BLACKBURN with Darwen Council is bidding for success in the Lancashire Evening Telegraph's Grimewatch competition.

The council has submitted eight separate entries for the contest - the highest number from any local authority this year.

Grimewatch rewards all kinds of green projects which help make East Lancashire a nicer place to live in.

The council's projects include the improvement of open space at Hope Street/Wood Street, Darwen, which has been targeted by vandals in the past. It has been upgraded following consultation with local people.

Areas for basketball, five-a-side football and cricket have been added and the play area refurbished.

In Blackburn, the area around the council offices in Jubilee Street has been improved with landscaping, car parking spaces and a sculpture by Noah Rose.

Brookhouse School, Brookhouse, Blackburn, has had its sports pitch upgraded to allow for more use by pupils and local residents.

The site of the former People's College in Troy Street, Bastwell, Blackburn, has also been improved with landscaping, new seating areas and tree planting.

And an area at Knuzden Brook, Blackburn, has been transformed with new footpaths.

A scheme to develop a new footpath along the River Darwen has also been submitted. The project, a joint initiative with the Environment Agency, is part of the Darwen River Valley Initiative and also includes improvements to the wildlife habitat of the river and its banks in Witton Park.

The council's final two entries are an environmentally-friendly "hot house" in Addison Close, Blackburn, which shows how energy can be saved and landscaping at Daisyfield Community Centre, Blackburn.

The Grimewatch judges meet on January 20 to draw up their shortlist. Overall winners will be announced in March at a ceremony at St Christopher's High School, Accrington.

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