A COMPANY is seeking permission to turn an old pub and church into a petrol station, shop and drive-through.

Blackburn-based Euro Garages has applied for permission from Burnley Council to develop a site on Barracks Road, Burnley.

The site houses the former St Teresa’s RC Church and the General Havelock Inn public house, both of which have been closed down and unoccupied for several years.

And the firm behind the plans also revealed the development would bring up to 35 new jobs to the area.

In a statement, Eurogarages said: “The petrol filling station and ancillary retail element would create 20 jobs and the drive through café would create 15 jobs, which would be a mix of full and part time employing local people.”

The company purchased the public house which sits on the site in October 2017 after it had been on the market for three-and-a-half years with no interest from buyers.

The church on the other hand was not on the market for long before it was purchased by EG.

Eurogarages said: “Visually the proposal will enhance the site which has a number of disused and dilapidated buildings and the immediate area which lies on a gateway site and regeneration of such sites is encouraged.”

The development is designed to incorporate 27 parking spaces, and access to the facility will be off Barracks Road opposite the current gym.

In terms of economic development, the proposals argue that the petrol station would make a positive contribution to the local economy through substantial job creation once the scheme is operational.

The firm said: “The scheme contributes to job creation, albeit shorter lived, during the construction phase and the cumulative effort of using local businesses.

“From a social dimension, the proposals would result in a significant enhancement to the general area visually and create a wider offer in terms of the facilities available in the area.”

Euro Garages has been hitting the headlines recently thanks to the fast-paced expansion of the firm.

Just last week it was reported that the group had struck a ‘multi-million’ pound deal in the Netherlands and a $2billion expansion into the US was announced at the start of February.