Published Friday 4 July 2025 at 11:51
The first home has been occupied on a brand-new housing development in Darwen.
And a further three properties are already under offer.
The new builds in Salisbury Road – just a stone’s throw from Sunnyhurst Wood – is the second site to be brought forward in Darwen by Lang Estates.
The 11 new homes – a mix of detached and semi-detached – have been built on a former brownfield site previously owned by Blackburn with Darwen Council, where Greenways Home for the Elderly once stood.
Russell Heaton, Director at Lang Estates, said:
We are incredibly proud of how we have transformed what used to be an empty site into a premium new housing development for Darwen.
Being from the area, we pride ourselves at Lang Estates on ensuring our developments bring a real uplift to the surrounding area, and I truly believe we have achieved that here.
Given the location and the type of houses, we’ve also built homes to suit people at all stages of their lives – perfect for first-time buyers to those who may be looking to downsize in retirement and all within a hop, skip and a jump of the beautiful Sunnyhurst Wood.
I’d like to congratulate our first buyer and wish them many happy years in their new home; we’re looking forward to their new neighbours moving in soon.
Blackburn with Darwen Council’s Local Plan commits to a brownfield-first approach to delivering new homes in the borough.
The Local Plan is a blueprint for the future – identifying sites for development to help meet housing needs while ensuring the right infrastructure is in place.
Councillor Quesir Mahmood, Deputy Leader of Blackburn with Darwen Council and Executive Member for Growth and Development, said:
This land had stood empty and overgrown for many years after the nursing home was demolished.
It’s brilliant to see how it has now been transformed into a development of quality new homes – benefitting the whole area.
Importantly, the houses are all energy efficient too – with solar panels and heat pumps, ensuring they are sustainable and cost-effective to run.
Like Russell says, the development is in a great location – being close to Sunnyhurst Wood, Darwen town centre and also just five minutes from the motorway.
Indeed, Councillor Brian Taylor, ward councillor for the area, described it as ‘the best new development site in Darwen’ when he was given a guided tour due to its location in the sought-after area of Sunnyhurst.
And Darwen was also recently named by Rightmove in a list of top 10 places with the fastest-rising house prices in the UK. The property boom has seen average prices rise by 6.9% – from £166,179 in 2023 to £177,631.
Councillor Phil Riley, Leader of Blackburn with Darwen Council, said:
It feels like every other week, our borough is named in one poll or another for rising property prices and for being sought-after places to live – there is a real confidence in Blackburn with Darwen as a place.
It’s very much down to the fact that we’re lucky to be surrounded by rolling countryside, the property prices here and the quality of homes on offer, the fantastic transport links and things like our schools and leisure facilities too.
We’re also investing heavily – in delivering quality new homes, in our towns and open spaces, in creating opportunities around business and skills, in our young people and their futures and so much more.
We’re creating a more prosperous borough, and it does feel like Blackburn with Darwen is very much the place to be.
For more on investment in Blackburn with Darwen and to find out more about the borough as a place to live, head over to DiscoverBwD using this link.