Rescue team launch search for new base

A MOUNTAIN rescue service based in Rossendale for more than half a century has appealed for help to find a new base in the borough.

Rossendale & Pendle Mountain Rescue Team (RPMRT) currently has a base in Burnley, just off Rossendale Road, and its historic base in Haslingden.

The team is looking to find a new base in the Rossendale valley.

A spokesperson on the RPMRT Facebook page said: “We have these bases as a strategic answer to the inclement weather we face in our operating area on different sides of the valley.

“The base in Haslingden has been active since the 60s but is no longer fit for purpose.

“We’re calling on our amazing supporters’ and their contacts, to help us source a new base in the heart of the valley. We ideally need a secure garage/unit in the Haslingden or Rawtenstall area.”

Last December, Rossendale council approved a planning application by Mr Andrew Simpson to convert the disused former base at 46 Clegg Street, Haslingden into a three-bed family dwellinghouse, with garden area. The proposal stated that the requirement for specialist equipment and vehicles necessitated re-location to larger premises.

The team is hoping an entrepreneur, business or council member can help them find something urgently to avoid any gap in the presence they have in Rossendale.