MAYORAL chains which have been stored away in mothballs for almost 30 years will finally get an airing when Padiham elects a new town council mayor.

Padiham town council last met in 1974 before a local government review shut down many smaller town councils including Padiham. Padiham and Hapton were then represented by sub-committees of Burnley council.

But after years of campaigning to regain its independence the Government granted permission for Padiham to have its own town council in October 2001.

The committee of 15 to be elected on May 2 is likely to have a mayor at the helm.

Town council steering group member Hazel Rushton said: "There is still an original chain of office, which has 'Padiham District Council' engraved on it, but we will change that by adding an extra bar."

Burnley council has possession of two sets of chains -- one for the mayor and one for either the deputy mayor or chairman of the town council.

The new town council will also have to pay around £300 to have the chains cleaned and insured.

Campaigners had called for the town hall's chambers to be reopened and used for a town council since the 1980s.

Mrs Rushton said: "We feel we will never be part of Burnley and we've got our identity and a strong sense of community."

Demand reached fever pitch in 1994 when Burnley Council organised a referendum where around 50 per cent of Padiham's population voted in favour of a separate town council.

The hope is that the town council will put the town on the map and help regenerate the area.

Hazel added: "We want to see Padiham as a thriving market town. If the market gets full of stalls we feel the empty shops will start to fill.

"People keep coming to open shops and then leaving. They don't seem to find a niche in the market."

There are also concerns about a number of derelict houses in the Top Hill area of the village.

Hazel, part of a steering group set up to plan out the new town council, said there were also plans to set up a youth council in Padiham, which would work alongside town councillors at the same time as serving the needs of the town's youth.

She went on: "One of the big problems here is there is nothing for the young to do. We've sick of hearing there's this and that in Burnley. Padiham parents are not chauffeurs."

The town hall was built in 1938 at a time when very few civic buildings were constructed and has a unique art deco style.

The design has attracted the interest of architecture students. It houses a library, ballroom and hidden away somewhere is a projection room. In recent years office space within the building has been used by Burnley Council and it has also been licensed for weddings.