An East Lancashire local authority is to review its smoke control area so it covers more recent housing estates where long burners have become popular.

Burnley Council's executive on Wednesday night will be asked to authorise a review of the existing regime with a view to plugging current gaps.

The senior councillors will also be asked to join with Chorley Council and South Ribble Council to appoint a specialist consultant to review all three boroughs' Smoke Control Orders together, using a £11,710 environmental grant from the government.

A report to the meeting says: "Reviewing Smoke Control Areas will enable gaps in the coverage to be addressed.

"Currently most of the borough is covered by Smoke Control Orders, however, there are some areas of new development outside the Smoke Control Area.

"These areas were not included when the orders were made in the 1960s and 1970s as at the time they were less densely populated.

"As residential developments have increased in these areas wood burning stoves have become more prevalent.

"Smoke Control Areas were first introduced under the Clean Air Acts 1956 and 1968 when smog from industrial and domestic burning of coal was thought to be causing hundreds of premature deaths.

"Evidence has shown that solid fuel combustion continues to harm health.

"Given the known health implications, it is recommended the council undertakes a review of current provision and in conjunction with specialist consultants, identifies potential options going forward.

"One of the options available is for the whole of the administrative area of the borough to be declared a Smoke Control Area.

"This would require the existing Smoke Control Orders to be revoked and a new single borough-wide order to be introduced.

"Another option is to keep the existing orders in place and to introduce new orders to cover those parts of the borough that do not have them.

"The review will also consider if house boats moored on the canal within the borough should also fall within the scope of the Smoke Control Areas.

"Extending the SCA to cover the whole borough will help give a consistent message to all residents and will enable effective enforcement where necessary and in turn positively impact to public health."