MULTI-million pound plans for Rawtenstall's outdated Valley Centre are hoped to be revealed by Christmas, council chiefs have said.

The £33million developm-ent of the Valley Centre and the town hall area is set to be one of the biggest devel-opments in the town for half a century.

Yet the proposals caused controversy before they were even revealed after the area's Chamber of Commerce criticised them for being "shrouded in secrecy".

But now council chiefs say pressure is being put on the owners of the building, Greater Manchester-based CNC, to ensure a full planning application and all the details are with the authority by December.

The company is preparing the plans which are understood to include shopping, residential develo-pment, outdoor areas and demolition of the town hall.

Council leader Duncan Ruddick said: "We have been working tirelessly to try and bring this scheme to fruition but at the end of the day it's not the council's planning application its CNC's application and we are in their hands.

"They have had a preliminary consultation with the public by putting some of the plans up in a shop in the centre.

"As a result of the feedback they got from that exercise they are working on their plans before they put in an application. I would be keen to see one come in before Christmas.

"I have asked the chief executive to try and pull it along a bit to make sure it is in by then.

"Because this scheme is so important to the future of Rawtenstall and the borough in general I would be asking for as much public consultation as possible.I think that CNC are very keen to join in that process as well.

"This Valley centre will be lasting us 50 or 60 years so we have to get it right this time. I am not going to be a councillor that gets it wrong."

Owners of the centre say they want to enhance the retail shops on offer in the town centre.

The proposal will involve the demolition and recon-struction of the existing building.

It is proposed that the new scheme will create approximately 70,000 sq ft of new retail accommodation and 2,700 sq ft of leisure.

Steve Caplan, director at CNC, said: "We are delighted to be working towards a viable town centre scheme for Rawtenstall to create a modern town centre enviro-nment."