New road to drive opportunities for Darwen

Published Thursday 17 December 2015 at 11:31

Funding has been earmarked for a new road in Darwen that will see land made available to build a development of new homes.

The road, currently referred to as the Darwen East Distributor Road will provide motorists with an alternative to the A666 and enables better access to junction 4 of the M65.

It will enable land to be opened up for housing on land known as Bailey’s Field in East Darwen for hundreds of new homes and improve access to local employment opportunities by the introduction of new transport infrastructure.

Funding of £2.5m was recently confirmed by government and is being administered through the Lancashire Enterprise Partnership (LEP) with Blackburn with Darwen Council contributing £500,000.

The scheme is subject to a final approval by the LEP following an independent assessment of the scheme.

The road which will lead from Marsh House Lane to the Holden Fold area will be a single carriageway and is subject to a planning application, which if confirmed could see work begin in 2017.

It is part of the Council’s Local Plan, part two of which was formally adopted by the Council earlier this month.

The plan aims to shape the future development of Blackburn with Darwen in order to create jobs, attract and retain a skilled labour force, and strengthen the borough’s competitive position in the region. In particular it identifies strategic land which can be used for residential, business and transport improvements.

Executive member for regeneration, Councillor Phil Riley, said: “Improving infrastructure, increasing access to employment and providing high quality homes are all vital parts of our plans for regeneration in the borough.

“This new road will help us to achieve all of these key objectives and also make life easier for businesses and the public by providing a viable alternative to the A666 which currently has to cope with some very heavy traffic.”

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