A COMMUNITY centre that has been an integral part of Horwich for about 50 years is set to close.

St Mary's Catholic Social and Recreation Club will close its doors for the final time at the end of this month.

The Salford Diocese was forced to make the reluctant decision, said Father Barry O'Sullivan, after it became apparent the centre was no longer financially viable.

"It had been running at a loss and we couldn't continue to run it like that," said Fr Barry.

Fr Barry, who joined St Mary's Church in December last year, said he recognised the centre had featured heavily in the local community many years ago but it was no longer used enough.

The church, in Chorley New Road, dates back to the 1860s but the centre, at the back of the church, was built in the middle of the last century.

While it would have been well used by the local community in its early years, more recently it has been used "less and less", he said.

"It has been used by local groups for meetings but not as a parish centre as such," he said.

Last week The Bolton News reported on the closure of the Horwich Fruit, Flower and Vegetable Society, which was formed almost 100 years ago, but would no longer have a home when the centre closed.

Organisers had used the centre as a base and said there were no other suitable local venues.

The chairman and secretary of the society, Keith Pemberton, said the most recent Horwich Fruit, Flower and Vegetable Show was held in September last year.

Mr Pemberton, aged 72, said: "It would have been my 39th show this year, and I would have been looking forward to making it 40, which we can't do now.

"Everybody is upset about it — our society is one of the last to offer such activities, and there is still a demand for it."

Other events at the centre included a weekly dancing class.

But Fr Barry said the handful of meetings and events would not sustain the centre and the costs involved in running it.

What will happen to the single storey building — which boasts a hall and a club attached to it — remains a mystery.

There are rumours that the building will be demolished to make way for housing on the site it currently occupies, as well as adjoining land, but Fr Barry said he had not been made aware of any such plans and it would be the Salford Diocese that made any decision.

He said he was pleased that the centre manager had now secured other employment.