A BYPASS plan for villages along the A56 corridor through West Craven will be thrown open to public consultation early next month.

A series of exhibitions are planned to gauge local people's views on the bypass proposal.

The new road would run from the end of the M65 motorway at Colne, bypassing the North Valley area and the A56 communities of Foulridge, Kelbrook, Sough, Earby and Thornton-in Craven.

Although plans for a bypass stretch back over 25 years, the latest proposal is the first time Lancashire and North Yorkshire county councils have joined forces to come up with a joint proposal for the road.

It would cross the county boundary between Earby and Thornton and co-operation between the two councils is crucial to the proposal's success.

From Colne, the new road - estimated at £30 million - would follow the line of the disused Colne to Skipton railway. There would be a junction with the B6383 Kelbrook to Barnoldswick road, then the bypass would sweep in a westward arc around Earby's North Holme estate before crossing the A56 and rejoining the railway near the Punch Bowl pub. It would then run along the bottom of Thornton before rejoining the A56, avoiding the site of the Roman fort at Elslack.

A consultation brochure has been produced by the two county councils, showing a map of the proposed bypass and the various options now open. They include doing nothing, making improvements where possible to the existing road, or pushing ahead with the A56 village bypass proposal.

It would include a footpath, cycleway and bridleway along its entire length, except for the Kelbrook to Earby section where the old railway trackbed could be developed for those uses.

The consultation brochure sets out current traffic figures, ranging from around 25,000 vehicles per day in the North Valley area of Colne, to around 16,000 per day through Thornton-in-Craven. It points out that the problem has worsened since the M65 was extended to link with the M6 at Preston.

Also included with the brochure is a questionnaire to be filled in and returned no later than Friday February 28.

Copies of the brochure are available from Skipton Library, Earby Library, Kelbrook Post Office, Foulridge Post Office, Barnoldswick Council Shop, Colne Library or Nelson Town Hall.

You can also write for a copy to Lancashire County Council Environment Directorate, Winckley House, Cross Street, Preston, or to North Yorkshire County Council Area Office, Croft House, Carleton Road, Skipton.

People can also attend the exhibitions, where they will be able to speak to council officers about the proposals and view large-scale maps. The exhibitions will be held as follows: February 1 at Colne Municipal Hall; February 2 at Foulridge Village Hall; February 3 at Kelbrook Parish Hall; February 4 at Earby New Road Community Centre; February 5 at Thornton Village Hall.

They will run from 10am to 8.30pm except for the one at Thornton which will close at 4pm.

When Pendle Council's West Craven committee met on Tuesday, Coun David Whipp urged local people to attend the exhibitions and make their views known.

"We do need to get people singing from the same hymn sheet to maximise the prospects of getting this bypass," he said.

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