AN action plan for the redevelopment of the fire-ravaged Whitworth Civic Hall is to be drawn up at an emergency meeting tonight.

Councillors, community groups and Rossendale Borough Council are to meet in the wake of the the electrical fault which caused a huge blaze -- and gutted the building.

The inferno ripped through the two-storey building on Saturday morning following a Stars In Your Eyes performance on Friday night that saw around 250 people packed into the Market Street hall.

The venue had been fully booked up throughout Christmas and the New Year for various functions and shows. Talks are now under way to establish alternative venues such as Whitworth High School and churches in the area.

Whitworth Recreational Leisure Trust Ltd, which is run by local residents, took over the running of the 1968 built hall in 2000 after Rossendale Borough Council chose it as one of the five leisure facilities to axe as part of cost cutting measures.

The council owns the building but it has been run and maintained by the trust.

Mayor of Whitworth, Coun Alan Neal, said: "I feel absolutely gutted like a lot of other people around here will do when they find out what has happened.

"We have now got to look on the positive side though and remember that out of the ashes rose the phoenix. We could end up with a building fit for the 25th century, never mind the 21st century and that's something to look forward to.

"Things could have been worse. The building could've been full of people at the time. Luckily it wasn't and that's the most important thing. You can replace a building but you can't replace lost lives."

It has been estimated that around £300,000 worth of damage was caused to the building.

Roger Tattersall, chairman of Whitworth Civic Hall Trust, said: "It really couldn't have come at a worse time for us. We were fully booked and already very busy. We had bookings for events all week long, which are now going to be left struggling to find somewhere else at such short notice. We are holding a meeting to discuss ways forward and what we plan to do next. Members from our committee will be there alongside representatives from CLAW.

"We will be forming a partnership between ourselves and the council to raise the funds to re-build the hall."