Blackburn plan for long-awaited development on derelict former mill site approved
Blackburn with Darwen Council planners have approved a scheme to build an estate on land west of Moorgate Street in Mill Hill, Blackburn. .
A similar scheme proposed by Bolton-based Stone Cross Homes Ltd to develop the site of the former Moorgate Mill was turned down because of insufficient information regarding a culvert beneath the site in January last year. Bolsterstone LLP’s new application for 20 homes in December was supported by a specialist report on the culvert.Mill Hill and Moorgate ward’s Cllr Damian Talbot said: “This is good news. This piece of land has been vacant for a long time since the mill was demolished.
The site was home to the former six-storey Moorgate Mill from 1836 until it was demolished in 2008. As part of a previous planning application, two blocks with 20 apartments for the learning-disabled and vulnerable were built and opened in 2014. But the new homes never went ahead as happened with a second bid for 18 houses in 2015. A report recommending approval by planning officer Nick Blackledge says: “The site is located adjacent to and accessed from Moorgate Street and is currently vacant following demolition of the former Millgate Mill.
“It is bound by a new access road serving two blocks of 20 flats and Supported Housing, and the Leeds and Liverpool canal. Site area of the application equates to 4,723 square metres. The site is brownfield.“The site is in close proximity to local shops and amenities located within the Mill Hill District Centre and is well serviced by the public transportation system from Heyes Lane, into Blackburn Town Centre.