FEARS have been voiced over the future of a once-popular working men’s club in Oswaldtwistle.

The listed National Association Club, in Mill Hill, had been closed for some time before it was torched in a suspected arson in August.

Now, Councillor Peter Britcliffe is set to call for action to be taken on the derelict building, formerly known as the ‘Straits Club’ and nicknamed the ‘Nash’.

The leader of the opposition party and county councillor for Oswaldtwistle also said he had not heard of any plans for the venue.

He said: “I have not heard anything but it’s going to fall into total disrepair if nothing is done. It cannot be allowed to stand as it is.

“I have been contacting the planning department at the council to ask for some action on the matter. It’s an eyesore in an attractive part of Oswaldtwistle.”

Police launched an investigation following the blaze, which more than 20 firefighters were called to to extinguish at around 4.30pm on Friday, August 29.

Coun Britcliffe said: “I’m going to ask enforcement officers about this. I will ask them to look into it, to make sure it’s secure, and ask them what’s happening to improve it.

“In its day, the club was really popular, but like many it had had its day, and had been going downhill for some time before it closed.”

In April 2000, the club applied to improve vacant land into a beer garden, and to replace windows. The beer garden application was refused after concerns were voiced over noise and disturbance, and the loss of ‘residential amenity’.

The following year, planners gave several improvements the go ahead, including the installation of grills, a canopy, a new door and suspended ceiling, and the removal of an external stone staircase.

It is not known when the club closed exactly, but neighbours said it shut its doors around two years before the fire.

No-one from the club was available for comment.