A NEW chapter in the history of worship in the Haggate area of Burnley will be opened with the forthcoming demolition of the former baptist chapel.

The huge Victorian building off Nelson Road could seat 800 but was found to have serious structural problems costing more than £200,000 to repair.

As a result it has been closed for services which are now being held at the former school rooms off Burnley Road and on November 25 thanksgiving services for the new worship centre will be held.

Instead of seeing the demise of the old building as an ending, Minister the Rev Philip Elson said: "I think the relocation gives us an opportunity to open a new chapter in our history.

"Some people, particularly younger people in our community, may find it easier to identify with the school building and a modern centre of worship rather than the huge Victorian chapel.

"The chapel was very elegant and greatly loved and inside offered great peace but outside was awesome and could appear austere with its monuments to the former Mayors and Mayoresses of Burnley."

Outline planning permission has been granted to demolish the smaller building known as the institute off Nelson Road and develop the land for three houses. As part of this plan an access to the new worship centre from Burnley Road will be built but the church is still waiting for a price for the work.

Once the chapel has been demolished the area will be landscaped and one of the church's two graveyards, which abuts Nelson Road, is going to be improved, but will remain open. The church was originally planning to develop for housing a smaller graveyard area off Halifax Road where the graves are no longer tended and are more than 100 years old, but those plans have now been put on hold.

In the church magazine Deacon Michael Green, who is also chairman of the building and development sub-committee describes repairing the chapel as "economic disaster" saying it would have placed a millstone around the neck of future generations of worshippers.

The chapel's organ, which was about 75 years old, has been painstakingly removed piece by piece and sent out to Latvia where it will be installed in a rebuilt Lutheran Church about 30 miles from the capital Riga.

A team from Latvia worked for two weeks from 8am to 10pm to carefully remove the Wright Driver organ which had 1,750 pipes.

Mr Elson said it was expected to be installed in about 15 to 18 months and the church had been invited to Latvia to see the organ once it is working again.