A FORMER supermarket could be turned into an 86-home residential development under plans submitted to Blackburn with Darwen Council.

Enza Projects Ltd, a Chorley-based developer that owns the former Kwik Save site in Bolton Road, Blackburn, wants to build apartments and town houses on the land.

Blackburn architects The Fowler Partnership has drawn up detailed drawings for the development on behalf of Enza.

They show a contemporary, four-storey development that includes 24 one-bedroom apartments, 48 two-bedroom apart-ments, eight three-bedroom apartments and six three-bedroom town houses.

A mini-roundabout for access to the site is also proposed.

The application could go before a planning committee as early as December 22 but planning officers said it was more likely to be January 19.

Gavin Prescott, the planning officer in charge of the application, said: "This is considered to be a major application and is an important application to consider given its close proximity to the A666 and the canal.

"Also it is in a Housing Market Renewal area so we will certainly be looking carefully to make sure that what is proposed complements the surroundings and the plans we have for the rest of the area.

"This is a vacant site and one we are keen to tidy up."

The Kwik Save supermarket closed around 12 months ago and developers were originally looking to revamp it as a retail premises but thought demolishing it to make way for homes was the better option.

No one at Enza Projects Ltd was available for comment.