A MILLION pound park and ride scheme for Blackburn looks set to be shelved following a report from a team of consultants.

Blackburn with Darwen Council was hoping to set up the scheme in Whitebirk in a bid to relieve pressure on the town centre's road network.

And town hall officials were criticised last year by the Department of the Environment and Transport for dragging their heels on the project.

The plan was to build large car parks at Whitebirk and transport commuters into Blackburn and Hyndburn on a fast and reliable bus service.

The scheme would have also linked up to the local rail network and a planned retail and leisure park on the outskirts of Hyndburn.

Because of the huge costs of the scheme a team of consultants from the firm Steer Davies Gleave was appointed to produce a detailed report.

The experts were asked to take a close look at the viability of the scheme and the impact it would have on East Lancashire.

Two surveys were carried out looking into the availability of parking in Blackburn town centre and the types of journeys carried out by local commuters. One area of particular concern was the Burnley Road approach into Blackburn because of problems with traffic congestion at peak periods.

But the consultants found less than a third of motorists using the route were travelling into Blackburn town centre.

They also discovered most commuters would not be interested in a park and ride scheme because they do not usually pay for parking.

There are more than 4,700 parking spaces in the town and around 1,500 are free of charge.

The vast majority of parking spaces which have to paid for are used by shoppers rather than commuters.

The team of consultants concluded the report by saying the park and ride scheme would only be viable if Blackburn town centre is made a more attractive place to work.

They also argue that a wide review of parking in the town centre is carried out immediately.

The report will be discussed when the regeneration committee meets on Tuesday and councillors are being urged to defer any decision on the park and ride project.

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