A BID to extend and improve West Craven Sports Centre may have bitten the dust, less than two weeks after it was launched.

Pendle Council's Policy Committee has refused to support a bid for lottery cash for the project, and confirmed a decision to withdraw £20,000 funding from the centre.

West Craven councillors had hoped to use that cash as a lure to draw in funding from other sources, especially the National Lottery Sports Fund. If successful, they could have turned the £20,000 into £200,000 to pay for the work.

Pendle Council's West Craven Area Committee launched the ambitious scheme to improve facilities at the popular Barnoldswick centre. An extended and updated fitness room, a climbing wall, sauna and steam room were among the planned improvements.

Up to 90 per cent of the cost would come from the National Lottery, but the council would have to show it had its own money to put into the pot.

West Craven members planned to use that £20,000 - made up of £10,000 allocated to the sports centre in the council's 1999/2000 budget and the same amount provisionally included in its draft programme for 2000/2001. They asked the Policy Committee to confirm the money as the basis for a lottery bid.

But at Monday's policy meeting, Labour and Conservative members dashed the hopes of West Craven sporting enthusiasts. Nelson councillor Colin Waite proposed that the bid was not supported.

"We are struggling to fund the capital programme," he said.

Barnoldswick councillor David Whipp pleaded with the Committee to back the project.

"This money was in the budget," he said. "Now you've taken it away, it's been stolen."

He added that it was history repeating itself: "Ten years ago you took the money we'd saved to build the sports centre. It took us six long years to overcome that decision. We don't want the same again."

But Labour leader, Coun Azhar Ali said: "The issue should be referred back to West Craven - they have a capital programme. There is an onus on them to do it."

Conservative member Coun Shelagh Derwent said that West Craven High School, which is still paying its share of the original building costs, should pay up.

"Perhaps the school can pay back some of their loan," she said.

Talking about the substantial fundraising by West Craven people to help pay for the building of the sports centre, Coun Davies added: "We've had more contributions from Barnoldswick than anywhere else. You're kicking them in the teeth." Liberal members vowed to get the policy committee's decision overturned.

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