COUNTY council bosses have unveiled plans to expand car parking for rail commuters in Burnley.

Plans have been submitted to Burnley Council proposing a new pay and display car park at Burnley Manchester Road station for an extra 69 cars.

The car park would be built on the old ambulance station site at Dent Row next to the train station.

Lancashire County Council architect Nicholas Dale said: "The proposed phase two car park is funded by the Burnley Pendle Growth Corridor initiative to improve the local railway station's infrastructure and is a key part of the Burnley Manchester Road Station masterplan providing a designated overflow car parking facility.

"Full planning permission is sought for the conversion of the site into a commuter car park for the railway station together with associated hard and limited soft landscaping.

"The proposed scheme would see the existing pedestrian and vehicle access arrangement retained and a car park constructed on the footprint of the former building and its forecourt.

"The car park would cover an area of 2,984 square metres.

"The required number of mobility standard parking bays will be created within the existing station car because the Dent Row site is at a lower level.

"Additional covered cycle parking stands will be provided within the existing rail station car park."

The project to build a new car park for Burnley’s busier Manchester Road railway station dates back to 2015.

Then, the Lancashire Telegraph revealed that extra work was being undertaken to improve facilities at both Manchester Road and Rose Grove stations.

At the time, £750,000 had been set aside for a new car park at Manchester Road, to serve the increased passenger numbers being generated by the new faster service from East Lancashire to Manchester city centre.

County councillors had been told, as part of an update for the East Lancashire Transport Masterplan, that £450,000 had been set aside for land acquisition, and a further £300,000 for the construction phase.

But the plan hit the buffers because finding a new location for an ambulance station within the town centre proved to be a stumbling block.

Last year, the town's new £1.7m ambulance station next to the town's general teaching hospital became fully operational.

The 5,400 sq ft purpose-built hub replaced the previous building on Dent Row off Trafalgar Street and services the town and the surrounding areas of East Lancashire.