THE Ribble Valley could become the future home for the Royal Lancashire Show.

About £20,000 is to be spent on a feasibility study into the development of the Bowland Showground, to be situated in the Ribble Valley, as part of the area's Regeneration Partnership action plan.

The borough council's policy and finance committee has pledged to give £10,000 for the study, which will determine whether the site could become a permanent home for the show.

Members heard that after the foot and mouth outbreak the area needed a development to act as a focal point for rural regeneration.

Ribble Valley Council's chief planning officer Stewart Bailey said: "At this stage there are four possible sites for the Bowland Showground.

"Through the feasibility study we will be speaking to a range of people who will be able to give their views on the best location. Then we can determine whether housing the Royal Lancashire Show would be a feasible option."

The council is refusing to reveal where the four possible sites are.

The Royal Lancashire Show Agricultural Society has been put in touch with the landowners and is being asked to put forward its own proposals.

The society has one year left on its current lease at Astley Park, Chorley, and is believed to be considering other possibilities. The show was once staged in Blackburn.

Coun Frank Dyson, of Clitheroe, said: "To get the Royal Lancashire Show would be a real coup for the Ribble Valley and it would have great benefits for rural life and for tourism."

The show, the county's most prestigious pageant, is believed to be the oldest of its kind in the country.

This year's event, the 234th, was hailed a success despite facing cancellation due to the foot and mouth epidemic. Thousands of people took advantage of the glorious sunshine to attend.

Advance ticket sales were reported to be 20 per cent up with around 60,000 people in attendance, including Denise Welch, Coronation Streets' Natalie Barnes, who went along with her five-month-old son Louis.

Dozens of stalls and exhibits made up for the lack of farm animals. Over the three days, crowds were treated to a catalogue of events including motorbike displays, show jumping, dog shows, donkeys, the Pendle Wildcats polo-cross team and funfair favourites.

A society spokesman declined to comment.