THE site of a former footwear factory set up by a man who fled Nazi persecution in Germany could be brought back to life.

Walter Newman had created what had become the largest slipper factory in Europe in 1920, which at its height, produced 120,000 pairs of slippers, sandals and casuals a day.

When he arrived in Blackburn with his family in 1935, he was persuaded by his English agent – he had exported all over the world from Frankfurt – to begin manufacturing here at the site in Garden Street.

Now Blackburn with Darwen Council planning officer Claire Booth has approved plans to redevelop the site, with an application for up to 30 self-contained Class B1 light industrial units to the south of the site, a Class B2 Building and yard to the northern section of the site and a Class B2 general industrial yard to the east.

Newman’s Footwear stood on the site for more than 80 years.

Around 120 jobs went as Newmans, one of the last East Lancashire shoe firms, stopped manufacturing at their Blackburn factory in November 1999.

The buildings covered 95 per cent of the site and have recently been demolished due to vandalism.

A design and access statement submitted as part of the application reads: "The class B1 light industrial units will cover a combined floor area of 1,854 metres squared split between the 30 units with associated access road and car parking for each unit.

"The class B2 Industrial unit covers a floor area of 288 metres squared with the remainder of the yard space already in existing use as Class B2 industrial given the site’s history.

"The new units will all be of modern typical steel portal frame skeleton with lightweight insulated steel cladding to walls and roof.

"The units will be set back from the rear of footpath to the lower section of the

site with some buffer planting introduced to soften the scheme whilst the northern section will retain the current brick boundary wall due to security requirements and the necessity to retain the electric sub station currently on site.

"In summary, this development proposal seeks to bring a former factory site back into use with an end use similar to the previous on a site within a commercial/industrial area."