A major housing site has been proposed for north east Blackburn and residents have been invited to have their say to help shape the masterplan.

The land has already been identified for up to 1,500 new homes in Blackburn with Darwen Council’s local plan – a blueprint for how the borough will be developed between now and 2037.

After extensive preliminary works by expert consultant Stantec, a draft masterplan is now being developed which will help set out how the site could look.

To help shape the masterplan, residents are now being asked for their views on two early options, offering differing proposals for the number of houses, the roads required, green spaces and a proposed community hub too.

The feedback will help shape the draft masterplan that’s expected to be ready for wider consultation later in the year.

Growth director at Blackburn with Darwen Council, Simon Jones, said: “This week we’ve heard a lot in the news about the importance of house building for growth.

“We’re leading the charge on that here in Blackburn with Darwen and can see how the new homes are helping change the lives of our residents.

“As a borough, we’re in a strong position too as we have an agreed Local Plan that sets out a blueprint for future development.

“It’s been painstakingly developed by experts who really know the borough and what’s needed, and it’s been thoroughly reviewed by a government planning inspector too.

“The local plan has helped us identify how many new homes we’ll need in the future as well as the required infrastructure, including for business growth to help support jobs and our local economy.

“For the land in North East Blackburn, a huge amount of work has been going on behind the scenes to see how that 100-hectare site could be developed over the next two decades or so.”

Residents can go online to find out more about the masterplan, and the work that has already been undertaken, the opportunities and constraints of the site, site plans and more.

There is also an online survey for interested parties to submit their feedback.

Information boards are also available to view at Blackburn Market. The boards will be there until July 25.

And a drop-in session is being held on Thursday, July 25, at St Gabriel’s Church in Church Walk. Visitors can speak to the people leading on the draft masterplan and Council officers between 3pm and 7:30pm.

Simon said: “As ever, our focus is on getting this right and we want to hear from residents living in the area and businesses too.

“We’ve tried to make it really easy for people to take part in the consultation – whether that be online or in-person.

“We want to listen to what they have to say and use that to help inform a draft masterplan that we’re hoping to share for wider consultation later in the year.

“This is potentially a huge development it could be the biggest in Blackburn with Darwen and it’s incredibly important to us that residents take this opportunity to help shape the future of it.”

In February, work on the housing development was give the go-ahead. 

The North-East Blackburn Strategic Housing Site Masterplan covers land bounded by the A6119 (Brownhill Drive) to the west and includes land between Belvedere/East Lancs Road to the north, Whalley Old Road to the south, and up to the borough boundary in the east.

Building work expected to start by 2026.

The site is in the ownership of eight different landowners including the council which possesses 45 per cent of the site.

Full details of the two options can be viewed at: www.blackburn.gov.uk/NEBlackburn