) supported the 2 Unitary Model. There will be no further response until Feb 2026 at the earliest.
14 Nov 2025 Summary: David Whipp
Over 1,600 people responded to the survey carried out by Pendle and Burnley councils.
Eight out of ten people backed the local councils' proposals for five smaller unitary councils in Lancashire, rather than options being put forward for councils three or four times larger.
Charities, community groups and businesses also strongly backed having more local councils following local government reorganisation.
I'm very pleased that so many people took the trouble to respond to the survey. It's crucial to get this right. I hope that Government ministers will listen carefully to what local people are saying.
This is one of only two surveys in the county that have asked local residents what they want - and the message is loud and clear. There's massive support for our five-unitary option, which proposes councils in the 'Goldilock's Zone' of being just the right size.
Our proposal would keep local government LOCAL; create agile councils able to innovate and improve services; ensure a fair share of resources across Lancashire; give East Lancashire two voices in new combined authorities; and be the best size to tackle the crisis in social care.
In the coming weeks, councillors across the county will be making their minds up on the options sent to the Government. Local residents have given us some powerful ammunition in backing five unitaries. I hope colleagues will get the message loud and clear.
Burnley & Pendle LGR Results Summary
Veteran Liberal Democrat councillor David Whipp is asking residents to help keep local control of local services.
"The Government is replacing local district and county councils with large 'unitary' bodies," said Councillor Whipp. "For people in Pendle, that could mean having a council of half-a-million or over 700,000 residents.
"I think councils that size would be much too big. Residents would loose any semblance of local control of their services and facilities.
"I'm backing an option for a new unitary council based on Burnley, Pendle and Rossendale.
"This would be the right size to run social care services properly and small enough to care about all the townships and communities in our area.
"The proposal for five unitary councils to replace the 15 existing bodies in Lancashire is the one to back at our end of the county."
An online survey is underway asking residents what they think about the options.
Here's a link to the survey. https://www.givemyview.com/lancashirelgr
Councillor Whipp is asking people to fill in the survey. "This asks a lot of 'motherhood and apple pie' questions, with only two narrative questions giving people a chance to let authorities know what they think about unitary councils. Unfortunately there isn't an opportunity for people to 'vote' for an option."
Nov 2 2025: last Wednesday, Nigel Farage presented a bill in Parliament to withdraw from the ECHR and undermine your human rights. It’s only because of the Lib Dems that his shambolic plan was defeated.
We’re proud to stand up for Britain’s proud tradition of freedom, fairness and justice.
The European Convention on Human Rights was written after the Second World War to protect ordinary people from tyranny and abuse - and it still does so to this day. From bringing justice for the Hillsborough families to protecting children facing abuse, it’s crucial we maintain these protections by staying in the ECHR.
Liberal Democrats are working hard to represent our communities in Parliament, and in council chambers across Britain. We are committed to keeping council services local and effective!
This followed on from a local elections in which the Liberal Democrats came second here in the North West of England winning 50 seats to the Conservatives 43 seats, and across Lancashire we secured 3rd with 21.5% of the vote in the Police and Crime Commissioner elections.
Here in Pendle the Liberal Democrats are working hard to secure the help and services local people need following years of cuts and chaos from the former Conservative Government followed by the severe austerity of this Labour Government.
Pendle Council has agreed Liberal Democrat proposals to scrap a controversial multi-million pound Waste Transfer Station in Nelson.
At the council's budget meeting, Liberal councillors successfully proposed investing in a Empty Homes initiative; energy saving at sport and leisure centres; and public realm improvements in town centres (Barnoldswick, Brierfield and Earby), instead of spending over £2 million on the transfer station.
The Liberal group stopped Conservative cuts to street cleansing. The Tories wanted to cut two mechanical sweepers, reducing cleaning in many parts of Pendle, but with Nelson getting extra resources.
The Conservatives also wanted to charge for bulky household waste collections and lost bins. They wanted to bring back a profit-driven private enforcement company to issue fines. Previously, the arrangement had resulted in ‘easy pickings’, such as dogs off lead, being targeted, with no improvement in littering or dog fouling. The Liberal group defeated these changes.
A Liberal Democrat proposal to re-wild Marsden Park Golf Course was lost. The course is set to close, and future use of the land is uncertain. A feasibility study into building a crematorium was also voted down, with a majority of councillors continuing to back spending millions on a large new cemetery in Nelson.
This LGBT+ History Month we celebrate the contributions of LGBT+ people throughout history, reflect on the struggles they have faced and reaffirm our determination to make progress on equality.
View the latest Liberal Democrat Party Political Broadcast.
On Holocaust Memorial Day, we remember the six million Jewish men, women and children murdered in the Holocaust, and the millions of others killed under Nazi persecution.
