HISTORIC buildings in Darwen town centre are to be restored to their former glory.

Blackburn with Darwen Council has received confirmation that it is to receive £1million in funding.

The borough was successful in the first stage of its bid for the cash from the Heritage Lottery Fund last year.

But it had to submit an action plan on how that money would be spent, and show that it could match the grant with £1 million of its own funding.

Today, regeneration bosses are celebrating news that their bid has been successful.

The money will be used to restore key buildings in Bridge Street, Railway Road and Bolton Road.

These are expected to include the former Wesleyan Methodist Chapel, in Railway Road, the Central Conservative Club and the tram shelters in Bolton Road.

The cash will be in addition to money from the government's housing market renewal scheme, which will go towards restoring buildings in part of the St Peter's conservation area.

A decision on how much money will be given by the government for this is expected this month.

Coun Andy Kay, executive member for regeneration, said the money would help preserve what was great about Darwen.

He said: "One of Darwen's key attractions is its wealth of historic buildings which were built during the boom years of the late 19th century. While some towns have done away with the old and replaced it with new, we believe that it is important Darwen has a mix of new and old.

"We want Darwen to offer something unique, similar to places like Hebden Bridge.

"Only by preserving what is great as well as making the town more modern and accessible can we achieve this goal."

Coun Eileen Entwistle said: "It's great news. We've got some lovely buildings in Darwen and they are part of the character of the town. We need to preserve them as best we can."

The restoration of the historic buildings will complement changes proposed as part of the town centre masterplan which is currently being consulted upon.

Three options have been put forward for people to comment upon with the third option referred to as "major change" being the one preferred by the Darwen Town Centre Partnership.

The consultation will end on April 15.