LEADING Lancashire environmentalists have staged their own mini-version of the Rio Earth Summit to discuss a new green strategy for the Red Rose county.

Now a new environmental blueprint is being drawn up to build on and replace Lancashire's Local Agenda 21 Strategy.

LA21 was set up after the world summit in Rio in 2000, to work out ways how people can make a difference to the global environment by improving their local environment.

The new strategy will be written by the new Lancashire Environmental Partnership comprising Lancashire County Council, the Environment Agency, Lancashire Wildlife Trust, and other organisations with interest in the environment.

Leading figures from these organisations gathered in Preston at the Beyond LA21 conference, opened by County Councillor Jean Yates.

The county council's cabinet member for urban and rural regeneration, Coun Brian Johnson, said: "LA21 has been a major success and now it is time to take things to the next stage by working together with all the key organisations in the North West.

"LA21 has led to some major changes in the way the council operates.

"We now buy almost half of our electricity from renewable sources, we have greener buying procedures and have achieved Beacon status for the work we have done for the rural economy. The conference clearly showed that there is a great deal of enthusiasm and expertise amongst our colleagues to continue greening the red rose county.

Once a draft plan for the strategy has been drawn up the people of Lancashire will be asked for their views.

Chris Church, environmental adviser to the UK Community Development Foundation said: "There is an enormous amount of very good work being done by literally hundreds of organisations across Lancashire to protect and improve their environment.

"I hope that they will all want to get involved in making sure that the new Partnership, which will provide the framework for them to work together, is a success."