No plans to demolish Clayton-le-Moors church (From Lancashire Telegraph)

No plans to demolish Clayton-le-Moors church

11:00am Monday 1st October 2012 in News

A LANDMARK church is being ‘prepared for sale’ but there are no current plans for its demolition, local residents have been assured.

Last month Hyndburn councillors refused what they described as an application for ‘prior approval’ of demolition of Barnes Square Methodist Church, Clayton-le-Moors because they said they had been given ‘insufficient information’ about what was proposed for the building.

Now in a statement the Rev Pat Brown, who oversees the area’s Methodist churches, has said: “The church, and the area surrounding it, is being prepared for sale.

“Our agents have advised that it would be helpful to prospective purchasers for them to know what Hyndburn council’s view was of a future demolition should a purchaser decide to take this option.

“The building is not scheduled for demolition by the Methodist Church...nor will we do so unless something happens that we are currently unaware of. The application was made by our agents ‘to test the water.’”

• We apologise for the incorrect statement in our report of August 13 which said that the church was “to be flattened within days.”