Plan for homes on Blackburn community centre site ‘positive’

Services at Mill Hill Resource Centre, in Mill Hill Street, have gradually departed since 2007 and the last remaining staff were transferred out of the building by Blackburn with Darwen Council earlier this year.

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Developer, Manchester-based Great Places Housing Group, said the project would ‘assist with the ongoing regeneration of Mill Hill and Blackburn’.

The application contains a ‘100 per cent affordable’ mixture of two, three and four-bedroom homes and bungalows.

Coun Damian Talbot, Labour member for Mill Hill, said that although it would be ‘sad’ to see the 1960s building go, the development was a welcome investment in the area.

He said: “I think it’s a positive to see the site developed. We have known for quite some time that Blackburn with Darwen Council’s usage of the building has been going down.

“We were concerned about it becoming a vacant building so it would be good to see some housing. The area is mainly housing anyway.

“There was a consultation meeting [last October] with residents and I attended. We had some queries about access onto Mill Hill Street, which is a busy road and bus route.

“We are also seeking reassurance about the design in general. I am supportive of the scheme and residents seem positive about its potential.”

The resource centre contained the Independent Living Centre, which housed adult social services staff and was also home to Blackburn and District Blind Society, which has since moved to new headquarters in Haslingden Road.

In a planning statement, Great Places said the scheme also included 37 car parking spaces and a new access road.

It added: “The application is supported by a full suite of proposed plans which have been developed in close consultation with Blackburn with Darwen Council.

“The development will be of a scale, density, and character appropriate to the local area, and through high quality design and landscaping will enhance the visual appeal of the locality.”