A REDUNDANT gasworks in Clitheroe could find a new lease of life as a flagship cinema and arts centre.

The Ribble Valley Council has agreed in principle to sell the Kirkmoor Road site to the Trinity Community Partnership for an undisclosed sum.

The partnership, based at Trinity Youth and Community Centre, has been looking for a suitable site in Clitheroe for a state-of-the-art, multi-purpose arts centre.

Funded from a variety of sources, it will house a cinema, theatre, performing arts areas and rehearsal space.

Geoff Jackson, chief officer of the Trinity Partnership, said members of the proposed centre's Chance of a Lifetime steering group were feeling very positive about the new move.

"The council has agreed in principle to sell us the former gasworks in Kirkmoor Road subject to the outcome of a feasibility study and seems to be a hundred per cent behind us. This is the best position we've been in for two years and we feel really positive about the future of the project."

The feasibility study, which will look at the commercial viability of the proposed centre and traffic management at the site, has now gone out to tender.