A REDUNDANT reservoir may be handed over to the local authority -- if councillors agree to maintain it.

North West Water wants to give a reservoir to Hyndburn Council later this year after carrying out extensive repairs at the site.

The reservoir is the second in a series of four close to Plantation Mill, Plantation Road, Accrington.

The water company plans to empty the first and divert water into the second reservoir, creating a better wildlife habitat. Both the full and empty reservoirs would be handed over to the council.

Despite promising to spend any money needed to make the full reservoir free from leaks and safe, council chiefs are expected to say they will only assume ownership of the reservoir if North West Water creates safe public access to the site and helps to maintain it.

A North West Water spokesman said: "Basically the reservoirs are of no use to us now. They no longer send water to treatment works. We simply don't use them and haven't used them for nearly 15 years. "We plan to carry out repairs before we hand them over, the exact nature of which hasn't been decided, and we will be discussing it with the council."

The site is a popular beauty spot for ramblers, dog-walkers and families enjoying picnics. The third and fourth reservoirs are owned by the council already, and leased to angling clubs.

An original plan to drain the first and second ones and fill them in prompted a 135-signature petition from local residents and letters of complaints from the Ramblers Association, the East Lancashire Partnership and the Hyndburn and Blackburn Angling Association.

The proposal was considered at a meeting of Hyndburn Council's development services committee. They resolved to ask the policy and resources committee to consider whether the authority wanted to take over the second reservoir.

Coun Wendy Dwyer told the meeting: "Although we would like to keep both reservoirs, it is better to keep one than lose both."

A council spokesman said: "Before we take over the reservoirs, we would want to ensure it was in a safe and attractive condition, and do not require a lot of maintenance. We also want to ensure there is a safe and secure access to the sites."