PEOPLE are invited to a meeting to discuss the biggest-ever heritage project in Clitheroe.

The Heritage Lottery Fund approved a £2million bid to revamp Clitheroe Castle in December and now the race is on to find the £700,000 shortfall.

A community group called Keepers of the Castle has been formed to increase the scheme's profile and raise money.

The group is staging a meeting at 5.30pm on Monday, February 20, in the Ribble Valley council chamber in Church Street, Clitheroe.

Rebecca Kay, Ribble Valley Council's tourism and arts officer and the group's chairman, said: "News of the successful lottery bid was fantastic but now the race is on to raise the rest of the money."

The ambitious scheme aims to revamp Clitheroe Castle and Museum.

It will see a huge glass atrium linking the museum and North West Sound Archives on two levels, with a lift, facilities for the disabled, caf, exhibition space and interactive display facilities. A new education suite will be developed in the stable block.

The museum will undergo major restoration and internal modernisation in a bid to develop a reputation as a quality visitor attraction, with strong links in the education and specialist interest sectors. Further work will ensure the Castle Keep, built in 1186, is structurally sound.