A piece of open space in Darwen is to become a new car park.

The scheme for land adjacent to units off the town's Charles Street has been approved by councillors.

The site is an irregular area of open space measuring approximately 0.17 hectares.

It is mainly grassed and contains a number of immature trees and a footpath linking Charles Street to the Robin Road wildlife site on the opposite side of the River Darwen.

The site also includes a section of the hardstanding that provides vehicular access to commercial units located to the east of Duckworth Street.

This month's meeting of Blackburn with Darwen Council's planning committee granted planning permission for the change of use of the land from open space to a parking area constructed with compacted stone.

It will serve the existing business located immediately to the northwest of the site.

The permission also provides for alterations to the position of the footpath crossing the site, new weld mesh boundary fencing, replacement access gates fronting Charles Street and provision of secondary gates within the hardstanding area serving the existing business uses.