PLANS to build a cycleway and footpath, on the site of a disused East Lancashire railway line, have been given a boost by Burnley Council.

The proposals, costing £500,000 to £1m, could transform the former Padiham branch line, which closed in 1993, into a landscaped park incorporating a cycleway and footpath stretching from Rosegrove junction to the edge of the borough at Shuttleworth Mead.

It is hoped the scheme, run in partnership with Burnley Council, Lancashire County Council and sustainable transport charity Sustrans, would eventually be extended to Great Harwood as part of the National Cycle Route.

Before work could begin on the project, the Strategic Rail Authority would have to grant permission to decommission the line.

Remade programme manager Guy Kenyon, said: "This is one scheme we regard as a priority and one we hope to make progress with."