BATTLING members of the Salvation Army are fighting to save their Tyldesley headquarters.

The Salvation Army members have called in the movement's UK leader to challenge a decision to condemn their Lime Street base.

This week they enlisted the help of Territorial Commander Commissioner Alex Hughes in the hope of averting closure.

They are asking for an independent assessment because they dispute the findings of a regional survey which estimated it would cost £30,000 to carry out repairs at Lime Street.

They are inviting Commissioner Hughes to send a representative to Tyldesley to take a closer look.

Last month the Salvation Army's Salford-based Divisional Commander Major Chick Yuill told the BEN the Lime Street building was earmarked for closure next March.

Major Yuill said £30,000 needed to be spent on the Tyldesley HQ and instead of using funds to repair the building it was more practical to combine Tyldesley with Atherton corps and divert cash to the Army's work with the needy.

But members of the Tyldesley branch of the Salvation Army claim their HQ needs less than half that amount spending on it.

They also say they could cover most of that cost from corps funds and would need only to raise a maximum of £2,500 to bring the building up to scratch.

"Lime Street must not close. If it did what is going to happen to the 24 youth club members and the 37 children who attend our mums and toddlers group?" asked member Railton Hirst of Garrett Hall Road, Mosley Common.

Campaigners who are resisting closure accept kitchen facilities need upgrading but they strongly refute suggestions that new windows and roof repairs are necessary. Salvationist Mrs Maureen Hirst added: "Tyldesley needs a Salvation Army presence. It is a completely different place than Atherton. Look at all the regeneration money that has gone to Atherton -- Tyldesley has never had a penny!

"How can our vital community work carry on if we have no building?" A spokesperson at the Salvation Army's UK headquarters in London yesterday said she was unaware of any approach by the Tyldesley corps.