A FIVE YEAR battle to bulldoze a blighted block of flats will end when demolition starts next week.

Hyndburn Council says the 16 flats at Chapel Street, Rishton, will start to come down on October 8.

Now the attention is focusing on what residents would like to see in place of the properties, most of which have been empty for more than two years, attracting vandals, fly tippers and nuisance teenagers.

Councillor Ann Scaife, who sits on Rishton area committee, pledged the council would do its "level best" to build what locals have decided they wanted in place of the flats.

She said: "I am absolutely delighted we have a date. The sooner the flats come down the better.

"The community has been trying for more than five years to get this job done and I have been involved in the campaign since I became a councillor, two years ago.

"We will do what we can to provide the locals with what they want, whatever the cost."

Since May's area council meeting approved the decision to demolish the flats, officers have spoken to locals about what happens after the bulldozers have gone.

Of the 105 people who contacted the council, 44 said they wanted a community centre, with 29 supporting the idea of a play area.

Other ideas included garages, a garden, car park, shop, and selling the land to private developers.

The most expensive option is community centre, which area council officer Steve Watson estimates would cost £500,000 with £40,000 each year to maintain.

A play area would cost £100,000 with £1,500 maintenance each year and a garden £75,000, costing another £1,000 per year.

However, Mr Watson told the 100 residents who attended an area council meeting the land was not suitable for private developers because it was not big enough.

He said: "There are ways and means to apply for funding for some of these ideas. We want to find the best way of achieving what you want.

"Nothing has yet been decided. We merely have a list of suggestions. We will do our best to provide what you want."