BOSSES at a firm of developers today said they were "amazed" after plans to regenerate a derelict mill and create office space for 1,500 jobs were recommended for rejection.

Despite no objections from the public, officers at Blackburn with Darwen Borough Council are concerned about the £25million development of Lower Darwen paper mill.

A council report said building 40 houses on the upper section of the Greenbank Terrace site in Lower Darwen would damage the view for nearby residents.

Originally, the proposals were for a hotel and leisure complex as well but they were dropped to use the site solely for offices and houses.

Salford-based developer Charles Topham would only receive council support if the houses were removed from the plans.

But the developer has refused as the houses are essential to recoup cash for a £2million clear up of the site, which is contaminated, has mine shafts and suffers from flooding.

Now Charles Topham is trying to win the support of councillors before the proposals are considered by a planning committee on August 29.

Jane Aspinall, planning and development manager at Charles Topham, said: "They don't seem to have taken into account the potential employment or the clean-up of the site for £2million.

"There is a feeling of amazement here. We have never known such plans to have received an objection.

"We have not heard from the council since we submitted the plans last November. We have not even had a piece of paper from them.

"We have never worked in Blackburn before. We work mainly in the Bolton borough. There, if people are creating jobs, the council takes it seriously."

She said that the company hoped to give council officers a guided tour of the site to explain the plans more clearly.

But she said the company would appeal if the plans were rejected.

Coun David Fenton's Earcroft ward covers the paper mill. He is also on the planning committee and said the decision depended on the strength of Charles Topham's arguments at the meeting.

"Even the officers have sympathy with their argument," he said, "but they are under government guidelines to keep greenfield sites as long as possible.

"We all want jobs in the area for obvious reasons, but, on the other hand, we don't want everything being built on greenfield sites.

"The mill is an eyesore at the moment and could certainly do with something like this."