HISTORIC grounds of an old hall have been targeted for a major clean-up.

The land surrounding Arden Hall, which was demolished half-a-century ago, has fallen into disrepair and ward councillor Graham Jones wants residents to back his bid to restore the estate.

This week he called on residents to form a Friends of Arden Hall group in a bid to launch the scheme which could see the grounds of the old hall, off Plantation Road, restored to their former glory. The land was given to the council in the early 1920s by the Hargreaves family, although their home, Arden Hall, has since been bulldozed.

Since then the park has gradually fallen into disrepair and Councillor Jones said that no money had been spent on it in several years. He claimed that its dilapidated state meant it was attracting vandals and drunks, but hoped that the formation of a similar group to the one in Clayton-le-Moors, the Friends of Mercer Park, would inspire residents to do something.

He said: "Arden Hall is a fantastic place but the lack of maintenance over the decades has seen it fall into dilapidation. It has become the home of vandals and other unsavoury characters and the entrance is a disgrace. But it has the potential to be one of Hyndburn's great leisure areas. It has plenty of mature forest and an abundance of wildlife, and it could be a fantastic resource for schools.

"It should be a place that everyone can use and it would be great if we could get some projects going there. We just need the public to come forward and take on the direction and ideas. We have been working on this for a couple of months now and a lot of hard work has gone into it."

He added that there were several possible sources of funding for projects to restore the park and urged people to attend a public meeting next week to get the scheme off the ground. It is being held on Wednesday at Benjamin Hargreaves School, starting at 6.30pm, and representatives from Hyndburn Council, the Prospects Foundation and Accrington Police will be there.

For more information, or if anyone requires disabled access, contact Councillor Jones on 386585.