A Blackpool church is to be demolished after approval was granted to the Diocese of Blackburn

St Wilfrid's Church on Langdale Road, Mereside, was founded in 1965 but has been closed since 2015 after the building fell into disrepair.

Now the Diocese of Blackburn, which owns the property, has been granted permission by Blackpool Council to bulldoze the former Church of England church.

However the adjoining community centre and vicarage will remain. It is proposed to lay grass lawns once the land has been cleared.

Following community consultation, no objections were submitted to the proposals.

Coun Paula Burdess, who represents Clifton ward which includes Mereside, said she believed demolition would be welcomed by the community.

She said: "There are places of worship which become disused, and when that happens they can become eyesores if they are not being tended to.

"It is important for that area of the ward to be used to its best potential, so this is a step in the right direction and we would want to see any redevelopment of the site to be for the best interests of the community."

St Monica's RC Church on Mereside also closed in 2018, with the estate now largely served by the Freedom Church, which is a free Christian church.

Weekly Sunday services are held at the Freedom Centre on Langdale Road, with Rachel Sheehan recently licensed as the new priest.

Coun Burdess added: "We have been without a priest for nearly a year and I think Rachel will be fantastic for the area as her strength is working in disadvantaged communities."

Facilities at the Freedom Church also include Martha's Kitchen and the foodbank.

A planning report, giving approval for demolition of St Wilfrid's said the building was "a modern, mid-century design consisting of a part two storey, part single storey brick built boxy hall and ancillary vicarage, flat roof and large protruding cross constructed of concrete and projecting covered walkway towards the road."

It adds: "The main church building is connected to a single storey community hall of similar appearance which is occupied by the ‘Freedom ChurchMereside’ to the west.

"The closed church building specifically is the main church hall and walkway. The community centre at the rear of the site and the vicarage would remain."