THE trust working to restore the former Burnley Empire Theatre to past glories has welcomed a move to remove the historic building from auction.

The old theatre, which was named as the fifth most at risk venue in the UK recently by the Theatres Trust, was to go under the hammer in Manchester on Tuesday.

The Grade II-listed building had defaulted to the care of the Duchy of Lancaster as an ‘owner of last resort’.

Under the law, if legal ownership cannot be established a building falls to the Crown to deal with the asset.

Last month, when the auction list was published, the Burnley Empire Theatre Trust said that it was 'surprised' that it was being sold before a viability study had come back.

It's expected that the study will now be published sometime next week.

Acting trust chairman Shaun McCree said: “This is fantastic news for us and is a real shot in the arm.

"It's terrific news really as we can carry on with the fundraising events that we had originally planned.

"The Duchy of Lancaster listened to our concerns and heard how hard we have been working.

"The Theatre's trust acted on our behalf and it told the duchy how much we have raised so far.

"The duchy has recognised that we have a lot of support in Burnley and that we should be left to get on with raising money for the second half of the viability study.

"It's great news really and it's like a great weight has been lifted and it's a huge relief.

"The Theatres Trust is also wanting to be kept up to date on how we are getting on."

The 1,200-seat venue, which has been out of use for more than 20 years, had been listed for sale with no reserve price.

Last month the duchy said that it hoped the building would remain in local ownership.

The spokesman said the property had been offered to both Burnley Council and to the trust.