A NEW centre for families with young children could be built on the site of a Colne town centre car park.

Pendle Council's executive committee has agreed to lease the Walton Street car park, opposite St Bartholomew's Church, to SureStart Waterbridge for the proposed £1million development.

The centre will bring together early education, childcare, health and family support for families with children up to four living in Waterside, Vivary Bridge and Horsfield.

Speaking at the meeting on Thursday, Janet Davies, from SureStart, said: "The intention would be to create a landmark building in keeping with the local area, capable of providing services aimed at improving health, education and emotional development for the children and families.

"The location of providing such a location is vital. We have considered many sites and carried out detailed option appraisals on them all.

"Walton Street car park is at the very centre of all three wards and within pram-pushing distance for all the families living in all three.

"For those without transport it also lies on a well-established bus route."

Mrs Davies said the centre would be the first new building in Colne town centre since the telephone exchange was built in the late 1960s.

Council leader, Coun Alan Davies, told members that the Colne Committee had given its backing to the scheme when it met last month, despite the loss of a town centre car park.

He said: "There was a great deal of enthusiasm for this project at the Colne committee and a desire to get it under way as quickly as possible.

"There was a discussion about the principle of using a town centre car park but there believed to be a surplus of car parking spaces and traders have agreed that they could afford to lose this particular car park."

This view was supported by committee members who voted unanimously in favour of leasing the car park to SureStart who will now have to submit a planning application to the council for the building.