A PUBLIC meeting has been called to discuss the new £11million Darwen health centre.

Protesters claim the centre, which is to be built on a hill behind the town's leisure centre, will be difficult for elderly and disabled people to get to.

But health chiefs and councillors hope to allay the public's fears with a public meeting in March.

Councillor Fred Slater, East Rural ward, said: "People from the Blackburn with Darwen Primary Care Trust will attempt to clear things up because there are issues that haven't been properly understood.

"It's a great thing for Darwen and if we hadn't have snapped it up, another town would have got it. There are important things that people in Darwen need to know."

The date and venue of the meeting have yet to be confirmed.