The public of Oswaldtwistle is being urged to come forward and make views known as the town aims to set up its own parish council.

Hyndburn council’s controlling Labour group decided to abolish area councils in the borough as a cost saving measure earlier this summer.

At a meeting earlier this year, residents agreed with Conservative Coun Peter Britcliffe’s suggestion to set up an area forum to discuss issues relevant to them.

The forum will not receive any funding from the borough council either for administration costs or for allocation as small grants to local organisations.

One idea raised was setting up a town or parish council, in an attempt to provide the community with an extra democratic voice and a structure for taking action.

A meeting will be held on Wednesday, October 1 in the Civic Arts Centre at 7pm to discuss the issue.

Coun Britcliffe said: “We were very disappointed at the decision to scrap area councils and the autonomy they brought. The purpose of setting up a town or parish council is to give people a voice on issues that affect them in their local area. We’re hoping that Coun Rennie Pinder from Altham will be able to join us to explain how a town and parish council works.”

The first step in setting up a town or parish council is to draw up a petition that must be signed by ten per cent of the Oswaldtwistle electors.