A TOWN council for Darwen will become a reality after the final obstacle was cleared.

Last night borough councillors voted to form the council, which will be set up next year, by a margin of 40 to eight, with nine members abstaining.

The vote follows a referendum of townspeople in October which also came out in favour.

Last night’s lengthy, heated debate divided Blackburn with Darwen’s ruling coalition of Conservative, Liberal Democrat and For Darwen.

Liberal Democrat Whitehall member Karimeh Foster said the total who voted in favour at the referendum, 11.6 per cent, was not enough of a mandate, and claimed voters had been misled about the powers of a town council, which are relatively low-level.

She said: “Many people thought they had voted to become independent from Blackburn.

“When I told them that was not the case they were annoyed.”

And in a furious speech her fellow Lib Dem Simon Huggill claimed the town council, an election target for the British National Party, could become a “cuckoo” in the nest of the borough council.

But the Lib Dems were accused by supporters of the town council of ignoring the democratic vote.

For Darwen leader Tony Melia claimed to bypass the vote would be a “slippery slope” to the kind of regime seen in Zimbabwe — while independent Fernhurst member Michael Johnson said the size of the turnout was “irrelevant”.

Labour’s Dave Hollings said: “We said all along we would respect the vote of the people of Darwen and we’re sticking to that pledge”.

In the free vote that followed, all the votes against came from Lib Dem councillors.

Two Liberals voted in favour, as did council leader Colin Rigby and all bar two of the Labour side.

The town council will have community-level powers, be consulted on planning applications and would have its own mayor.

It will cost each resident around £9 a year for Band A property.