FINAL plans for a controversial wedding reception venue and multi-use function room at East Lancashire’s Blue Lagoon beauty spot have been revealed.

The scheme at Wards Reservoir in Belmont includes a cafe and community centre with parking and landscaping.

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The owners of the man-made expanse of water say the new buildings, which have upset some local people, are vital to create the revenue to maintain and improve the reservoir and its surrounds.

Horwich-based Blue Lagoon Heritage bought the site in 2010 for £50,000 and has since spent almost £500,000 on its maintenance.

The firm’s consultant Jonathan Vose, of Walsingham Planning, said in a submission to Blackburn with Darwen Council: “The principal intention was seeking to preserve the site for future generations and return the site to its previous visual quality.

Lancashire Telegraph:

“My client had enjoyed visiting the Blue Lagoon since childhood, so when a chance arrived to purchase it and return it to its former glory and beauty, and safeguard this for future generations, this is what he did.

“The site’s upkeep and maintenance had been neglected for years before its purchase.

“Since purchase, my client has diligently commissioned various works which has involved spending more than £487,000 of his own money to repair and upgrade the site to enable it to function and appear as it once did.

“No return has been received to date from any of this essential expenditure.

“We are now at a point that to continue to fund this upkeep from their own pockets, without any financial return, will be difficult for my client to sustain in perpetuity.

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In August 2011 Blue Lagoon Heritage revealed plans to turn the popular beauty spot into a boating lake with cafe and visitors centre.

In the previous 18 months the reservoir had been drained twice to reduce flood risks.