Darwen's £90m revamp will be 'life-changing'

The Market Hall and Library Theatre renovations are at the heart of a £13.4m upgrade of the town centre

Two of Darwen's historic buildings are in line for major refurbishment as part of a £90m project, the local council has revealed.

Revamps of The Market Hall and Library Theatre form part of a town centre upgrade, one of nine projects planned by Blackburn with Darwen Council.

The schemes will be funded by £65m from the council and investors and the £25m awarded in a Town Deal in December.

Work on the projects is expected to start by the end of the year.

The spending programme was revealed in papers which are due to go before Blackburn with Darwen Council's executive board for approval on 10 March, the Local Democracy Reporting Service said.

The plans include:

• £13.4m for revamping the town centre, refurbishing and repurposing the hall and theatre and creating a cafe bar space

• £14.2m for town centre living schemes, including the completion of the Belgrave Heights site

• £8.4m for new employment growth sites at Balle Mill and Chapels

• £3.5m to support the £30m committed by Perspex to centralise its operations into new facilities at Chapels Park

• £4.6m for a new sports village at AFC Darwen, Junction4 Skatepark and Darwen Cricket Club

• £5.5m for ultrafast broadband, including town centre wi-fi

• £3.8m to improve and create new links and pathways from the town centre through the town's parks and across the West Pennine Moors.

The government has already allocated £750,000 for the refurbishment of Darwen Tower, a phase one development at J4 Skatepark, and new community facilities at AFC Darwen.

The government has already allocated £750,000 for the refurbishment of Darwen Tower

Councillor Phil Riley, the executive member for growth and development, said it amounted to "more investment in Darwen than we've seen in our lifetimes".

"There's no doubt that the £90m is a life-changing sum of money and residents and businesses are going to see real change to the town and in the opportunities for growth and jobs," he said.

"It really does feel like the start of something special for Darwen and its future."

The authority will also spend £6.75m improving the borough's roads.

Major projects include a new link road in Fernhurst to improve access to new housing sites and junction improvements between the A666 and Jack Walker Way, Fore Street and Duchess Street, and Chapels and Holden Fold.

There will also be carriageway improvements at Birchall, Limbrick and Eanam, and bridge and pothole repairs.