PLANS to turn Rawtenstall town centre into a £12million state-of-the-art retail complex have been unveiled.

Under the scheme, Rossendale Town Hall will be demolished to make way for a new shopping centre and bus station.

Revealed at a special meeting held in Rawtenstall last night, it also includes a covered mall with 13 retail units and a first floor car park, with 258 short-stay spaces and 17 for disabled use.

But Rossendale Chamber of Commerce has urged councillors to act with caution after raising concerns over finances.

The plans, unveiled by Manchester-based Modus Property Developers, will offer units of between 7,000 sq ft and 13,000 sq ft.

Lancashire County Council has given Rossendale Borough Council permission to demolish the existing bus depot to make way for a 21st century design similar to Burnley's new facility.

The news comes just a week after Asda announced it was set to build a new superstore on the Lower Mills site, off St Mary's Way.

Damion Flood, of Modus, said: "We have done similar schemes in Whitley Bay, which has retailers like Marks & Spencer, Iceland, Clintons Cards and Claires Accessories. We see these sort of guys coming to Rawtenstall."

If the new scheme gets planning permission from councillors, traders will be offered the option of re-locating, which could mean closing for 10 months while the building work is complete.

However, Clive Balchin, president of Rossendale Chamber, warned that if councillors don't think the plans through, tax payers will end up with a financial headache.

He said: "Financially I see alarm bells ringing. I am urging caution to all members. I looked at this two years ago and it doesn't stack up again.

"I know Modus are very good but it doesn't seem very well thought out financially. We really need to have our thinking caps on because we don't want to be paying for it for the next 25 to 30 years."

He added: "I am pleased it's coming, although it's not as radical or dynamic as I was expecting. I don't know what is happening to the council offices and that's something that should be at the forefront of every officers mind."

Graham Pearson, leader of Rossendale Council, said the development also includes town centre CCTV, something members have campaigned to introduce for years.

He said: "The scheme will improve security because we may get CCTV for the first time in Rawtenstall as a consequence of this after we have tried many times to get it.

"We have got to go forward with caution. We have the negative comments that are not helpful to anybody.

"We can see the changes and improvements that are going on in Rossendale. Developers are spending their own money and this development will compliment that.

"We will think about the future of the town hall. To do nothing is not an option. It will attract more people to Rawtenstall, rather than people coming and going back to the likes of Ramsbottom, Bury and Burnley."

Concerns have also been raised about increased traffic flow from large service vehicles and pedestrian dangers with more people crossing St Mary's Way.