A DISTINCTIVE landmark could be closed to the public by the end of the month, a councillor has warned.

Turton Tower is at the centre of negotiations between three councils and a friends group, who are trying to reach an agreement over who will pay for its upkeep..

Lancashire County Council, which maintains the 600-year-old Grade I listed building, has threatened to withdraw cash unless a new funding deal can be agreed.

The tower is within Blackburn with Darwen Council’s bound-aries but is owned by North Turton Parish Council and supported by the Friends of Turton Tower, who organise fundraising events.

Blackburn councillor Jean Rigby, who warned the tower could close, said: “Blackburn will resist that at all costs. We’ll negotiate to the death, but at the end of the day we don’t have any power to affect Lancashire’s decisions.

“By the end of this month it will be resolved one way or the other. Lancashire County Council has put a time limit on it.”

Lancashire’s museum officers will submit a report to the county council on August 26. Blackburn with Darwen Council estimate Turton Tower needs £200,000 a year for maintenance, which it cannot afford to pay in its entirety.

Lancashire County Council voted two years ago to withdraw funding this year and since then the four organisations have been in talks as to who would pay.

North Turton Parish Council agreed last year to increase its tax precept by £4 per household so it could contribute £10,000 a year to the tower.

Turton used to be within Lancashire’s jurisdiction, but since Blackburn with Darwen Council became a unitary authority in 1998, the tower has been outside the county council’s borders.

Anne Brown, Lancashire County Council’s cabinet member for adult and community services, said: “It’s a bit of an anomaly for us, but we do have some ongoing responsibilities towards Turton Tower.

“We would like everybody to come to an agreement, but it’s most important that we come to the right answer for the future of the tower.”