THE site of the former St Joseph’s Church in Bacup is to have housing built on it.

Rossendale Borough Council gave a green light to a proposal to completely revamp the vacant place of worship in Huttock End Lane.

St Vincent’s Housing Association will now develop 10 dwellings, six of which will be semi-detached.

Speaking after the borough development control meeting, planning manager Stephen Stray said: “The committee were minded to approve the planning application subject to the satisfactory completion of a legal agreement.

“The application was made for ten ‘affordable homes’ at the site of St Joseph’s Church in Bacup.

“In addition to the planning conditions set out in the committee report, two further conditions were attached including the requirement to carry out a bat survey and that the boundary screening be sufficiently high to ensure that existing properties are not overlooked significantly by the development.

“The committee also wished that their concerns about traffic management be discussed further with the Highway Authority.”