THE demolition of a former care home will go ahead as planned.

An application had been lodged proposing to knock down the old Blakewater Lodge home in Swallow Drive, Blackburn, clearing the way for the site to be sold off to developers.

Last year, an application to turn the home into an Asian market renamed 'Blackburn Plaza' was knocked back.

Application documents say the future use is currently unknown with the site in the process of being sold off for development.

Demolition is scheduled to start at the end of October and should be completed in December.

According to the application, the council plans to pull down the main buildings, and remove asbestos from the site.

All waste and debris from the site would be taken to a licensed tip or for recycling where possible.

Perimeter fencing and gates would be left on site to close off areas and leave it secure

Following demolition, the site would be left level with existing hardstanding surfaces and grassed areas retained and voids from former structures filled with crushed hardcore.

Under the bid last year, the vacant Swallow Drive site would have been renamed ‘Blackburn Plaza’ and housed 35 retail units.

The units, which would range in size, would compromise of a bazaar of Asian-based shops in a covered market.

They would open up for people wishing to start their own retail business in the Whalley Range shopping centre district of Blackburn.

But the application was turned down in January after it was decided the applicant failed to establish whether there was a need for the facility and whether there would be no unacceptable impact on the vitality and viability of existing markets

It was also found the proposal put road users and pedestrians at risk because of inadequate parking and servicing arrangements.

Rubbish collection facilities were deemed to be inadequate and it was also decided the proposal was stark and unsympathetic to the character of the area.