Martin Kavanagh, director of operations at the York Street venue, explained that part of the original county planning requirement for the £5m. building included proper loading facilities at the front and a dedicated drop-off facility.

However, he says as consultation is currently being carried out to look at residents' parking in York Street and the surrounding area, a decision about whether The Grand can comply with the planning traffic order stipulated by Lancashire County Council has been deferred by the Ribble Valley Lancashire Local Committee until July 15th.

When the committee met in April, Mr Kavanagh addressed members and referred to letters of support, as well as a public petition supporting The Grand's traffic order.

Mr Kavanagh said: "We are trying to put on highly popular events to benefit the local community and meet the needs of hundreds of young people and senior citizens who cannot be dropped off outside the venue safely. It is like a ticking timebomb and we are most concerned that before long someone will get seriously hurt.

"We are also having to use back York Street for loading and residents are rightly getting fed up with the vans and lorries which are supposed to be using the proposed loading bay at the front of our building.

"The consultation which is being carried out proposes disproportionate swathes of residents' parking on our side of York Street, but we are not being allowed to fulfill what was required of us and specified at county level. We feel this is unfair and this other proposal is far too skewed to residents' lower priority needs.

"The traffic order was originally made knowing we would need that capacity for a venue of this size, so we cannot understand why, after significant outlay, we are being held back from doing something we have been asked to comply with by Lancashire County Council. Resident parking needs to be sensitive to us as well as to residents."

County Coun. Chris Holtom, chairman of Ribble Valley Lancashire Local committee, said: "I have every sympathy for those at The Grand and the delays they are experiencing. I would like to assure them Ribble Valley's Lancashire Local is doing everything it can to find a swift and viable solution.

"The issue of implementing the loading bays is interlinked with the proposals for residents' only parking in York Street and nearby roads. We are awaiting a report from our colleagues at the borough council outlining plans for residents parking and it would be impractical to deal with the loading bays issue until we understand the impacts this report will have.

"We hope to receive this report at the next Lancashire Local meeting on July 15th, so that more definite plans for both issues can be drawn up."