PEOPLE can find out more about plans for a community centre in Weir next week.

A group of volunteers from Weir Baptist Church and the local community has been finding out what people want the centre to provide, how to fund it and how it should be run.

Now they are planning to show people their vision for the building at a public meeting on November 23.

Weir Baptist minister the Rev Neil Hepworth said: "It's going to be a place for cultural provision, health and education, room hire and a lounge open to the public. It's going to be a real hub for the community.

"Although the church is one of the partners, the project is much bigger than that and it has become a genuine community partnership"

The group has found 96 per cent of people in Weir would welcome the development. It is thought the project will cost £700,000 and the Baptist Church has already put up £100,000.

The centre will be built on the former Doals Baptist Church, Burnley Road, which was demolished in 1996. The building will now be called the Doals Centre.

No designs for the building have been drawn up yet but people will be able to find out more about how the project will be put together. The group plans to set up a charitable independent company to run the centre when it has been built.

Mr Hepworth said: "We will be presenting the research we have done.

"People can find out quite a lot of detail about what we've been investigating, how we're going to run it and fund it.

"We will be going to all the usual big funding organisations but we're not at the stage where we've got everything ready yet. We're very optimistic we'll get the funding together."

The meeting will be at the Northern School, Burnley Road, on November 23 at 7pm.