NELSON’S former bus station has been earmarked for a weekly car boot sale to attract more shoppers, as part of the Mary Portas pilot.

Council chiefs want to turn the former bus station in Broadway, which has been empty for more than four years, into an area for Saturday morning car boot sales.

It is hoped that the sales will bring in extra footfall to the town centre.

Judith Stockton, Pendle Council’s senior regeneration officer, said: “The application is being made as part of the Nelson Portas Pilot which seeks to increase footfall within Nelson town centre and bring vacant units and spaces back into use.

“There is an identified need for a site for a car boot sale within this locality and this site provides sufficient space as well as cover against inclement weather for both sellers and shoppers.

“It is hoped that visitors to the car boot sale will also visit local shops within the town centre, which are within easy walking distance of the site.”

Sellers will be able to set up from 7am and everyone will have to leave the site by 4pm.

Councillors on the Nelson Area Committee will be asked to approve plans to change the use of the bus station to retail at a meeting on Monday.

Pendle Council planning officer Keith Thompson said: “Car boot sales or stall markets can fulfil a community and recreational need, in addition to their value in increasing the retail dynamic of shopping centres.

“The proposal forms part of the Mary Portas pilot scheme with the core objective of regenerating town centres and shopping uses within.

“This proposal would, to a small degree, make a positive contribution to this objective.

“In addition, car boot sales can make use of vacant or difficult sites and introduce colour and movement into locations where this may be lacking.”