CALLS have been made to consider opening a Church of England school on the site of Hameldon Community College in Burnley after doubts were raised about its future.

Lancashire County Council is proposing holding a consultation into the future of the secondary school which has suffered with declining student numbers and poor results over the years.

The £22million school opened in 2006 under the Building School for the Futures programmes and fears have been expressed that the building could be left standing empty.

Only 35 parents put the Coal Clough Lane school as their first choice for this September.

The school has 350 children but was built for 700.

Parents in Burnley think the town is in need of a faith school with many forced to send their children to St Christopher's CE School in Accrington and St Wilfrid's CE Academy in Blackburn.

Parent Nicola Rides, 42, who lives close to Hameldon, said she had taken her son Matthew, 13, to look round it and was impressed with the facilities, but took the decision to send him to Bacup and Rawtenstall Grammar School.

She is considering St Christopher's for her son Jonathan, 9, who is currently at Holy Trinity CE Primary School.

She said: "Matthew is committed to his faith and we are regular church goers.

"There is no where to go in Burnley and I have lots of friends in the same predicament.

"Everybody wants to go to St Christopher's and there is not enough places.

"We have lots of CE primary schools but there's nowhere to filter in to. There seems like there's a gap there.

"There's been so much money spent on Hameldon. If it closes and stands empty when there's a need for a different type of secondary school it would feel like such a waste."

Father Alex Frost, curate at St Matthew's Church in Burnley, said it would be a 'travesty' if it were to close.

He said: "It is on the edge of my parish and it would be a great shame if it was not utilised.

"People have said there's no CE school in this area so for some people it makes perfect sense."

Stephen Whittaker, director of education at Blackburn Diocese, said they would be interested if the the conditions were right.

He said: "We are always interested in trying to serve the community with a church school but we would only look at providing school places if there was demand for it."

He added it would not be a good idea if Burnley has surplus places.

When asked what could happen to the site a spokeswoman for Lancashire County Council said: "We have not yet made the decision to consult so we can't say any more at this stage."