A NEW archdeacon has started work at Blackburn Cathedral, nine months after his predecessor quit amid child porn allegations -- and he stressed that the time has come to move on.

Canon John Hawley added: "Since I have arrived it has become clear to me that this is a chapter that is closed.

"There may be some individuals who remember friendships and still need to be helped. However, the time has come to move on."

Canon Hawley, 52, replaces the Ven Dr John Marsh who quit last September and left the area. An internet child pornography investigation against him was dropped by police.

Canon Hawley has moved across the Pennines to take up his new post. He was previously Team Rector of Dewsbury in West Yorkshire.

His responsibilities there included looking after four churches and ministering to 23,000 people, including one of the largest concentrations of Muslim people in Western Europe.

The Rt Rev Alan Chesters, the Bishop of Blackburn, confirmed that the new archdeacon's multicultural experience was important in securing the post.

"It will enable him to appreciate the challenges which the Church faces in Lancashire's urban areas, in which there are other world faith communities," he added.

Canon Hawley said: "I believe there are good contacts already in place between the faiths here. All I can do is learn about this network and begin to make personal friendships. We must work together in partnership.

"In West Yorkshire we were the first within the Church of England to engage everyone through the local authority. It was a flagship project."

The new archdeacon is a keen fell-walker, and recognises uphill going when he sees it.

"There are big challenges ahead," he said. "The Church of England in industrial Yorkshire has been struggling for a long time. These are hard places.

"Blackburn traditionally enjoys good church attendances but there are signs in some parts that this is not being sustained."

He believes the Church must reshape itself strategically for its mission. "The old model is outmoded. We must build for the 21st century," he added.

Part of this reshaping will, he said, sometimes require parishes to merge when a vicar retires or leaves. "We will need to redeploy people, and we must therefore help them to understand why this is happening and to cope with it," he added. But he ruled out vicar redundancies.

Canon Hawley, who is single, was born in Blackpool but moved to Sheffield when he was six months old.

After graduating from King's College, London, he worked for 12 months with alcoholic vagrants. He was ordained at York Minster and afterwards worked in Hull and Doncaster before moving to Dewsbury.

In his spare time he intends to play golf and cricket.