CANAL DEVELOPMENT MEETINGS

Cllr Clare Cleary (who is Cabinet Member for Housing & Regeneration) has been leading on meetings involving all the Rishton Councillors and senior HBC staff to drive forward plans to regenerate the canal corridor through Rishton.

Cllr Cleary said, "Currently, there are five potential development sites along the canal and we have now got a definite timeframe in place for consultation and drawing up of a concrete document for how we want the canal corridor to eventually look. We want the sites to be attractive to developers but also ensure that they are developed in a way which is of benefit to Rishton as well. Mistakes have been made in the past, particularly with social housing, and we are keen to avoid that in the future."

The canal masterplan is due to be completed by June 2015 and will involve public consultation and meetings. More details will be published when available.