(from the Lancashire Telegraph 30 November 2009)

ANGRY residents will continue to fight plans to transform Brierfield Mills into a Muslim school for girls despite major changes to the proposals.

It was announced earlier this week that Islamic Help, a national charity, had scrapped plans to convert the seven-acre site into a 5,000-pupil boarding school for Muslim girls.

But it was revealed that the 50-pupil Ghausia High School for girls, based in Nelson, will still look to move to the site and the trust will look to create a sports centre for the whole community, alongside a ‘commercial village’ housing start-up businesses.

Afzal Anwar, parliamentary Lib Dem candidate for Pendle, said the changes were decided after a meeting with representatives of the trust.

Clitheroe Road Residents’ Association, which now has a 1,000-person petition against the plans, vowed to continue their fight.

The group, which includes members from a range of ethnic backgrounds, raised concerns over the plans.

A spokesman said the group was publicly asking Mr Anwar to withdraw his support of the scheme.

He said business and industrial use of the site, supported and backed by Pendle Council, would be of greater benefits to all the borough’s residents by boosting the local economy, job and housing markets.

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