A SCHEME for a shopping gateway into Burnley has moved closer after a rival bid to create a job centre was turned down.

Rival plans for the site of the old Co-op superstore, Curzon Street, put businesses and politicians in opposing camps, with the town's MP Peter Pike coming out firmly in favour of the job centre proposals.

The Chamber of Trade, Town Centre Mangagement and Market Manager, all voiced strong objection to the Government proposed job centre saying it would hit Burnley's development as a retail centre.

Now a retail development seems sure after councillors dismissed the job centre plans for refusal at a planning meeting last night.

Burnley Council plans to obtain the lease of the site, which has planning permission for retail use, before inviting bids from developers. But Mr Pike warned the council to ensure they have Burnley's best interests at heart, saying: "I hope they know what they're doing."

Stannifer, the company which last year bought the Curzon Street and Charter Walk shopping areas, has major plans for the site. It wants to extend Burnley's shopping district by demolishing the empty supermarket and building new shops at the end of Curzon Street.

A plan from the Government's Job Centre Plus would have seen the existing Job Centre in Bankfield closed and replaced with a new hi-tech base at the Curzon Street site.

Pamela Joan Lee, who represented the application at the planning meeting, said: "This would have brought 250 jobs and would have been a flagship office in the North West. Burnley will be the only town in East Lancashire without a scheme of this kind."

But according to Stannifer, its plans would breath new life into Burnley's shopping districts and transform the town centre. Chamber of Trade secretary, Rita Walsh, said: "Our objective is to keep the site reserved for retail. Another consideration is that part of the Job Centre Plus bid includes office space. Burnley has a lot of prime office suites, like the refurbished Safeway House in Centenary Way, lying empty."

Burnley's town centre management team, led by Lisa Durkin, put together a report to the council outlining why the site should be earmarked for retail use. Today she welcomed the council's decision and said: "I don't oppose the job centre bid, but can't support it in that location -- we need to keep it for retail.