THIS is how Burnley's new Central Station is set to look after a £500,000 face-lift turns it into a space-age showpiece.

Plans were today unveiled to demolish the old building and replace it with a futuristic station with ticket office, waiting area, disabled access and CCTV.

Lancashire County Council has agreed to spend £200,000 on rebuilding Burnley Central , which is used by passengers travelling to all stops along the Blackpool South to Colne route.

Now a bid for a further £234,000 has been made to the Strategic Rail Authority to fund the total refit of Burnley Central.

A county council report states that officers believe the bid has been successful.

Money will also come from the borough council, First North Western and the East Lancashire Partnership to help fund the scheme.

Last year, the county council approved a £50,000 study into the future of the railway station and what should be done to it.

It concluded that since being built in 1960, large areas of the building have become redundant, resulting in large parts of it becoming "dark, empty and threatening" for passengers.

Under the new plans, the existing station will be demolished and a new building constructed slightly further up the station's long platform.

A new station car park, bus stop and taxi drop-off point will be included outside while space for a retail unit will be included in the design. A new shuttle bus service is also being considered for people to get between the Central and Manchester Road stations and the new bus station.

A new ticket office and improved waiting area will be provided, along with better access for disabled people.

A report to Coun Nora Ward, who is in charge of highways and transportation at Lancashire County Council, says that many people feel isolated when waiting on the platform, so in the new design it can be seen from the road.

Coun Ward said: "A new and imposing station building, which is what we have designed, will provide an improved gateway into Burnley. The building has been designed to face the street rather than the platform."

A Customer Information System would also be introduced given passengers details of bus and rail services.

Coun Ward added: "An improved station could also encourage more sustainable shopping trips, particularly to the adjacent retail areas, as well as acting as a catalyst to further regeneration of the area." There is an initial target of an eight per cent rise in passenger numbers. Passengers can travel from Burnley to Colne, Accrington, Rishton, Oswaldtwistle, several stations in Blackburn, Bamber Bridge, Preston and Blackpool.

The trans-Pennine express service, which runs from Blackpool to Scarborough, stops at Burnley's Manchester Road station on the outskirts of town.

Councillor Margaret Lishman, Burnley Borough Council's regeneration committee chairman, said: "It would make a big difference not just to the station but also to the surrounding area. It's certainly something we would welcome because it would add quality to our environment.

"Like attracts like, and with an input of money and an improved environment I would hope more people would travel to the town."

Roger Gibson, business manager with the East Lancashire Chamber of Commerce, added: "The station looks like it's still in the dark ages and we would welcome any expenditure which improved the area."