Castle Street in Clitheroe reopens ahead of schedule following £600,000 revamp

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 Clitheroe Food Festival on 10 August, which attracts around 20,000 visitors from across the UK.

The new-look Castle Street will also 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 these works ahead of schedule and can fully reopen Castle Street, which will help us to positively influence the local economy.

“I'd like to thank residents and businesses for their patience while we have carried out these improvement works and would encourage people to 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, an outstanding achievement.”