Yahoo News Town hall chiefs tell M&S 'the door is very much still open' amid hopes of new store on former Lancashire brewery site
Council chiefs in Blackburn are hoping to tempt M&S into building a new foodhall on a vacant site - following a High Court battle over plans for an out-of-town store.
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.
READ MORE: Met Office issues breaking 'widespread snow' alert from this date next week
READ MORE: Full list of Homebase stores still at risk - with two in Lancashire
It is understood that the Issa brothers' property arm Monte Blackburn, which owns Frontier Park just across the border between Blackburn and Rishton, will continue to seek to get the store approved.
Marks & Spencer has previously confirmed their store in Blackburn town centre, where 120 people are employed, is due to shut - although no closure date has been set.
Council bosses in Blackburn had previously offered the former Thwaites Brewery site to M&S and, now Morrison's has pulled out, they have recently repeated their offer. The council is set to commission a new masterplan for the site.
The council’s Executive Board is being asked to agree the £1.6m purchase of Maple Grove Developments’ investment in the joint venture which would see the council take full ownership.
A council spokesperson said they had recently reiterated to M&S that their "door is very much open" to offers for the site which would have dedicated parking.
The spokesperson added: "It’d be a great site for them as it’s close to the town centre and the bus station and would have its own parking, but, they are already on with the one at Whitebirk."
Simon Jones, Growth Programme Director at Blackburn with Darwen Borough Council, said: "The former Thwaites Brewery site was originally acquired through Maple Grove Blackburn in 2021 and was ear-marked as a site for Morrisons to relocate too.
"Despite everyone’s best efforts, those plans were withdrawn by the supermarket chain and we’re now looking at next steps for the site – one of our ‘big six’ of growth ambitions.
"By making this move to acquire the joint venture, we’ll have full control of the site’s future, which is incredibly important.
"We want to now update our masterplan for the area, anchored by our new Education and Skills Campus, and want to explore new opportunities including commercial, leisure and town centre uses.
"This is a huge opportunity for the future of Blackburn town centre and one we want to be very much in the driving seat for."
A paper outlining the full proposals for acquiring the joint venture is set to be presented to the Council’s Executive Board – made up of political leaders – tonight (Thursday November 14).
It sets out how the remaining shares and debt in the joint venture will be purchased by the Council for just over £1.6m and also seeks to appoint award-winning architects BDP to update the masterplan with consultation planned for the new year.
