COUNTY council bosses are set to spend £5million on a new youth zone for Preston - £1million more than the combined cost of five similar facilities in East Lancashire.

Burnley Liberal Democrat MP Gordon Birtwistle said the decision was just another example of how ‘Preston-centric’ the Labour-controlled authority can be.

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An announcement was made yesterday that the Lancashire authority is set to team up with OnSide, a leading youth zone proponent, for a new venture as part of wider proposals to overhaul Preston’s bus station.

Under the combined proposals the council would find £5million for the ‘Youth Zone Plus’ initiative, with OnSide contributing another £1million.

But the final bill for five youth zones in Accrington, Burnley, Clitheroe, Nelson and Rawtenstall only came to just over £4million.

Mr Birtwistle said: “It is like I have always said, the county council is Preston-centric so this is just what we have come to expect.

“It is a lot of money to spend on one facility. The rest of the youth zones are perfectly adequate but this is £5million just for one when they are constantly complaining about not having enough money.”

The Bradley Youth Hub, costing £1.5million, was the first to be opened in the east of the county, with a similar amount found for the conversion of the former Whittam Street day centre for Burnley’s equivalent centre.

Another £530,000 was identified for upgrades to the Old Fire Station in Rawtenstall, and £500,000 for a youth zone at the New Era centre in Accrington.

No additional funding was publicised for the Ribble Valley zone in Parsons Lane, Clitheroe.

But county councillor Matthew Tomlinson, children and young people’s services cabinet member, said that the likes of the Burnley and Rawtenstall youth zones were located in authority-owned buildings which could be converted.

“It is the largest conurbation and has some of the most deprived areas of the county,” he added.

The youth zone would also attract young people from South Ribble and to the north of Preston, said Coun Tomlinson, who also stressed that the conversion costs would be higher for the bus station.