EFFORTS by a church to find a new home have again proved unsuccessful.

The Christian Life Centre, in Woodham Village, Newton Aycliffe, County Durham, has outgrown its facilities.

The centre, which runs a range of religious and community-based activities, has tried to relocate several times.

The latest plan was to move into a former factory on the town's industrial estate.

The former Thrislingtons building, off Durham Way South, has stood empty since 1996, and the Christian Life Centre submitted a change of use planning application.

The plan included a sports hall, children's pre-school, youth meeting hall, parent and toddlers and after- school club, music room, classrooms, dining area, offices and storage.

But the application drew strong objections from Helical Bar, owner of large sections of the industrial park, which said it could dissuade investors from locating in that part of the estate.

Planning permission for the scheme was refused at a recent meeting of Sedgefield Borough Council's development control committee, although members expressed sympathy with the church's problems.

Councillor Bob Fleming said: "This would be detrimental to the estate. This is a prime site in the middle of the estate.

"The industry in there is a lifeblood to the borough, not just to Newton Aycliffe, and I would be very much against this type of development.