Skip to content

Help us improve Lancashire Service Finder

Tell us about your experience and help us improve the directory. Click the button to get started.

Give feedback

Searching

Categories and filters 

  • We recommend selecting a category . If you have used a keyword into the search, categories and filters will work with the keyword.  

  • You can only have one category selected at a time. 

  • Unselecting a category and selecting a different one will not clear your key word from the search but it will change what appears under 'filters'. 

  • Search results will also change depending on what filters you select. The number of results may increase or decrease. 

 

  1. Choose one of the categories

  1. Relevant filters will show for the category.  For example: 'Adults' (category) > 'Carers' (filter) > 'Carer support' and 'Short breaks' (sub-filters) 

  1. Use sub-filters that best relate to what you're searching for. You can expand and select multiple filters. 

 

Postcode and radius 

  • Under 'Location' you can 'Enter Postcode' and 'Select radius'. These work together and narrow down search results to an area. The postcode is where you'd like to set your search at (this could be your home postcode). The radius is the distance from the postcode you enter (the bigger the radius, the bigger the area will be).

  • Some services are online and/or UK-wide, such as national charities. Searching with a postcode and radius may exclude these from the results. 

  1. Under 'Location' enter a full existing postcode and set your radius

  1. Select 'Apply Location' 

  1.  Click 'hide map' to see listings, or read more about how to use the map here/below (depending how page is set up). 

 

Map View

  • The map is hidden by default. To see it:

 

  1. Select  'Show Map'  

  1. A map will display with pins for the services listed

  1. Select a pin to see details for that service 

  1. Use the + and – buttons to zoom in and out  

 

  • The map will update in the same way listings do if you refine your search.

 

'Sort by' 

  • Results will automatically be sorted 'A to Z', unless a keyword is used and then it will sort by 'Relevance'. 
  • You can re-order results at any time by selecting the 'Sort by' dropdown menu. Options are: 

  1. Relevance

  2. A to Z

  3. Z to A

  4. Distance (this requires a postcode search) 

 

Resetting filters

To begin a new search, select 'Reset filters'. This will: 

  • Clear your keyword from the search bar 

  • Untick 'category' 

  • Untick any filters 

  • Clear the postcode and reset the radius to 1 mile 

  • Hide the map 

  • Reset order to 'A to Z' 

 

If you wish to save your current search and the results for another time before starting again, use the 'Save this search' function. Click here to find out how this works.

There are two ways to search the directory: from the homepage, or within the directory.

From the homepage

Keywords and Postcode

  1. Go to Lancashire Service Finder homepage 

  1. In the search bar where it says, 'Search Lancashire Service Finder', enter a keyword(s) related to what you are looking for, for example 'dementia', 'Family Hub', 'financial support' or 'home care'. Do not use phrases such as 'I need help cleaning my house' or 'childminder in Preston'. 

  1. Enter a postcode in the box that says, 'Enter Postcode' to search for services in a specific area. If you would like to see services/results from across all of Lancashire, nationwide services such as large charities and/or services that offer virtual support, leave the post code box empty. 

  1. Click the green 'Search' button 

 

'Search Categories' 

  1. Click the category boxes on the Lancashire Service Finder homepage to only see services in that section.  

 

Within the directory

  1. In the search bar where it says 'Search Lancashire Service Finder', enter a keyword(s) related to what you are looking for.

  2. Click the green 'Search' button 

 

Click the links below to learn how to refine and reorder listings/results, and reset the filters from within the directory. 

  • categories and filters 

  • postcode and radius  

  • map view 

  • 'Sort by' 

  • resetting preferences (including unticking filters)