A COUNCIL leader said her Labour planning committee members would decide the Darwen Leisure Centre application on its own merits.

Coun Kate Hollern's pledge came as opposition councillors told of their fears that the committee was becoming "politicised".

The row broke out after it emerged that Blackburn with Darwen Borough Council had only just applied for planning permission for the controversial new leisure centre, despite already having closed the existing centre in December.

Critics claimed that this action meant the ruling Labour group expected that the plans would be approved.

They were unhappy at this stance as they believed planning permission should not be a certainty given that residents in the town had raised objections to the leisure centre facilities being split across two sites.

Conservative councillor Alan Cottam, who has a seat on the planning committee, said the situation was an example of why he believed the committee should be re-formed to end years of "politicisation".

But he said that the planning application "offered a chance" for Labour members of the committee to "break the democracy and vote for the people."

He said: "The quasi-judicial planning committee is no more than an official front. The executive member for regeneration Coun Andy Kay makes all the decisions.

"Darwen leisure centre should never be allowed to be on a split site. There has never been so many complaints about a planning issue than this. There should be an equal number of representatives from each major political party forming this committee. It would be refreshing to enter a debate on a planning issue with the hope that common sense would prevail."

But Coun Hollern, Labour leader of the council, said the plan would be assessed on its own merits as all proposals were.

She said: "Interestingly I have been to a number of planning meetings and seen that the Tories and the Liberals consistently vote together."

She said Coun Kay always based his decisions on facts.

The leisure centre was closed in December after months of debate between Blackburn with Darwen Council and leisure centre users about plans for a split-site £9million replacement.

The new centre, set to open in 2008, will include a competition-sized pool, gym and aerobics studio complemented by a sports hall across town at Darwen Vale High School.

An asbestos and demolition survey is currently being carried out before works scheduled to start in March.