CONTRACTORS have saved the mosaic floor of the former Blackburn Royal Infirmary’s historic War Memorial Wing.

It will join other historic items from the 86-year-old building in storage for a special public memorial garden.

The whole building has now been knocked down ready for the construction of the £4.8 million dementia care home which will replace it next summer.

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Demolition of the decaying ‘eyesore’ has been controversial with many local people wanting to keep it.

Now Blackburn with Darwen council bosses and award-winning charity Community Integrated Care (CIC) are looking at the future development of the site, starting in the next few weeks.

Demolition contractors LNT group were tasked with saving key parts of the old building including the crest stones, foundation stones, and plinth.

They were also asked to save the mosaic floor at the centre of the wing built in memory of the dead and injured in the First World War but warned this could be difficult.

After carefully protecting the historic surface, they managed to save the majority of the mosaic’s central section.

All are now in secure storage to be incorporated in a special public memorial garden.

The scheme, called EachStep Blackburn, will provide 64 beds for frail pensioners and outreach services for Alzheimers sufferers.

It will create 100 new jobs and include a café, landscaped gardens and meeting rooms for community use.

CIC deputy chief executive Cath Murray-Howard said: “Demolition of the former royal infirmary site has been completed this week and we are excited to be beginning construction of the home in April.

“Our developers of this service, LNT Group, have worked hard to retain a number of historic features from the original building – including its date and name stones, town crest and the central portion of its mosaic floor.

“They will be using these in a public garden that will be situated next to the home, which will celebrate the history of the infirmary.

“We are looking forward to opening EachStep Blackburn in the summer of 2016 and to offering our specialist approach to dementia care.”

Borough regeneration boss Maureen Bateson said: “I am pleased the demolition work is complete and the key historic features, including the mosaic floor, have been saved for the memorial garden.

“I am excited about the new development which will a make a real difference.”