Burnley and Pendle could pilot a new local TV service, culture secretary Jeremy Hunt announced today.

65 locations across the country, chosen because they have the appropriate transmitter coverage, will be whittled down to around 20 by the end of the year.

As well as Burnley and Pendle, other North West nominations include Carlisle, Lancaster (includes Morecambe and Heysham), Liverpool (includes St Helens, Widnes, Wigan and Wirral), Manchester (includes Bolton, Bury, Oldham, Rochdale, Salford and Stockport) and Preston (includes Blackpool).

Gordon Birtwistle, MP for Burnley, said: “It would be a great service for the area, delivering good stories and positive stories with honest reporting and very balanced reporting.

"It would also create employment for people, there are a lot of people studying media studies at Burnley College.”

Each area will be asked to make the case for why it should be among those awarded a licence by Ofcom, with the first wave due next year.

The Government is also canvassing opinion from potential operators about which locations are likely to make the scheme a success.

Mr Hunt said: "We need to decide which areas are best placed to pioneer the new service.

"These new, local TV services will be a fundamental change in how people get information about their own communities, and how they hold their representatives to account.

"I want people to be able to watch television that's truly relevant to them, about what's happening where they live and featuring the people they know."

Mr Hunt will host events in major cities around the country to discuss issues and explain how local TV could benefit communities.