A NEW £3million factory is at the centre of a row after company bosses were given permission for a 100ft tower on a hill overlooking Blackburn.

Opponents of the scheme have claimed it will dominate Blackburn's skyline and should not have been allowed on Shadsworth Business Park, which is one of the town's highest points.

But Blackburn with Darwen council officers and the firm involved, FD Sims, said it will provide a tasteful floodlit landmark next to the M65, where the firm wants to base its North European operations next year.

And the company's boss said the structure could have the same attractive impact as the Angel of the North statue in Gateshead.

The tower, needed to hold kilns used in the firm's copper wire coating business, has been the subject of intense negotiations between company bosses and planners for months.

As well as being floodlit at night, it be cladded in pastel colours and have signs naming the firm and welcoming people to the business park. The firm was bought in 2001 by IRCE Group Spa based in Italy.

Since then, negotiations have been taking place with Blackburn with Darwen Council for the firm to move to a 73,000 sq ft site close to the M65.

It is hoped staff from the firm's existing base in Ramsbottom, whose number fluctuates between 50 and 100, will move to the new site, with some new jobs also being created.

But representatives from Manchester-based Chanters Estates, which opened the neighbouring Beehive office complex last year, expressed concern that a tower overshadowing their site could make it harder to attract new tenants.

Sam Lancaster, from Chanters, said: "We feel the development on the site is inappropriate. We have developed high quality offices and have plans to do the same on the other side of the same road.

"An industrial use, with a tower which will overshadow our development, we feel is inappropriate."

And Conservative regeneration spokesman Alan Cottam said: "This is at one of the highest points in the town, and it is not on.

"It should have been built at Whitebirk or somewhere where the hills could hide it."

But a council report stated: "The design of the tower has been the subject of lengthy negotiations. It is to be cladded by cream and two shades of grey, along with a blue.

"It is considered that the variation in cladding material and colour makes an interesting and eye-catching structure.

"The proposed tower would be imposing and prominent from the M65. Ultimately, it will contribute positively to the borough's skyline from various vantage points."

And director of regeneration, Adam Scott, added: "We can only consider planning applications for the site people request, not look at alternatives for them."

Blackburn architects The Fowler Partnership are responsible for the redesign.

Coun Andy Kay, in charge of regeneration at the council, said: "While we welcome new jobs, the tower does concern me, although I accept that with the correct lighting and cladding it could look OK."

Robert Jones, manager at FD Sims, said: "We wanted a site where we could expand in the future, and that was reasonably easy to get to from Ramsbottom so some of our staff could move with us.

"We have worked closely with the council to come up with this design for the tower which has the potential to have the same impact as the Angel of the North on the skyline. It should look very attractive

"We needed planning permission now because the lease on our existing site runs out in 2004. The old factory is tired, this new place will be state of the art and the North European centre for the firm."