A HALF million pound lottery bid to preserve and upgrade Blackburn town centre's oldest and most attractive buildings has cleared the first hurdle.

Town hall bosses put up the bid as part of a £3.3million project to transform the town centre and help it realise its full potential by altering traffic flows and making the area more attractive for browsing shoppers.

Now, Blackburn with Darwen Council has been given an initial green light and will have to draw up more detailed plans before getting the final go-ahead from lottery chiefs.

Several buildings have been earmarked under the scheme to incorporate the old and the modern as new life is breathed into the town.

Under plans unveiled by the council in 1998, Darwen Street and Church Street will be used only by motorists wanting to park and shop in the town while a ring road will be created for drivers who want to get across town.

If that plan works, it is hoped new businesses, especially retailers, will be attracted to unoccupied listed buildings.

Some buildings targeted by the town hall are part-occupied while others are empty and in desperate need of cash for renovation.

Around the cathedral, the front office of the railway station and the office buildings above the shops at the junction of Railway Road and Church Street will be included in the plan.

The Waterloo pavilions, clustered around the cathedral, the old Bank building occupied by Lloyds Bank and regarded by architectural doyen Nikolaus Pevsner as the town's best, and the building now occupied by the Weatherspoons pub will also receive the attentions of the Blackburn Regeneration Partnership's heritage plans. In the Northgate area, properties in Astley Gate, Corporation Park and Lord Street, which date back to the 19th century, have been included in the strategy as have the Georgian residencies in King Street.

Three groups of listed buildings have been either fully or partially vacant since the start of the 1990s, the Kings Head Inn, the Hornby residence in King Street, and the Waterloo Pavilions.

Coun Andy Kay, chairman of the council's regeneration committee said: "This scheme will protect the historical heart of Blackburn, linking the conservation areas around the cathedral, Northgate, Darwen Street and King Street, securing investment for empty buildings which will be restored to their former glory.

"A successful bid would also secure grant support to help maintain the many listed buildings in the area.

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