CAMPAIGNERS have won the first leg of a battle to keep a training and education body in East Lancashire.

Businesses, colleges and other groups joined forces with district councils in East Lancashire in arguing for the area to have its own Learning and Skills Council - the bodies being set up to replace Training and Education Councils. Lancashire County Council has been arguing the case for just one LSC covering the whole of the county.

And both sides put their case to the North West Regional Development Agency which met to finalise its recommendations for the way forward to the Government.

Originally, the NWDA looked to be firmly in the county council's camp, but such has been the strength of feeling from both East and West Lancashire that two options have now been presented to the Government by the body.

The first option is a single LSC across the whole of East Lancashire, and the second is for two councils one in East Lancashire and one in the west, mirroring the present ELTEC and LAWTEC.

Blackburn with Darwen chief executive Phil Watson said: "We put our point across and the NWDA have reconsidered because of the strength of our argument.

"But this is not the end of the process and we will now be lobbying the Government."

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