THE demolition of a prominent roadside pub in Blackburn to make way for road improvements and housing has come a significant step further.

Blackburn with Darwen Council has applied for planning permission to knock down the vacant and boarded-up former Blackamoor Inn in Roman Road.

The pub shell in Lower Darwen will be demolished to improve the junction with Stopes Brow and upgrade the pavement on the corner.

This will allow Blackburn with Darwen Council, which owns the building, to earmark the car park for part of a new housing development.

Borough planners will now consider the proposal for the site is close to the multi-million pound Issa Way, named after billionaire business brothers Mohsin and Zuber, which connects Blackamoor Road to Roman Road.

In January the authority's executive board approved the demolition of the Inn building which had been used to provide temporary accommodation for the civil engineering contractor working on the Growth Deal 3 highways scheme and to support the land assembly for the future housing site to the south of the new Issa Way highway.

A supporting statement submitted with the application says: "It is the intention to demolish the existing building, complete landscaping works on the site and widen the pavement on Stopes Brow, providing benefit to the community.

"The public house is owned by Blackburn with Darwen Borough Council.

"The former Blackamoor Inn is located on the corner plot adjacent to Roman Road and Stopes Brow.

"The property has been vacant since 2019 and has fallen into a state of disrepair.

"The building is a two-storey masonry structure with a basement and a pitched slate roof.

"It is proposed that the existing building is fully demolished, including the infilling of the basement, with the site left clear of all rubble and debris. The contractor is to infill the basement with hardcore.

"Upon completion of the demolition works, it is the intention of the client to widen the footpath located on Stopes Brow and soft landscape the land where the building was located, providing improved pedestrian circulation around the junction and increased visibility for highway users.

"The local authority will provide temporary hoarding to prevent unauthorised access between the completion of demolition works and the commencement of landscaping works."