STORE wars are set to break out in Blackburn after cut-price supermarket Lidl submitted detailed plans to move into the town.

But the German store's plans to build a 1,282 sq ft discount store off Whalley Banks, Blackburn, leaves the future of one of the town's biggest eyesores in the balance.

The firm, which has carried out a rapid expansion programme in East Lancashire in the past two years, was granted outline planning permission two years ago to build a store on the site of the former Millennium nightclub in Cicely Lane.

Planners at the time welcomed the proposal, even though it was just yards away from the Morrisons supermarket.

But since planning approval was given to the scheme in March 2000 no work has been carried out on the site -- with the burnt out former nightclub remaining an eyesore across the area.

The firm had been asked to contribute towards paying for work on Cicely Lane to cope with extra traffic.

Under the plans submitted to Blackburn with Darwen Council, Lidl would open in the town on land currently used for a warehouse in Richard Street, a small road off Whalley Banks within a mile of Blackburn town centre.

It would be a similar size to stores opened in Accrington, Nelson and Leyland -- all of which created around 20 jobs.

Some 114 car parking spaces would be accommodated on the site, which is at the heart of the Bank Top Commercial area and is also home to the Focus Do It All superstore.

Lidl would become the fourth major food retailer in the town centre area, with ASDA, Tesco and Morrisons all having stores within easy reach of the main shopping precinct.

When planners submitted their report for the application on the Millennium site, they wrote that Lidl was:

"A specialist discount foodstore providing a full range of essential convenience goods and foodstuffs, together with a limited range of non-food items."

It continued: "There is a deficiency in discount food retailing in the town centre and there is currently no specialist discount food retailer in the town centre or edge of centre.

"The proposal therefore represents a quality improvement in the convenience retail food sector. The nearest existing discount retailer is Aldi at Ewood."

Nobody was available to comment on the change of site at the company's head office in Wimbledon.