THE first Hilton hotel for East Lancashire will form the centrepiece of the £100million Frontier Park complex.

Hampton by Hilton Blackburn is expected to bring 150 rooms and conferencing facilities for 1,400 delegates to the Whitebirk site.

Brothers Mohsin and Zuber Issa, the driving force behind the Euro Garages chain, are partners in the new venture, with their fledgling outfit Monte Hospitality.

Monte has signed a franchise agreement with the Hilton offshoot, which also has a location on Blackpool’s South Promenade, with an opening date in 2020 envisaged.

Patrick Fitzgibbon, Hilton’s senior vice president for development, said: “Visitor numbers to Lancashire have grown for a sixth consecutive year and projects such as Frontier Park will further enhance the commercial appeal of the county.

“Hampton by Hilton Blackburn will be the town’s first internationally branded hotel and we look forward to welcoming guests when the property opens in 2020.”

Bosses at Monte, which is listed at Euro House in Haslingden Road, say the hotel development is part of their strategy to bring “international brands” to East Lancashire.

Irfan Ali, company director, said: “Hampton by Hilton Blackburn will be our first branded hotel development and we are proud to be partnering with this market leading hotel operator.

“Lancashire is in need of an internationally recognised hotel and this project will meet the growing demand for quality accommodation in the area.”

Cllr Miles Parkinson, Hyndburn Council leader, has described Frontier Park, which is actually in Hyndburn but is close to the border with Blackburn, as a "significant" contributor to the local economy.

Cllr Phil Riley, regeneration executive member at Blackburn with Darwen Council, added: “This is bringing a quality hotel name into the area and can only be a good idea.

“We currently don’t having anything like this locally.”

The Hilton expansion will make it the 29th nationally, with a further 20 currently planned for both the UK and Ireland over the next few years.

The announcement is the latest addition to Frontier Park, after the completion of Euro Garages’ £5.25million retail site, including a drive-thru KFC and Greggs, Spar, Starbucks and Totally Wicked outlet. which created 135 jobs.

A wider distribution, logistics and manufacturing hub will take up the remainder of the site.