Multimillion-pound campus works approved

Work to prepare for the building of a multimillion-pound skills and education campus in Blackburn have been approved.

Senior councillors approved a report on the progress of the scheme including a revised initial cost of £45m down from the original estimate of £60m.

The new development, backed by the University of Central Lancashire (UCLan), which is in the process of changing its name to the University of Lancashire, will be on the site of the town centre's former market next to the cleared site of the Thwaites Brewery.

It aims to provide a bespoke learning hub for almost 3,000 students as a key part of Blackburn with Darwen Council's £250m town centre masterplan.

The works given the green light by Blackburn with Darwen Council's executive board include a £1.25m diversion of a large diameter sewer across the middle of the site bounded by Brown Street, Ainsworth Street and Penny Street.

The report gives a provisional completion date for the main campus building of 31 March 2028.

The meeting confirmed the award of £20m of Levelling Up grant from the government for the project and £6m from Lancashire's new Combined County Authority split between £2m for the campus and £4m to redevelop the former St John's Church building as a new digital and cyber hub as part of the wider Blackburn Business Innovation District.

It also approved spending £23m from the council's own capital budget on the first of two potential buildings for the skills and education campus with the second put on the backburner.

The report said the council was also seeking commercial interest in constructing a second building as a "follow-on phase" of the campus.

It added: "The campus will significantly boost regular town centre footfall, directly and indirectly supporting new town centre employment across the commercial, leisure and retail sectors."

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