A former Burnley church and upholstery factory at the centre of a bitter dispute last year over its possible use to house migrants is set to be approved for student flats.

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In August, the borough’s Labour MP Oliver Ryan and Reform UK’s Burnley Central West Lancashire County Coun. Liam Thomson became locked in a fierce social media row over the possible use of the premises at the corner of Claremont Street and Tabor Street for housing asylum seekers.

It followed a small fire in the yard of the building originally home to the 19th Century Claremont Street United Free Methodist Church and then occupied by Wrights Upholstery.

The Wright'S Upholstery Building in Clarement Street, Burnley

Now, Burnley Council’s development control committee has been recommended to approve its conversion into 24 studio flats for students despite dozens of objections.

The original plan for 48 rooms generated a total of 162 public objections along with ones from Gannow ward’s Couns. Gemma Haigh, Charlie Briggs, and Neil Mottershead and one from Whittlefield with Ightenhill Conservative Coun. Don Whitaker.

The scaled-back scheme for 24 flats sparked another 23 public objections.

A planning officer’s report recommending approval with 12 conditions says: “Numerous comments received refer to the proposal as being a scheme to house migrants. The submitted scheme makes no reference to housing migrants and approval is sought for student accommodation.

“If approval were to be granted, then it would be for the use applied for namely student accommodation. Student accommodation does not benefit from rights to change its use within the same use class.

“As such any proposal to change the use from student accommodation or to materially alter the proposal would require a further planning application.

“The Local Plan does not include any policies specifically related to student accommodation. Student accommodation would be an appropriate use. Although a number of representations have questioned whether there is a need for student accommodation there is no policy basis to allow this to be considered. As such the development is considered acceptable in principle

“The application relates to a building known as Wrights Upholstery which was formerly a methodist church. The church (c.1891) ceased use as a place of worship in the 1960s and since that time has been used for light industrial and retail purposes.

“The building has been subject to a number of insensitive later alterations and additions during its period of light industrial use. The building is in a poor state of repair with a number of windows broken and some openings having been historically sealed. The proposal would invest in the fabric of the building and replace and reopen historic window openings.”