THE NEW owner of a former council building has agreed to let his property be used as a polling station following a campaign by elderly residents.

Moves to sell off Cemetery House in Church caused a storm of protest because it meant senior citizens would have to walk down a steep hill to cast their votes.

The building in Dill Hall Lane had been traditionally used as a polling station and the proposed sale triggered off a review of voting arrangements for this May's local government elections.

Voters living at the top of Dill Hall Lane were being asked to vote at Elmfield Hall in the grounds of Gatty Park.

Mike Chambers, the chief executive of Hyndburn Council, has now agreed to review the long-term arrangements. And the council will be making extra efforts to find a new polling station close to Cemetery House for future elections.

The purchaser of Cemetery House has now agreed to let the building be used as a polling station if the sale is completed before the May elections.

Mike Chambers said: "I received a number of letters from people who were concerned about the distance and the steep hill.

"I asked a colleague to walk the route and she agreed it would asking too much, particularly of older people.

"The last thing we wanted was to discourage anyone from voting."

People who usually vote at Ernest Street Baptist Church in Church will not be affected by the changes.

Converted for the new archive on 14 July 2000. Some images and formatting may have been lost in the conversion.