PLANS to turn a former pub into an Islamic education centre have received hundreds of written objections.

A total of 250 objections have been sent to Blackburn with Darwen Council about the plans to transform the former Railway Pub in Darwen.

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The application, which has gone through slight amendments, was submitted in October by Manir Ahmed and will go before the council planning committee in the New Year.

The applicants said the plans would give the ‘dilapidated’ building a new life.

Cllr Dave Smith, chair of the planning committee, said: “The amended plan is still under consideration by the planning department.

“All valid objections will be taken into consideration before a decision is made.”

An online petition against the development has amassed more than 2,000 signatures with concerns about traffic and location in the centre of town all being expressed.

Darwen currently has one Islamic place of worship in Victoria Street but the people behind the application said that due to a rise in the number of people working in the town, a second one was needed.

Back in 2008, during what was believed to be a pre-arranged fight in The Railway, yobs armed themselves with pool cues and glasses leading to several people needing hospital treatment.

The pub closed a short time later.