A CENTRE for drug addicts opens today in a former museum in central Blackburn.

The Evolve Centre, in the site of the former Lewis Textile Museum, Exchange Street, will provide counselling and “life skills” training to people with drink and drug problems.

There was a public outcry in April 2006 when the popular museum was controversially closed by the previous Labour administration to save £23,000 a year.

Blackburn with Darwen Council bosses say the rehab centre is needed with 25,000 ‘hazardous’ drinkers and 3,000 dependent drinkers.

‘Hazardous’ levels for women are between five and twelve large glasses of wine a week and for men between seven and 17 glasses .

The borough also has the fourth highest number of problematic drug users per head of population in the North West.

Bosses insist “illicit drug use” will not be tolerated at the centre, which will be open in the evenings five days a week.

Exhibits at the textile museum have been moved to Blackburn Museum.

Council bosses say the building, one of the oldest in Blackburn, had a rotting ceiling and could not have been saved without the project.

The new centre, which will not provide residential accommodation for addicts, is opened today by Baroness Massey of Darwen, chair of the National Treatment Agency.

It will be run by voluntary agency Inward House and funded by the council and NHS Blackburn with Darwen.

The decision to close the museum and reopen it as a rehab centre had been opposed by members of the Liberal Democrat and Conservative Groups on the council when they were in opposition - and they are now part of the ruling group.

Tory council leader Colin Rigby said: “One of the problems about being in opposition is you never truly get all the facts you need.

“We have to do something to drive down the number of drug-users in our communities, and so personally I do not have a problem with this.”

Executive member for neighbourhoods and customer services John Slater added: “This is a radical new approach to tackling the problem of drink and drugs in our society.

"It brings together the advice, help and support people need into one easy to reach location close to many other services people use already.”

The centre will have a computer suite to help with job hunting and learning new skills, a “training kitchen”, interview rooms for agencies like Jobcentre Plus, rooms for group work and support meetings and offices.

It will open five days a week until about 8pm.