BURNLEY'S former county court could be set for a new lease of life as the town's first new casino in almost 50 years.

The man behind the idea is Burnley businessman and major Clarets shareholder John Turkington, who has applied to the council to turn the derelict building in Bankhouse Street into a casino.

Mr Turkington, head of bakery equipment manufacturer J.F. Turkington (Engineers), of Widow Hill Road, is also applying to Burnley Council for a change of use of the former court building to include a restaurant.

Mr Turkington has several business interests in Burnley and two years ago sank £200,000 into the Burnley FC new share issue.

He has so far declined to comment on the application.

Two years ago Mr Turkington made a similar application to turn the building into a cabaret but the plans, although given the go-ahead by the council, never saw the light of day.

The building was put up for sale through Trevor Dawson Chartered Surveyors, of St James Street, Burnley with a guide price of £125,000 but a buyer could not be found.

The red-brick court building is set on three floors with about 12,000 sq ft, plus an extensive basement.

It has been empty for more than a decade, since the court was transferred to the Burnley Crown Court complex in Hammerton Street.

The whole grand casino scheme is reliant on a change in the gambling laws in the UK.

The Gambling Review report's recommendations would make resort casino hotels a legal possibility, dependent on local decision-making.

But the Government has yet to pronounce on the laws.

News of the plans for the old court house were welcomed by the chief executive of East Lancashire Chamber of Commerce, Mike Danns, who said it could help boost the town.

He said: "If it helps bring people into the town and spend money, which in turn would help regeneration then I think it would be welcome."

Burnley MP Peter Pike said: "I would not be against the idea in principle but the details of the law need to be looked at and local consultation needs to take place.

"I would like to see something done with the building as it has been empty for more than a decade now and is likely to deteriorate further if it isn't either developed or knocked down."

Mr Pike said there used to be two casinos in Burnley, one at the Mechanics and one at the former Cabaret Club in Rose Grove, although these had both closed in the late1960s or early 1970s.

In February the Bishop of Blackburn said that plans to introduce casinos in the resort of Blackpool could be "the lesser of two evils" if they helped to rejuvenate deprived areas.

The Rt Rev Alan Chesters visited the famous US resort of Las Vegas to see how gaming had affected the city and its people.