CHURCH leaders have won their bid to bulldoze the former Gannow baths - and build 40 homes to help pay for their new place of worship.

Neighbours of the proposed New Life Church development in Sycamore Avenue, Burnley, were worried the blueprints would bring extra traffic and disruption.

And Coun Mark Townsend also complained that the site of the baths, which closed in 2004, was unsuitable for the use.

New Life, formerly Queensgate Pentecostal Church, has been using the old baths building as a meeting place for a number of years. Originally church officials wanted to create a church and separate youth and community building but the cost of remedi-ating the site put paid to those ambitions.

Burnley council's planning committee unanimously approved the plans.