Yahoo News Shoppers say 'a Sainsbury's would be ideal' for vacant town centre development site
Uncertainty now surrounds a development site in Blackburn once earmarked for Morrison's.
In October 2022 plans were unveiled to demolish the existing Morrisons store and build a new supermarket on the site of the former Thwaites brewery as part of the £250m town centre masterplan.
The existing supermarket in Eanam is known for its unusual underground car park which once housed a petrol station until health and safety regulations resulted in its closure due to the risk of explosion. It's also known for its entertaining 'monkey clock'.
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In January this year, Morrisons told LancsLive that the clock, which has entertained kids on the hour when the lion springs to life and the monkeys swing, would be either moved to the new store or placed elsewhere in the town centre.
However, the supermarket giant subsequently pulled out of building a new store on the land, citing rising construction costs for reneging on plans to move over the road from its existing site in Railway Road.
A spokeswoman said this week: "We confirmed earlier this year, due to rising construction costs the new store plans were no longer viable, so we will be remaining in our current store in Blackburn."
LancsLive spoke to shoppers in Blackburn town centre to ask what they thought the future holds for the site.
Alec Osborne (main image) said the land would be "ideal" for a supermarket. "There's no Sainsbury's in Blackburn," Alec, from Rishton, added. "It does make you worry that it'll just stay as it is. It is an eyesore. But it would be ideal for a supermarket."
Dee Davis from Burnley, who regularly shops in Blackburn, said "it would be a shame" if the site wasn't developed. I shop at the M&S Foodhall in Rawtenstall but if there was an M&S Foodhall here I'd come here instead."
Mrs Hackett, from Belthorn, said she feared for the future of Blackburn town centre following the loss of Debenhams. "There aren't really any big clothes stores here anymore," she said. "It would be great to see someone move into Debenhams and a big store built on the empty site."
This week, Blackburn with Darwen Council said they were continuing to highlight the site to M&S amid uncertainty over the chain's plans to move onto an out-of-town site - on the border of Blackburn and Hyndburn.
In April, Hyndburn Council's planning committee granted planning permission for an M&S Foodhall just off the M65's Junction 6, after overturning an officer's recommendation to reject it.
However, Tesco Stores then launched a Judicial Review of the decision, which Hyndburn Council has opted not to contest. Planning permission was subsequently quashed and the committee will now have to re-determine the application after a new officer's report.
