A BACKLASH from almost 1,500 householders in Blackburn and Darwen has been provoked by plans to build up to 4,000 executive-style homes on green field sites around the borough.

Meetings were attended by more than 1,100 residents who were overwhelmingly opposed to schemes proposed by the council for completion by 2028.

Another 430 letters, mainly of objection, were received by the town hall officials in a consultation launched after the original draft strategy was revealed in March.

The final version, adding three new sites and dropping two large schemes, will be debated by the full Council Forum tomorrow night.

Opposition leaders Mike Lee and David Foster will take the anger at the proposals, going out to final consultation for six weeks before being sent to Whitehall for approval, to the town hall meeting, likely to be attended by upset residents.

The Local Housing Plan proposes to drop schemes for 150 homes around Scarr Lane and Preston New Road, Beardwood, and for 300-plus houses on green belt land near Brownhill Drive, Roe Lee, both north of Blackburn centre.

It presses on with disputed plans for 450 executive properties on Blackburn Rugby Club, north of Ramsgreave Drive, 60 homes on Parsonage Drive, and 220 houses around Yew Tree Drive.

Equally controversial proposals for more than 400 upmarket homes around Gib Lane in Feniscowles are in the 15 sites specifically earmarked for new development in the plan.

Proposals to develop 1,000-plus homes around Darwen remain, along with new plans for the 50 executive residences on Ellerslie House in the town.

The other new sites on the outskirts of the borough — Waterside on Johnson New Road, near Hoddlesden (80 properties) and Springside Works, Belmont (120 properties) — have also been added.

The 15 sites propose more than 3,000 new homes, at least 2,500 of which will be executive-style properties in rural settings, as part of an overall development plan to build 9,400 new houses by 2026, including 1,300 with existing planning permissions and 300 empty properties brought back into use.

Tory group leader Coun Lee said: “These plans propose unnecessary homes provoking a huge backlash from residents against building on the green belt and the few green spaces left in Blackburn with Darwen.

“I shall be taking that anger to council forum tomorrow night. I went to several meetings, including one of more than 100 people at Blackburn Rugby Club, and I could find no-one in favour of these plans to build on open space.”

LibDem leader Coun Foster said: “There is a lot of anger around Darwen where there seems to be far too much development.”

Tory planning spokesman Alan Cottam said: “If the houses are built, it will concrete over green space and create ghost towns of empty homes.”

Council regeneration boss Maureen Bateson said: “We believe this plan puts the council in the strongest position to attract and shape high-quality development essential to the future well-being of our borough.

“We have a growing young population and also a growing older population .”