A CYCLEWAY and footpath could be built as part of a park on the site of a disused East Lancashire railway line.

Plans could transform the former Padiham branch line, which closed in 1993, into a park that follows the line of the railway.

The landscaped park would incorporate a cycleway and footpath initially stretching from Rosegrove junction to the edge of the borough at Shuttleworth Mead.

It is hoped the scheme, run in partnership with Burnley Borough Council, Lancashire County Council and sustainable transport charity Sustrans, would eventually be extended to Great Harwood and form part of the National Cycle Route.

Before work could begin on the project, the Strategic Rail Authority would have to grant permission to decommission the line as it is still classed as operational because the tracks remain. The partnership has submitted the application, which if successful, should see work begin on the project.

Project Co-ordinator for Burnley Council, Susan Barker said the cost of the project is yet unknown and the application could take months to be passed.

The majority of funding for the project would come from the county council's land reclamation programme, Remade, which receives funding from the North West Development Agency.