DARRENERS will not be excluded when the 150th anniversary of Blackburn borough is celebrated next year, councillors have pledged.

Blackburn with Darwen Council wants to hold a festival and create a new piece of municipal artwork to commemorate the Blackburn borough's 150th anniversary next August.

The council has set aside £100,000 from this year's budget to create "a lasting legacy." for the people of the borough. The council's cabinet has recommended that officers start looking into appropriate events to mark the anniversary.

Coun Maureen Bateson told a council cabinet meeting she was keen that the celebrations would include the whole borough and not just Blackburn.

Darwen had its own borough council from 1878 to 1974, when it was merged into the Blackburn borough under local government reorganisation.

Council leader Coun Malcolm Doherty said: "This is a serious point. This is going to be a borough-wide celebration reflecting the achievements of the council throughout this area."

The events will aim to build on the Festival 2000, a series of celebrations to mark the dawn of the new millennium.