A BID is to be made for more than £20million of Whitehall cash to upgrade a town centre.

Burnley Council and Burnley’s MP Antony Higginbotham will jointly submit an application to the government’s Levelling Up Fund.

It will ask for £20m towards an investment of £26.26m for three projects linked to Burnley’s Town Centre and Canalside Masterplan.

They are for the expansion of Burnley's UCLAN Campus expansion, Manchester Road Rail Station 'Access for All' and the 'Eastern Gateway Town to Turf ' scheme.

The new schemes will be delivered before 2024 if the bid is successful.

The UCLAN Campus Expansion would see the purchase and reconfiguration of Sandygate Mill; a new public realm including on the remediated George Street Mill Site; and towpath improvements between Westgate and Manchester Road.

The Manchester Road Rail Station project would increase the overall accessibility of the station to all passengers with a new footbridge and passenger lifts.

The Eastern Gateway project aims to link the town centre and Turf Moor incorporating a high-quality public realm, a new four-way junction replacing the Yorkshire Street roundabout, cleaning and restoration work to the culvert, and pavement widening in front of the football club.

Burnley Council leader Cllr Afrasiab Anwar said: “If the bid is successful, it will see a significant investment that will help transform the face of Burnley and make it more attractive to residents, visitors, shoppers and investors.

"It will build on other investment schemes in the town centre, such as the planned Pioneer Place leisure development, the town centre refurbishment, and the lower St James’s Street Heritage Action Zone.”

Mr Higginbotham said: “If successful, this investment will bring major benefits to people and businesses across the borough and will act as a springboard for further investment from government and business. This funding would be transformative, enabling us to create a thriving local economy where people want to work, live, and set up business”.