COUNCILLORS have given the go-ahead for an expanding Blackburn school to get a state-of-the-art £700,000 new building, despite a row over its “ugly” appearance.

Liberal Democrat spokesman Paul Browne wanted the borough’s planning committee to reject the development for Roe Lee Primary School. He told a meeting that the proposed building — for final-year pupils — is out of keeping with the rest of the 1920s complex.

MORE TOP STORIES:

The Emerald Avenue school is set to expand from 300 to 370 children when the new building opens in September. The scheme involves the removal of existing temporary classrooms and replacing them with a single-storey extension.

Sudell’s Cllr Browne objected to the futuristic appearance of the proposed new building. He said: “We should refuse this development. It is ugly and out of keeping with the rest of the school. The new building should blend in better.”

He was concerned about the felling of trees for the new building.

His concerns were backed by Tory councillor for Beardwood with Lammack, Imtiaz Ali, who agreed the new building would not look right compared with the rest of the school.

Committee chairman Dave Smith supported the new building, saying it was designed to ease the passage for final-year pupils to secondary schools which were more modern in appearance and facilities.

Most of Blackburn with Darwen’s secondaries have been built or extended under the Building Schools for the Future programme, he said.

Now planning permission has been granted, work is due to start in January.

Roe Lee ward councillor Phil Riley — who, as a governor, had to leave the meeting while the plan was debated — said: “This new building is needed to accommodate the growing demand for places from a growing area of town.”