PLANS to offer free wi-fi for businesses and residents in Colne and Barnoldswick town centres is on the verge of being shelved.

Council bosses in Pendle had drawn up proposals with the provider Clannet to offer two zones, covering the respective town centres.

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But the original £15,000 costs for the scheme are said to have spiralled — and an alternative provider has quoted more than £30,000 for a Barnoldswick system and £19,000 plus for Colne.

And a further £406 per month would need to be found for the West Craven town and £273 monthly for Colne as ongoing running costs.

This has prompted the borough council’s executive to put the initiative on ice unless the cost could be borne by the two town councils for the areas.

Originally the wi-fi project was the brainchild of the council’s ‘Gearing Up For Growth’ panel, with working groups established for both Barnoldswick and Colne to drive the work forward.

In Barnoldswick, supporters wanted a system based around the existing CCTV system, but after reasonable estimates early on the cost soon rose to £14,000 with installation and upgrades.

Economic development manager Paul Collins said in a report: “Unfortunately Clannet have subsequently decided that they no longer wish to undertake the project in Barnoldswick and Colne. They have not given any specific reasons for this.

“In light of the situation in Barnoldswick, it is extremely likely that the costs given by Clannet were underestimated in both towns. We therefore anticipate that the cost to the area committees and town councils will increase if we wish to proceed with this project.

John Millar, from Waterside, Colne, said: “This has been talked about for a long time and it would have been quite a major saving for people living in the town centres.

“But now all you have to look forward to is terrible parking and being woken up in the early hours by people coming home from the pubs.”

Other suggestions to revive the wi-fi dream have included sponsorship, crowdsourcing or introducing small charges for signing up to the programme.