A VISION for Nelson's future will be officially unveiled tomorrow.

But those expecting to see detailed proposals of streets, housing developments, office blocks and sports facilities will be disappointed.

Swathes of red, green and yellow interspersed with peach and orange blobs and pink zigzags create consultants Nathaniel Lichfield and Partners' dream of how Nelson will look in 15 years time.

Whitefield, Bradley, Southfield and the town centre will be 'priority areas' - subject to detailed work in the near future. Industrial zones will be created in Bradley, between Southfield and Cloverhill and in Marsden.

There will be large areas of open space, some linked to schools and all six wards and the town centre will interlink with a transport network.

The plan, still in draft form, is the result of nine months' work and consultation with 1,470 people through drop-in sessions, questionnaires and an exhibition at the town hall.

The consultants have stressed that the Area Development Framework is not a cure-all for Nelson's ills.

In the report to Pendle Borough Council they wrote: "This ADF is not a panacea. It will not provide all the answers or detailed proposals. It is more important to get the big challenges in focus.

"It is a starting point for a process of change that will take many years and require many difficult decisions and choices at a detailed level."

The report has been commissioned by Pendle Council and is needed to apply for millions of pounds of government funding under the Housing Market Renewal initiative which aims to breathe new life into deprived areas.

It will be unveiled at an exhibition at the Civic Theatre in Stanley Street tomorrow and Saturday.

Council leader Alan Davies said: "This is another opportunity for people to have their say on how they want things to develop before the consultants make their suggestions to the council."

Among the consultants' ideas are a heritage canal quarter in Whitefield, a Southfield urban village, an Asian retail quarter, a community centre in Clover Hill and traffic calming in Marsden Hall Road.

The company had come up with suggestions for detailed proposals for each area but these have been withdrawn.

Decisions about what will actually happen on the ground, including demolishing houses, will be made at a later stage when each area undergoes 'masterplanning'.

In Whitefield, that process will begin on Monday when a team from the Prince's Foundation for the Built Environment will begin an intensive week-long workshop.