THE town centre management team which attracts hundreds of thousands of pounds of investment into Burnley is under threat unless businesses come up with cash support.

For three years the project has been funded with £175,000 a year from European and Government sources.

But this comes to an end in December, which has left the team having to find £100,000 to ensure the work can continue over the next three years.

Town Centre manager Lisa Durkin said: "We have already received funding commitment for nearly half that total and I will be going out to the businesses to try to get agreement to fund the rest.

"It won't be easy but I hope we will be able to achieve it.

"If say nobody gives us 1p more other than, the £40,000 we already have agreed we would not be able to continue, but I don't think that will happen."

This week town centre team received a boost when the council recommended a plan for it to benefit from income generated at town centre pitches, including the new proposed pavement cappuccino cafe which will replace the unused charity arch with matched funding from the private sector.

Lisa and her deputy Ian Stackhouse are soon to introduce a membership scheme for businesses which will be renewed annually and a new web-site. All of these initiatives will lead to income being guaranteed for future years.

Burnley Council has pledged £20,000 which has been matched by the private sector -- the town centre pitches and new cafe should ultimately add a further £20,000.

Lisa added: "We want a major department store, more restaurants and more quality retail shops. If we don't protect the town centre and keep it vibrant, we could easily slip back to where we were 10 years ago.

"As a resident of Burnley and a keen shopper, my personal aim for the town is to enhance the present retail offer and investment opportunities, to create a thriving and viable town centre, of which I can be proud to live, work, shop and enjoy leisure.

"If the team is not funded then the responsibility for events would probably go back to the council which has not budgeted for it and it."

The opening of the TK Maxx store next week with the creation of 80 jobs is a prime example of the achievements of the under-threat Burnley Town Centre Initiative -- the store only came into town after two and a half years of negotiations with Lisa.

Council director David Brown reported that it was hoped to raise more money over time with the basic principle being that money earned from the town centre was re-invested to regenerate and keep the town centre viable.

Lisa said it was a challenging target. Bigger companies are being invited to become partners along with police, Chamber of Trade and other businesses on the town centre steering group.

Smaller companies would be asked to donate smaller amounts depending on what services they required from the initiative.

Most of 320 town centre management schemes in the country were now funded in a similar way.

Town centre traders benefit in a number of ways from the scheme. Burnley-born Lisa, 30, said: "If we were not here it is unlikely there would be town centre events or the same advertising in the media.

"We constantly monitor the health of the town centre, we help the police with things like the radio scheme (which sends messages to members about any problems such as shoplifters) and work to attract new investment."

Companies including national names were regularly updated with investment opportunities in the town.

The team has also worked with the evening pubs and clubs leisure trade.