CONTROVERSIAL plans for a rehab centre were narrowly defeated tonight.

Dozens of protesters burst into applause as councillors voted eight to seven against proposals to convert the former Woodlands care home, Holly Tree Close, Darwen, into a rehabilitation centre for mothers with drug and alcohol problems.

Oswaldtwistle-based The Station Project's plans were recommended for approval by planning and highways officers from Blackburn with Darwen Council ahead of the meeting at Blackburn Town Hall.

But the majority of the committee argued that the site would cause traffic problems, which would endanger the public, especially at the entrance along an unadopted, unlit road.

Catherine Floyd, of The Station Project, had launched an impassioned plea for approval.

She said no drugs or alcohol would be allowed on the site and there would be less traffic than under previous uses of the listed building.

She said: “The service I want to deliver is about changing the lives of the most disadvantaged children and their parents.”