A COUNCIL'S Liberal Democrat group has called for task forces to be set up to help the borough's town centres recover after the coronavirus shutdown.

Its leader Cllr David Whipp warned that the next few months would be make or break for each of Pendle's town centres – Colne, Nelson, Barnoldswick, Earby, Brierfield and Barrowford.

The Craven ward representative said: “What has happened could destroy our town centres. We must do everything we can to stop this happening and to help our local traders to recover. We have started to work on ideas in Barnoldswick and we want Pendle Council to make sure it is happening in all the parts of the borough.”

Colne's Cllr Tony Greaves said: “The details will vary from place to place but it is clear that the task forces must be place-specific, and must be focused on supporting small traders."

Cllr Mohammed Iqbal, leader of Pendle Council, said: "We will work with businesses and the public on this but the council cannot do it on it's own."