DEVELOPERS are being told what colour to paint their buildings by council bosses to avoid the borough looking like a "patchwork quilt".

But the scheme - the first of its kind in the country - was today branded a 'barmy' waste of money.

Blackburn with Darwen Council has spent several thousand pounds hiring artists to devise a 'pallette' which highlights different colours for different areas.

l Blackburn town centre developers will have to design buildings which are predominantly red or terracotta.

l Darwen developments will be expected to be slate coloured, with some shades of yellow.

l Developments close to water, such as the canal, will be allowed to use blue too.

l Buildings on the outskirts of town will be expected to use greens, browns and white to blend into the countryside.

l Residential suburb projects will be expected to use browns, dark yellows and reds to fit in with existing buildings.

Developers will be given a 'colour palette' containing shades of Dulux paint.

Council bosses claim the scheme will give them the legal clout to demand appropriate-coloured buildings in the borough, but opponents said it won't make any difference.

The only exceptions to the new rules will be designated landmark buildings.

The document is the product of 18-months work by Cheshire-based consultancy firm Eatonwaygood Associates, which sent artists around the borough taking photos of buildings and landscapes.

Their work was funded with European cash the council secured to regenerate the borough.

Coun Andy Kay, executive member for regeneration, said: "We will be the first council in the country to have this guide, and with so much development about to start, we need it.

"We don't want acres of extra grey sheds on industrial parks, and we want the new housing estates due to be created over the next few years to blend in.

"Mistakes have been made in the past because we've had to take what developers have offered us, but that is no longer the case. This is a planning document which people will have to adhere to.

"Stipulating colours will help create a better borough."

Some large projects have already worked to council-set colour schemes, including the new Queen's Park Hospital development.

But Coun Michael Lee, a Conservative councillor, said: "The first thing I thought was 'why?' It seems a bit late and also barmy. We already have a patchwork quilt here and this seems an incredible waste of time and resources."

Lib Dem leader Paul Browne added: "It's all well and good saying that new buildings in one part of town should be red because the rest was built by Nori brick, but you don't get so much of that anymore.

"It all seems over-the-top to me. I can see the point of not building more grey sheds, but to insist on the colours of woodwork and doors seems over the top and a waste of money."

Blackburn-raised designer Wayne Hemingway, who drew up plans for a Gateshead housing estate, said: "Having seen this, I think its pretty forward thinking of the council but how they will police it is another matter.

"I don't have much experience of Blackburn with Darwen Council but my experience of other planning authorities leads me to think that there won't be many who can interpret this colour palette and understand how to make it work, but we can live in hope."

In Lanzarote, the Spanish government believes its policy of insisting most buildings are white, with a choice of two or three colours for woodwork, has helped make their seaside resorts more popular with tourists.

In New England, America, many towns have policies insisting that every house in a street must be the same colour, while in the Canary Islands homeowners are told to paint buildings white and use either green or blue for woodwork.