THE battle over plans to give a listed building in Church a major facelift has been won by hundreds of people who objected to them.

Community Solutions North West (CSNW)’s plans to renovate Elmfield Hall, a Grade II-listed building in Gatty Park were met by a wave of opposition.

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The social enterprise, which was given £300,000 to refurbish the hall by the Department for Communities and Local Government, has now withdrawn its planning application.

But the war may not be over, with objectors expecting a fresh application will be lodged again in the near future.

They are hoping that their views will be taken into consideration if a new scheme is submitted.

The work would have seen changes made to an existing rear annex and outbuilding, together with external works, documents showed.

But green-fingered Cath Holmes helped to gather more than 110 signed letters from people concerned about the plans.

The former chairman of and founding member of the Church Prospects Panel, Richard Cliffe, also cited his worries.

He also said the council’s workshop and storage area would have been transformed into a first-floor training room, sparking concerns over the cost of relocation to the taxpayer, and voiced his worries about an increase in traffic and anti-social behaviour.

Mrs Holmes, who is the chairman of Incredible Edibles Accrington, said she left a meeting between CSNW bosses and the council’s parks and leisure boss Ken Moss, held before the application was pulled, feeling unsure about the plans’ future, although she did praise CSNW for their work at the historic building.

She said: “We explained our concerns and they said they would go away and look at the drawings again.”

Yesterday no-one was available to comment at CSNW.