THE steel roof has gone on the Clergy Court at the centre of Blackburn’s Cathedral Quarter as the glass panelling on the nearby office block and hotel nears completion.

The masonry on the rear office block, sold for £9.1 million earlier this year, is complete and work on the public gardens and square at the heart of the £33 million development will start within weeks.

The stone cladding on the ‘Clergy Court’, the first such Cathedral accommodation complex to be built complete with cloister garden for 600 years, is now being applied to the main steel superstructure of the building by the appointed contractors John Turner Construction.

Special grey slates have been ordered to finish off its roof.

Work on the exterior of the new 60-bed Premier Inn hotel, which is due to open on Saturday, November 7, is now close to completion as the glass frontage is extended to its two ends.

Eric Wright Construction, responsible for the hotel, office block and ‘public realm’, will soon start on the landscaping of the gardens and squares on front of, and around the cathedral.

Cathedral Canon Andrew Hindley, responsible for the development on behalf of the Church authorities, said: “The roof is on the residential clergy court and the special grey slates are ordered.

“The stonework is starting to go on the building.

“Eric Wright are just about to start working on the gardens and the public realm.

“Since I first became a priest in 1982, this is the biggest and most exciting project I have been involved with.

“It has taken 14 years of hard work but the true shape and scale the new Cathedral Quarter is now really appearing before Blackburn residents’ eyes.”

The new hotel will create 30 jobs.

Work on the hotel car park is set to begin this week.

Eric Wright staff are now working on a “sample” bedroom for inspection by the Premier Inn chain’s fitting experts.

Council chiefs are currently looking for a restaurant chain to take over a major dining space on the ground floor of the planned hotel.

A business is also being sought to take over the smaller cafe/delicatessen unit.