HEALTH bosses have been sent back to the drawing board after being told plans for Blackburn's new 'super hospital' were not up to scratch.

The move comes after building watchdogs and planners said amended designs for a £90million public building were 'unimaginative and unacceptable.'

The latest delay to the start of construction work at Queen's Park, which was originally due to begin last spring, follows a setback in bringing in investors.

Today John Thomas, chief executive of the East Lancashire Hospitals Trust, said he expected to agree a contract for the project within a month and that the development would be the best which could be provided from the available funding.

Blackburn with Darwen council officials have told planning councillors to refuse the amended plans, which were submitted in January, when they are presented to them next week.

That would mean the hospital either reverts back to original plans approved last year or comes up with new proposals.

Officers have rejected a request to use a reflective aluminium roof instead of a duller material which would blend in more with the grey slate used on other local properties.

And proposed alterations to the design of the building, described in the report as being for 'clinical operation purposes' has resulted in what officers described as an "unimaginative facade" which is "bulky and defensive."

Officers and experts from design watchdog the Commission for Architecture and the Built Environment (CABE) said the new plans made the whole project unacceptable.

The original design included detailed curved walls, but these have been replaced with rectangular buildings, which will be seen from Haslingden Road.

Graham Burgess, executive director for regeneration at Blackburn with Darwen Council, said: "This is a major public building in an extremely prominent location.

"It can be seen from many parts of the borough as well as when travelling through the borough on the M65.

"We want something which is visually attractive."

Ben van Bruggen, a design review advisor at CABE said: "The treatment of the Haslingden Road side is unimaginative and appears arbitrary.

"National planning guidelines state that councils should reject poor designs."

He said the original diagrams were more exciting, and also expressed concern at the lack of natural daylight inside the new buildings and the location of the main entrance, which he said many people would miss.

Doug Chadwick, from Blackburn's Civic Society, said: "CABE have worked on a lot of projects across the country to make sure good design is implemented.

"The council is right to take this stance and insist on the best design possible. Design doesn't have to cost anything. Good design can be achieved within any budget."

The development is taking place under the Government's Private Finance Initiative where the builders will pay the capital costs and the trust will lease it over 35 years.

Last month a behind-the-scenes wrangle between the hospital trust's partner Balfour Beatty, which is putting up the cash for the public-private project, and an agency in the City delayed the issue of a bond required to bring in investors.

John Thomas, chief executive of the East Lancashire Hospitals Trust, said: "The Trust is naturally keen to obtain the best possible hospital building which can be afforded within the funding available for this very important project.

"We are aware that discussions are underway between Consort, our PFI partners, and the Local Authority to resolve these issues as quickly as possible.

"We are currently at the final stages of the negotiation with Consort and expect to agree a contract for the new hospital within the next month or so."

Blackburn MP Jack Straw said the important thing was that money was now available for the new hospital.

He added: "It is obviously entirely right for local councillors on the planning committee and their experts to discuss the final design of the building.

"We are talking about details and the new hospital is now ready to go when those are sorted out."

The hospital, which is due to be built by 2006 and will merge services onto one site, will deal with 70,000 admissions a year and will have an extra 377 in-patient beds and new intensive care and high dependency units.