PLANS to give a Ribble Valley town an upgraded bus station have been unveiled by county councillors.

A £5,000 feasibility study which will look at what improvements can be made at Whalley bus station has started.

Transport chiefs want to turn the site, in the centre of Whalley, into a transport interchange, acting as a place where people can leave their cars or bikes and use buses to get around.

It would be modelled on Clitheroe's interchange, which acts as a hub for people wanting to swap from bus services to me train.

Whalley's bus station is currently owned by the area's Parish Council which took the site over from Ribble Motors.

It is believed that this is the only bus station in Lancashire owned by a parish council.

The parish council approached Lancashire County Council with a view to transfer of ownership. A spokesman for Lancashire County Council said it was keen to safeguard the bus station's future and develop it as an interchange.

County councillor Nora Ward, in charge of highways and transportation, said: "The bus station is in an ideal location in the centre of Whalley so there could be the potential to develop the site for the benefit of public transport users.

"Before we can take this forward we need to carry out a site investigation survey to establish the condition of the existing carriageway. The County Council has established a reputation for excellence in developing rural transport and I'm sure the people of Whalley will welcome this new development.

"We are still at the investigation stage at the moment but our hope is that we can make improvements."

The announcement was included in a package of surveys which will be carried out across Lancashire to help decide what improvements need carrying out to public transport in the future.

Public transport has received a massive boost in East Lancashire in recent months.

Work has begun on a multi-million pound new rail/bus interchange in Chorley, while £500,000 is to be spent on a new station at Burnley Central rail station.

Burnley's new bus station also opened earlier this year.