A FAMILY furniture store which has traded in Blackburn town centre for more than a century will close its doors this year, blaming the planned pedestrianisation of Church Street as "the final straw."

Peter Howarth, owner of the specialist furniture shop A Howarth and Sons in Darwen Street, said the closure of Church Street to through traffic had prompted him to close down the shop which his grandfather Abraham founded in 1897.

The business moved to its current location just after the end of World War One, and became a favourite with many shoppers, selling rugs, carpets, fine china and crystal.

Mr Howarth said he was "extremely saddened" about closing but the decision had been forced on him by a number of factors, including a drop in passing trade, on which he depended, and other shops around him moving away or closing.

He said: "It got to the stage where if there is not a 'critical mass' of shops then people won't come. People just don't want to walk any distance."

He said the Darwen Street side of the town had fallen far behind the rest of the centre of Blackburn since the shopping centre was built and even the closure of Debenhams' doors in Higher Church Street centre had had a noticeable effect.

Mr Howarth also said the growth of out-of-town shopping centres where people had access to free parking also contributed to his decision.

But he said the closure of Church Street would mean even fewer people being able to access his shop easily. He said: "I think everyone was for the development of Church Street and improving it, but not necessarily cutting out traffic. We have a lot of loyal customers, and if people want to specifically come here they will, but it's a case of there being fewer people just passing by the shop windows."

Peter Howarth says he plans to spend six months selling off stock and may consider opening a smaller shop elsewhere.

Coun Ashley Whalley, the council's executive member for regeneration, said he was sad to see Howarths close because it is the type of store the council hoped to retain in Blackburn. He said the closure was "symptomatic of the decline of the town as a shopping venue due to lack of investment." He added: "The intention of the current regeneration initiative is to reverse this trend and bring back the shoppers.

"It's quite feasible that the sheer volume of traffic in that part of town has cut off pedestrians from that area of Darwen Street and we hope to reverse this shortly."

Jeff Stone of Jeff Stone Hairdressing and a member of the Darwen Street Traders' Association said it was of "deep concern" such an established family business was closing and hit out at the council plans for Church Street.

He said: "It's a tragedy for Darwen Street and Blackburn that such a quality retailer cannot sustain its business."

Mr Stone added: "If this is an example of the way the regeneration is going to go then it's an indication that the regeneration department at the council have got it entirely wrong."

But Pauline Vaughan of Blackburn Chamber of Trade said the traders' organisation was working with the council to regenerate the area. She said: "The lower end of Darwen Street has gone through quite a bad period, when it had quite a number of empty properties, but now it's filling up and getting new shops. Hopefully if we keep pushing the council and working with them we will be able to regenerate the upper end of Darwen street to the same extent."