Controversial plans to revamp Great Harwood’s Towngate by removing its cobbles have been scrapped following funding cuts.

The Pennine Reach Scheme originally aimed to spend £353,000 on improving the area – but that has now been reduced to £275,000.

It means the transport aspects of the scheme, including a new bus interchange in Blackburn Road will stay.

But plans to plant trees, introduce seating and replace the cobbles with a ‘non-slip surface’ will not go ahead.

John Duckworth, of the Great Harwood Town Centre Regeneration Board, said the loss of the money was ‘highly disappointing’.

He said: "The cobbles were never going to be totally removed.

"But because they are in a poor condition, the idea was to pull them up and re-use them, so they would still have been in the original design.

"It is highly disappointing we have lost this extra money, as it was approved on the basis that we would get a lot of money to refurbish our town square, in a sympathetic way."

Community campaigner Ian Wilkinson said: "I was concerned about the original plan, which was to replace the cobbles with Yorkshire Stone, which I found was not in keeping with the character of the town.

"I have no objection to the area being restored to its former glory as long as they use natural materials."

Coun Lynn Wilson said: "The idea is that the traffic side of things will go ahead, but the cosmetic details which includes the cobbles, won’t.

"The cobbles themselves are not the original ones, although they do go back sufficiently far and are old enough to look attractive.

"Having said that, they could do with a good clean-up.

"A lot of people are very happy with the way Towngate looks, and we want to keep it as the focus of the town."

Coun Ciaran Wells said: "We now need to concentrate on how we can make the town square look as attractive as possible to new businesses and commercial ventures, and bring visitors into the town.

"That’s the challenge we face, to regenerate the area from the cobbles to the shop fronts, having lost this money."

The revised plans, part of the wider £35 million Pennine Reach funding bid, are all set to go to the government later this month.

A decision is expected later this year, which could mean work starting in 2013.