UP to 1,000 new office jobs could be created alongside the M65 if a development firm persuades planners to back his plans.

It is the second time Edgworth-based Charles Topham Ltd has applied to Blackburn with Darwen Council for permission to redevelop the former Lower Darwen Paper Mill, Greenbank Terrace.

The company had a previous scheme for the Lower Darwen site turned down in 2002 as it combined both business and residential elements.

At the time, staff from Charles Topham claimed it needed the residential side of the scheme to fund the work to make the new site suitable for business developments.

Now the company has returned with a business-only proposal which they estimate will attract 1,000 new jobs to the borough.

They plan to build 12 office blocks and a spokesman for HOW planning consultants, Manchester, which advised the firm on their scheme, said: "We estimate that the 10,700 sq metre of floor space that this will provide will create around 1,000 jobs.

"For the area, this will ensure the continuation of a steady supply of quality employment opportunities."

The size of the scheme, spanning 3.5hectares, means it will have to go before the council's planning and highways committee, rather than being approved by officers.

The committee made the decision to knock back the scheme in 2002 as it did not want houses on the site.

A spokesman for Charles Topham said the new scheme would create a suitable use for a site that currently "poses health and safety risks" for nearby residents.

The company's managing director, Richard Topham, also clashed with the council after it demanded the firm spend money on public art as a proposed condition on any approval.

The Lower Darwen Paper Mill was first built in the 1890s and steadily expanded until the 1980s. It closed in 1993 and was subsequently demolished, leaving the site redundant.