THE Government today gave the go-ahead for the public to be given their say on whether to merge Burnley and Blackburn's hospital trusts.

Health minister Lord Philip Hunt approved a three month public consultation, which begins today and ends on June 14.

Health Secretary Alan Milburn will then decide in the summer whether there will be an East Lancashire health trust running hospitals in both areas from April 2003.

This will see the Blackburn, Hyndburn and Ribble Valley NHS Trust and the Burnley Healthcare NHS Trust merge.

Organisers believe the move will improve patient access, increase the range of treatments available, help develop specialist care and improve staff retention, as well as saving £500,000 a year.

Public meetings, each starting at 7.30pm, will take place at: Colne Town Hall on March 26, Blackburn Library on March 28, Darwen Library on April 8, Burnley Town Hall on April 9, Clitheroe council offices on April 10, Accrington Town Hall on April 15 and Rossendale Town Hall on April 16.

A website has been set up for the public to make comments. It's address is www.doh.gov.uk/nwromergerconsultations.

Meanwhile, plans for a super hospital in Blackburn will be decided tomorrow night.

Members of Blackburn with Darwen's planning and highways committee first met to discuss plans to build a new hospital on the Queen's Park Hospital site last Thursday.

But after hearing arguments both for and against the proposals, councillors asked for extra time to study documents before making their decision.

Blackburn Hyndburn and Ribble Valley NHS Trust submitted its multi-million pound plans to create one hospital for the area last year, effectively replacing Blackburn Royal Infirmary.

Full planning permission is being sought to extend the hospital by building a four-storey complex.

It will include 311 in-patient beds, a combined children's unit, 11 operating theatres, a day case unit, accident and emergency, intensive care and high dependency unit, two additional radiology rooms and administration accommodation.

Residents on Fancy Row, near to the hospital, are opposing the plans on the grounds that it will reduce vehicular access to their properties, create extra traffic and that the building would destroy a bat colony's home.

They also argued that they did not want a helicopter pad being built near to their home and argued that the council should not approve a hospital so close to a new housing estate.

However, traffic expert Ian Richardson said that overall for the borough, the new hospital would reduce traffic because there would no longer be any vehicles making regular trips between the two hospitals.

He also stated that the the hospital trust and developers had agreed to pay £250,000 to fund new bus services.

Mr Richardson concluded that every effort had been made to make sure that there would not be traffic problems.

Coun Frank Connor, who chairs the planning committee, said: "Because we have received a lot of late information and, given the importance of this project, I have taken the decision to hold a special meeting of the committee to discuss this application on its own."