AN ARSON-HIT, former mill is set to be upgraded to serve Accrington's Asian community.

The former Warwick and Bailey building in Richmond Hill Street, which is a Grade Two listed building, will be developed by the Ghousia Mosque Committee after proposals were approved by planning chiefs.

Members of Hyndburn's development services committee welcomed plans to use the premises for social and cultural events and granted permission for the developers to alter the building.

The mosque committee has applied for a lottery grant to help fund the refurbishments and it is hoped the building will be used for Asian weddings and classes for children.

Planning chiefs received complaints from local residents who feared an increase in traffic and lack of parking places available in the area.

But members decided parking space was adequate and agreed with an officer's report that the best way to prevent old buildings from falling into disrepair was by keeping them in use.

They were told the building, bought by the mosque committee last year, had been empty for many years and became a target for arsonists and vandals.

The facility will serve the local community and visitors will be limited to a maximum of 240 people to prevent traffic getting out of hand.

Supporting the plan, Labour leader Coun Ken Curtis said he was glad to see the building would be "returned to its former glory" by the phased refurbishment programme.

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