A DECISION on the future of a historic Burnley mill is expected to be deferred by councillors to planning bosses.

An application by Birmingham firm St Mowden to demolish part of Finsley Gate Mill, in Finsley Gate, will go before Burnley Council’s development control committee on Thursday.

But a report ahead of the meeting recommends that any final decision should be taken by the authority’s head of housing and development, Paul Gatrell.

He will have to consider any late representations by statutory consultees including English Heritage, the Canal and River Trust, Lancashire County Council and the Environment Agency.

The mill, which was built on the banks of the Leeds and Liverpool Canal in 1820, has remained vacant since St Mowden bought it from shoe-maker Lambert Howarth in 2005.