A £600,000 revamp of Castle Street in Clitheroe has Been Completed Ahead of Schedule

The work is part of a public realm improvement project being carried out jointly between Lancashire County Council and Ribble Valley Borough Council.

A full road closure was due to be in place until the end of July, however, the road has now been fully reopened.

It comes as the town prepares to host its annual food festival on 10 August, which attracts around 20,000 visitors from across the UK.

The new-look Castle Street will act as a gateway for other retail opportunities within the wider town centre, including Clitheroe Market, which has been a mainstay of the town since the 12th century.

Rupert Swarbrick, cabinet member for Highways and Transport, Lancashire County Council, said:

"We're really excited to have finished this works ahead of schedule and can fully reopen Castle Street, which will help us to positively influence the local economy of Clitheroe.

"I'd like to thank residents and businesses for their patience while we have carried out these improvement works and would encourage people to come and have a look at what we've done – I'm confident you will be happy with the results.

"I'd also like to give special thanks to community groups and other interested members of the public as well as the project teams from Lancashire County Council and Ribble Valley Borough Council, who were pivotal in providing support to many aspects of this project."

Ribble Valley Borough Council leader Stephen Atkinson said:

“We are delighted that the project has been completed in time for our flagship event, the Clitheroe Food Festival.

“Pedestrians clearly like the new-look Castle Street and there have been groups of people sitting on the benches and chatting, which is great to see.

“We realise there has been some unavoidable disruption to town centre shops, but the project has clearly made the street more attractive and pedestrian-friendly, which will boost businesses in the long run.

“We will be undertaking some promotional work over the coming weeks and months to promote Clitheroe town centre and invite shoppers to see the new-look Castle Street for themselves.

“I would like to thank our respective project teams for completing the work on time, which is an outstanding achievement.”

The £600,000 scheme is being funded jointly by Lancashire County Council and Ribble Valley Borough Council.

The works comprise of the narrowing and reconstruction of the carriageway, widening footways, the removal of the step on Castle Street near the junction with Parsons Lane and Castle Gate along with new local signage, parking and loading restrictions, benches, distinctive spherical bollards and other street furniture. The improvements include disabled bays to improve access to the town centre.

Some minor works will still need to be completed but these will not require a closure of the road.