Plans for a £30m scheme incorporating a hotel; restaurants; shops; and office space in the centre of Blackburn have been given the green light by the local authority.

Blackburn with Darwen Borough Council (BDBC) is working with Blackburn Cathedral; the Homes and Communities Agency; and developer Maple Grove on the Cathedral Quarter project.

Phase one of the scheme is already nearing completion, with the Blackburn Youth Zone due to open in early 2012. However, members of BDBC's executive board have now paved the way for the submission of a planning application for the remainder of the development.

Mitre Hotel, a 70-bedroom hotel with leisure and retail provision on the ground floor is among the proposed scheme, along with a new public square linking the area between the cathedral and council land.

Dave Harling, executive member for regeneration at BDBC, said: "The new public square surrounding the cathedral will be somewhere where people can gather and will want to spend time."

The Dean of Blackburn Cathedral, The Very Rev Christopher Dean, added: "It's an imaginative development which will bring the heartbeat and balance back to the centre of our town."

Image: Tim Green