PENDLE'S Higherford Mill has lost out on a place in the regional final of the BBC's Restoration Village.

But campaigners have vowed they will fight on to realise their dream of giving the building a new life.

The mill, in Barrowford, was one of three buildings from the North bidding for viewers' votes in the popular TV series, fronted by Griff Rhys Jones.

But it lost out to Howsham Mill in Malton, North Yorkshire after featuring last Friday.

Higherford Mill was saved from demolition in 1999 by the Heritage Trust for the North West, which now has ambitious plans to restore the building and create workshops and exhibition spaces for local artists.

Around £2million is needed to bring back the water wheel at the mill, and to restore the imposing building which lies a few hundred yards from the Pendle Heritage Centre.

The trust has already raised around £1million, including a substantial grant from the North West Regional Development Agency, and begun restoring part of the mill complex.

Campaigner Sylvia Wilson, who helped promote the mill before its TV appearance, said: "We are disappointed obviously because the money would have helped us bring the mill back into use, but the dream isn't over it will just take a bit longer.

Hopefully there will be more visitors because of the TV show and we will look for other sources of funding. This is not the end."

Higherford Mill - a Grade II listed building - was built in 1824 and has an important place in the development of Pendle as a textile area.

It was first water and then steam-powered, and continued to operate as a working mill until 1969.

A series of events to promote the mill were held in the run-up to the programme featuring Higherford Mill, including an open weekend.

In the northern heat Higherford Mill was up against Howsham Mill, a gothic-style folly built in 1755, and a First World War gun battery at Hartlepool.

Restoration Village is featuring seven regional heats highlighting important buildings at risk'.