WORK is set to start on a multi-million pound autism centre with space for 60 children and 40 staff after plans were approved by Blackburn with Darwen Council.

The £4.3million building with 10 classrooms will be run by staff at Newfield Specialist School and will be built on the former Crosshill School site opposite Shadsworth Leisure Centre in Old Bank Lane.

The centre is set to offer 22 new places for pupils with autism and incorporate the existing 38 at the school.

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Construction is set to begin in October and will be finished by September next year.

Headteacher Geoff Fitzpatrick said he was “delighted” that the council has accepted the plans for the building which will be a “valuable addition” to the borough.

He said: “We are so pleased because we have been working on this idea for two or three years now, it is a much needed development. The school will see a number of students transfer from our current site but will also have space for new children as well.

"We are delighted that the council not only approved the plans but have now said the building work can now begin. It will be a valuable addition to the borough because yes, there are places outside of the area for autistic children to go to but this is expensive and we think this will be a great asset to the community.”

Cllr Dave Harling, the council’s cabinet member for education, said last year that demand for specialist educational support for children on the ASD spectrum had increased since 2000 due to improvements in diagnosis of the condition.

The unit will tackle a shortfall in the council’s provision for children with autism and Asperger’s syndrome.

In August 2014, there were 82 pupils in its mainstream and special schools but another 23 had to be sent to schools, both local authority and independent, outside the borough.

The school will be designed with a ‘Cluster’ approach where all services are close to each other.

There will be three main clusters catering for early years and primary, mid years junior and secondary and post-16 and high dependency.

These clusters will also be colour coded in green, purple and blue to offer identity to each one.