AN emergency meeting is to be called to end the parking stalemate in Whalley.

Brewery bosses issued an ultimatum to Ribble Valley Council -- open a new public car park or we will ban people from ours -- but a new site has yet to be agreed by the borough council and Whalley Parish Council.

Engineering manager Graham Jagger, who reported to the council's planning and development committee, said that a meeting between the council's car park working group and the parish council is to be convened as soon as possible to hammer out a solution.

Whitbread Brewery is threatening to close its car park to the public. Bosses are currently looking at making it strictly customers only, perhaps using a barrier or ticket machine which will be redeemable through the Whalley Arms pub, or turning it into a staff only car park. The council is at stalemate with the parish council after coming up with several schemes, including transforming Vale Gardens and Whalley Bus Station into a 47-space car park with a double lay-by for buses in King Street and buying land off Accrington Road.

The parish council rejected the plans at Vale Gardens and owner of the Accrington Road land is unwilling to sell his plot.

But councillors have stressed that a solution must be found within the next eight weeks and a fresh proposal be presented to the borough council.

Mr Jagger said: "The council sees that there are only limited options for a car park in Whalley but the parish council thinks differently. Everything's back in the melting pot and we are hoping a solution can be found within the next couple of months."

Car parking in the village has been in turmoil for the past few months after the council's 10-year lease on the Whalley Arms car park ran out and Whitbread Brewery introduced a pay and display scheme.

Shoppers and visitors to the doctor's, dentist and adult education centre were frequent users of the car park but the brewery claimed that people were parking all day.