A HOME and leisure chain is opening a 50,000 sq ft store inside Blackburn's old B&Q store -- bringing £2million worth of investment and up to 100 jobs to the borough.

The Range, a Plymouth-based company, has spent £1million refitting the B&Q store at Greenbank after the DIY chain opened a new warehouse closer to Blackburn town centre.

And, after securing planning permission last week, the firm has begun building a 15,000 sq ft garden centre on the site.

The garden centre will open around a month after the main building first welcomes customers next Tuesday.

It will be The Range's 17th store.

The company specialises in home furnishings, textiles, DIY, arts, crafts, outdoor pursuits and garden centres.

Manager Mark Croughan described the firm as 'Blackburn's biggest value for money store.'

He said: "This site is ideal for us, because it is right next to the motorway, close to the Whitebirk retail park and not too far from the town centre.

"One of the biggest attractions for us has been the support from the council.

"They have made it remarkably easy to set up here, and are certainly the most pro-active in the North when it comes to welcoming us into an area.

"We will open the store first and then the garden centre, which will include a pets section and a cafe.

"We have 15 sections within the store itself, each with dedicated staff. We have 73 staff so far, but that will rise in months to come as we get going."

Coun Andy Kay, in charge of regeneration at Blackburn with Darwen Council, said: "As a council we have a strict policy on the type of shops which we allow to open outside the town centre.

"We didn't want anything which would detract from the town centre, and were looking for a bulky goods firm to come here, and that is what we have got.

"This is significant investment for the borough.

"Of the many inquiries we get about coming here, it was obvious from the start The Range were serious about coming here."