The second stage of a multi-million-pound facelift for Blackburn's King George's Hall is set to be approved by councillors.

Blackburn with Darwen Council's planning committee on Thursday night be asked to give the go-ahead for the works to the Grade II listed building, which is East Lancashire’s premier entertainment venue.

The £8 million of work includes window and door replacements, stonework restoration and repointing.

The first phase of roof repairs was approved by the committee last month.

If approved the latest planning application would be a major step forward for the complete refurbishment proposals for the hall in the town centre's Northgate area.

The money will come from a Levelling Up grant of £20m to Blackburn with Darwen Council from the government.

A report to councillors recommends the granting of both planning permission and listed building consent for the works.

It says: "The proposed developments are in relation to a programme of works regarding the second phase of a programme of repairs and renovations at King Georges Hall, which are intended to bring the building back to the grandeur it held when it was first opened in 1921.

"The proposed works comprise a range of external window and door replacements, stonework restoration and repointing to the main hall building.

"The submitted ‘External Condition Report’ and ‘Masonry Report’ have highlighted a range of issues including, isolated descaling/movement, areas of repointing in a cement-based mortar mix creating issues with controlling moisture and natural movement, and general weathering/staining where excessive amounts of moisture have been draining, causing the stonework to appear unsightly and causing further deterioration to the mortar joints.

"The external windows are in a generally poor condition with the timber frames showing evidence of decay, and a number of glazing panes are cracked.

"The works proposed involve the careful removal of decayed or otherwise defective areas of stonework, using handheld tools to form a new sound square base to avoid feather edging.

"The masonry will be restored using blended specialist restoration mortar in layers of even thickness.

The proposed windows will made of hardwood timber, double glazed and finished with a manufacturer's full paint system.

"The proposed windows and doors will be made of Polyester Powder Coated Aluminium.

"Fundamentally the proposals are limited to the external elements of the building, ensuring that the internal elements remain unaffected by the proposal and the internal significance is preserved, with the exception of the windows.

"The council’s conservation consultee generally finds the repairs and upgrades to the building to be positive in nature and will provide a visual benefit to the building and the wider appearance of the conservation area."