PLANS have been drawn up to transform a 500-year-old barn that became a TV star into a house.

Grade Two, starred, listed Great Barn at Hurstwood, near Burnley, is regarded as the finest of its kind remaining in the county.

The star indicates it is more important than other Grade Two buildings.

The 16th-century aisled barn featured in a BBC TV adaptation of Anne Bronte's The Tenant of Wildfell Hall in the late 1990s.

But an application has been submitted to Burnley Borough Council to convert it to a home.

Heritage campaigners have backed the proposal, as long as work is done "sensitively", warning the building is about to collapse.

The structure is in a state of disrepair and its interior is said to be virtually derelict and dangerous. It has been many years since it was used for agriculture.

Burnley Civic Society treasurer June Evans said: "It's something the Civic Society would like to see restored. The Civic Society has been trying to get something done. It's in a very sad state and it does need something doing to it pretty quickly.

"If it was done sensitively then I'm sure the Civic Society would go along with it. It's better to have something done rather than let it fall down and it's not far off falling down.

"I'm sure the Civic Society would be in agreement provided it's nothing too drastic.

"We would like to see it brought back into use and saved in as near a condition as what it used to be."

Council planning case officer Sue Davies said: "The application is for conversion of the barn into a dwelling.

"There are no new openings planned and they will use the existing openings.

"They are planning to retain as much of the historical features as possible. It needs a lot of repair.

"We would not grant permission to remove it without good reason."

Four years ago, plans to pull down the barn were refused by councillors.

The barn has also survived previous attempts to alter it, with a proposal to use it as an art gallery and studio for local artists refused in 1998.

One of the reasons given was that planners did not want the historical interior to be sub-divided.

The council is awaiting comments on the plans from organisations such as English Heritage

The application is at an early stage and it is not known yet when it will go before members of the council's development control committee.