£30m cash bid for Darwen retirement homes refused

HOPES to build a new retirement village near Darwen town centre have been quashed after a bid for £30million funding was thrown out.

Blackburn with Darwen Council hoped to build houses and bungalows for rent on land at Robin Bank with money from the Department of Health’s Funding for Social Care fund.

The council had already ploughed £500,000 of its own money into the plans, which would have seen a wide range of facilities built for older people requiring different services, including access to 24-hour help.

But now the bid has failed, planners must go back to the drawing board for ideas on how to use the land, near a former gas works, and for ideas on how to provide the best care for an ageing population.

Harry Catherall, Blackburn with Darwen Council’s deputy chief executive, said: “While the decision is disappointing, we will now look at other funding options.

“We remain committed to improved housing for older people, and developing a retirement village is an important part of that.

“We are still making good progress with our plans, with the current development of a new extra care scheme on the site of the former Kingsway residential home.”

It is not yet known on what grounds the application for funding was turned down.

The Robin Bank site has been looked at for development before, but found to pose what has been described as ‘serious contamination issues’.

A plan to develop nearby land into a riverside walkway area featuring educational signage about the history of the area and nature is still set to go ahead.