Our vision

Major investment in the market, improvements to Lord Square, a cleaner, safer town centre and less traffic congestion all topped the list of priorities following one of Blackburn with Darwen Council's biggest ever consultations.

Now the results are to be built into a revised town centre strategy for the next ten years, due to be published later in the spring.

The council received hundreds of replies and the strategy will begin on a bid for more than £12million from the Government's North West Development Agency to help fund the changes.

Among the key things that people said they wanted were:

A study of the three-day market with a view to substantial investment, possibly rebuilding or relocating it.

Action on Lord Square. The council today accused shopping centre bosses Standard Life of starving it of investment.

Improving town centre traffic flow, looking in particular at Sudell Cross, Railway Road, Ainsworth Street and Penny Street;

Finding a private development partner to help rebuild much of the town centre;

Marketing the town centre for new shops and businesses to make it more attractive to visitors;

Improving the environment -- tackling litter, lighting and use of older buildings.

Today council bosses revealed that one way of tackling the environmental issues could be through a special town centre tax -- an idea which has received a mix response from traders.

The consultation followed a draft strategy which highlighted what the council considered to be priorities, published last Autumn.

It included a questionnaire sent to every house in the borough, meetings with business leaders and leaflets distributed across the town centre.

Among the priorities put forward by the council was a new town centre hotel, while a themed Asian business area was also suggested.

Both are still being pursued, but did not rate highly in the consultation.

Coun Andy Kay, executive member for regeneration, said: "The consultation provided as much opportunity for people to comment as was possible. People were able to ask questions and make their views known and did. There were a lot of things in there which we knew, and certainly Lord Square remains a big issue.

"Overall, people seem to think we are making progress. Having a town centre strategy will show people where we want to go, show us what we need to do and help us put it in place."

Coun Colin Rigby, leader of the Conservatives, said: "The council appears to have done all it could to get feedback but it may be hard to say that they have the backing of the majority when the majority haven't said anything at all."

Lib Dem leader Paul Browne added: "The big issues the council already knew about. It's hard to get people involved these days, and I think this consultation will have been as good as any other."

The council has asked private developers to draw up new visions for Blackburn. The ideas will be used in partnership arrangements with those firms.

Blackburn with Darwen Council wants to keep a town centre tax of up to 2.5 per cent to business rates to help pay for things which should make the town centre a better place, such as CCTV or more street cleaning. Last year, the government altered laws surrounding business rates, which are usually collected locally but go straight to Government, so that councils could apply for business improvement zones.

Coun Kay said: "We have not even worked out a boundary for the zone or how much money would be generated from it yet.

"It is important to get the backing of the traders. We are starting to consult with them now."