PARKING restrictions on parts of Preston New Road in Blackburn could be relaxed in order to allow people to park outside their homes.

And one-way streets could be introduced around the nearby Masjid e Anwaar mosque and Islamic religious centre to ease traffic worries.

Blackburn with Darwen Council is proposing introducing an experimental traffic regulation order removing a no waiting at any time restriction on the road and replace it with restrictions from Monday-Saturday 9am to 6pm.

Between junctions for Bromley Street and Addison Street, restrictions will be in place from 9am and 6pm.

From the Montague Street junction, restrictions will run from 7am to 7pm Monday to Saturday.

And along Devonport Road between the Montague Street and Whitaker Street junctions, restrictions will be in place between 8am and 6pm Monday to Saturday.

Borough regeneration boss, Cllr Phil Riley, said: “As part of the scheme, it is also proposed to introduce one way driving on Leamington Road from Granville Road to Burlington Street and for the entire length of Burlington Street. These streets which surround the mosque and madrasa are typical of the Victorian era.

“They were intended to allow the movement of two way traffic but parked vehicles on both sides of the road means that congestion occurs when large volumes of traffic movement is being experienced. “When the local mosque and madrasa are in operation, traffic volumes can be significant for relatively small residential streets. The introduction of one way traffic will support better vehicle movement around the local residential area and support the operation of both the mosque and madrasa.”

The cost of making this Experimental Traffic Regulation Order will be approximately £13,000 and will be funded from the traffic and transportation element of the highways maintenance budget.

Changes will also be made to nearby Princess Street due to parking issues.

Cllr Riley added: "Complaints have been received from a business which has recently acquired premises on Princess Street, Blackburn that they are experiencing access issues for heavy goods vehicles servicing their

business.

"Additionally, there have been complaints regarding general parking in the area. This proposal of no waiting and no loading/unloading restrictions and informal part pavement parking seeks to resolve both access and parking issues in the area.

"Lining work associated with this scheme will be funded by the business."

An experimental order enables the impact of the new restrictions to be examined and potentially minor changes made to address unforeseen issues more readily.

For an experimental order the objection period is six months which allows people to raise any objections or recommendations they may have with the experimental order with the knowledge of how the restriction really works.

The maximum time limit for an experimental order is 18 months.

The experimental period will allow the council to make the necessary adjustments although every time an experimental order is modified, the six month objection period starts again.