Decision due on church mental health centre plan

A decision is due on whether a church can be turned into a mental health centre.

The Thanksgiving Shrine of Our Lady of Lourdes in Blackpool should be refused, according to Blackpool Council planning officers.

They say there is another facility on nearby Newton Drive that is "predominantly occupied by men from the wider Lancashire and South Cumbria area" and that the applicant, Cygnet, has "failed to demonstrate that there is a locally generated demand" for another centre.

The Grade II-listed church, built in the 1950s but has been closed for more than 25 years.

During the Second World War, Bishop Thomas E. Flynn said he offered prayers to the Virgin Mary to spare Blackpool, and the town was largely unscathed by German bombing.

Thomas then had the idea of building the chapel in thanks.

The plans for the church would "prioritise heritage preservation" but create a "functional, therapeutic environment", the applicants said.

The bid was lodged with Blackpool Council in February, and included a proposal to build a two-storey front and side extention to Cygnet's Newton House, including 35 bedrooms.

There would also be a single-storey link between Newton House and the church.

The plan will go before Blackpool planners on 1 September.

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