THE government has given the green light to a £2.9million scheme to rejig traffic flow in Blackburn town centre and improve access to King George’s Hall.

The project will make Northgate two-way again and change the direction of travel on Tontine Street to give vehicles direct access to the entertainment venue off Barbara Castle Way.

Other changes in the project include the opening up of the Victoria Street end of Richmond Terrace; a new link road at Richmond Hill to give a direct exit onto Barbara Castle Way from the Mall; additional on-street car parking at Sudell Cross and Richmond Terrace; and improved pedestrian facilities across Barbara Castle Way to aid crossing between Whalley Range and the town centre.

The Department for Transport this week approved its £2m contribution to the Victoria Street/Northgate Link transport project. The remaining £900,000 will come from Blackburn with Darwen Council.

Work will start one site in September at Sudell Cross and the scheme will take 12 months to complete.

The approval has been welcomed by borough Tory group leader Cllr John Slater and Tony Duckworth, president of Blackburn and District Chamber of Commerce.

Council regeneration boss Cllr Phil Riley said: “This funding is great news and lets us move on to the next stage of this exciting development. These are part of ambitious plans for Blackburn, which will benefit many people who live and work in the borough.”

Mr Duckworth said: “This is good news but this project is long overdue. Reopening Northgate to two-way traffic shows it was a mistake to close it in the first place.”

Drop-in events on the project will be held at Blackburn Museum on Thursday from 3pm to 5pm and Blackburn Central Library on Monday, July 30, from 4pm to 7pm.