BLACKBURN College has been given conditional permission to build a new construction department -- after the college principal warned that refusal would threaten a £9million investment package..

Planning permission was granted on condition the college sets up better public transport,

The condition attached to planning permission for the site was put in place to satisfy critics of the scheme, angry that the development would eat away at valuable public car parking space.

But a leading Conservative councillor blasted the college for 'blackmailing' them into agreeing to the proposal.

At last month's meeting of the planning and highways committee, councillors voted to reject the scheme, which would improve the building and construction courses offered by the college, because it would involve developing on a section of land at the junction of Montague Street and St Paul's Street, currently used as a car park.

Conservative councillors also claimed building on the site would hamper any future development around the town centre orbital route which is under construction.

They wanted to see the new department built on the college's own land elsewhere -- such as its own car park.

But college principal Sheena Ewing told the committee: "There is no other site we can use. We need the 400 car parking spaces and we make them available to the public for free at weekends and bank holidays.

"We have studied how many people use the area we want to develop to park their cars and only a handful do.

"This development is of significant importance to the college and the town centre. If this phase is refused, the college would lose £3million of external funding, resulting in the loss of a total investment of £9million over a four year period. The impact on local employment and lost training opportunities would be great.

"The college has submitted an appeal to the Planning Inspectorate which, should this application be successful, would be withdrawn with the resultant savings in costs to both the college and council." Coun Alan Cottam said: "I think we are being blackmailed by the college with their threat of taking us to an appeal which would cost us a lot of money if we lost.

"In the Conservative Party, we used to have a saying of 'in Europe, not ruled by Europe.' The same applies here, we work with the college, we are not ruled by them. We should refuse this application."

Coun Andy Kay added: "Why should we lose car parking for the town when the college keeps all its 400 spaces? It is like crucifying Joe Public, who is already struggling to park in the town centre."

The council's transport manager Ian Richardson said: "A condition that the college must devise a green travel plan before they use the new building may help solve the problem. We would work to get buses diverted into town via Montague Street so they pass the college.

"Also, the college would have to look at how much it charges for annual parking permits at the college. At the moment, it is £10 and if it costs £1 a day to travel by bus, people aren't going to stop using their cars.