RUINS at a Rossendale quarry will be restored as part of a £600,000 revamp designed to boost tourism in the Valley.

The plans to restore the old Saw Shed at Lee Quarry, near Stacksteads, have been announced less than a week after the borough was overlooked in a North West tourism magazine. Work on the Saw Shed is due to be completed by the end of the month when it will become a venue where walkers can learn about the history of the Lee Quarry as part of the ‘Valley of Stone’ guided walk.

The ruins, previously used as a cutting area for stone from the quarry, will be transformed at a cost of about £45,000.

Tourism experts said the move would help attract more visitors and show how the area was being improved.

The scheme will be an addition to the Adrenaline Gateway project, designed to exploit the area’s growing repution for outdoor pursuits. It is also part of the ‘Valley of Stone’ project which is regenerating Rossendale’s disused quarries, whilst celebrating the stone working and quarrying heritage of the area.

Rossendale Council tourism champion, Coun Jason Gledhill, said the work being done around Lee Quarry, now a major mountain bike attraction, was making a real difference to the area.

He said: “Mountain bikers love coming to Lee Quarry and it has a worldwide reputation. Rossendale Council is working with Lancashire County Council and other partners to improve the quarry and has been instrumental in supporting the development of the bike trails and their expansion.”

The ‘Valley of Stone’ project has been part funded by The Heritage Lottery Fund, which provided more than £500,000, and the borough and county councils.

So far the project has seen a series of new mountain bike trails, the renovation of a chimney in Whitworth and an innovative visual theatre production with the Horse and Bamboo Theatre Company.

For more information or to get a copy of the guided walks programme, visit www.valleyofstone.org.uk.