A TRAILBLAZING politician who has dedicated almost 30 years of his life to his hometown is to step down from his post.

Leader of Blackburn with Darwen Council, Mohammed Khan CBE, announced he is to retire at a policy meeting last night.

Councillor Khan, who was the borough’s first Asian leader, has been twice honoured by the Queen and was awarded a CBE last year. He is to step down as leader and retire as a councillor when his term of office finishes in May.

Cllr Khan has been a councillor in Blackburn since 1992 and leader since 2015.

He said that it had been one of the hardest decisions of his life not to stand for re-election, but that the time was right for him to retire.

“It has been the greatest honour of my life to serve this wonderful borough,” he said.

“My commitment remains undiminished but it is time to pass the baton on to someone else. A new leader will be chosen after the May elections.

“I am enormously proud of what we have accomplished in this borough over the years. Of course, recently it has been enormously challenging – austerity has made the last ten years extremely tough and the last 18 months of the pandemic have been horrific for us all.

“There is power in working as a collective. I passionately believe, as you would expect, that by the strength of our common endeavour we achieve more than we achieve alone. We all know what a wonderful place this is. We all want to make it even better.”

Born and raised in Rawalpindi, Pakistan, Cllr Khan came to Blackburn in June 1965. He worked and studied at Blackburn College in textile technology. He was later employed in the textile industry in the USA, which is also where he studied and completed his business management certificate at the Pennsylvania State University. He was also awarded a Diploma in Business Management from the LaSalle Extension University Chicago, Illinois.

On returning to Blackburn in 1981, he returned to working in the textile industry until he opened his own business in 1985.

Cllr Khan said: “As a councillor, an executive member of different portfolios, as mayor and as leader, I have always believed one of my primary jobs was to bring people together to achieve that change and unlock this borough’s potential.

“I am immensely proud of the regeneration we have achieved in our towns. The Cathedral Quarter is a superb example of what can be done when everyone has a common goal, everyone is working together.

“I am proud of our leisure and cultural services – under public ownership and delivering for the public good. Through our partnerships with the NHS, we have improved life expectancy.

“I am proud of the quality of care now being offered in this borough. We have some fantastic facilities including Albion Mill. Again, it was through working together, everyone co-operating with each other, everyone having a common goal.

“I am proud of the social integration the council is leading. It is helping to bring people and communities together.”

Cllr Khan is widely recognised for his ability to engage all sections of the community and command respect among fellow politicians, and admits he will miss public life.

He added: “I will miss as a councillor having the ability to help people.

“I plan to keep in contact with many of the fantastic council officers, who work tirelessly across our communities, so that I can still help people where I can.

“The memories of serving as an elected member for the benefit of our borough’s people will remain with me for the rest of my life.”

Denise Park, chief executive of Blackburn with Darwen Council, has worked with Cllr Khan for 20 years.

She said: “On behalf of everyone at the council, I would like to thank Mohammed for everything he has achieved during his time serving the borough.

“Mohammed is an excellent example of a civic leader. It has been an honour to work alongside someone who never rests on his laurels.

“He has built on his passion for good quality housing for the most vulnerable people, enabling and developing nationally-recognised good practice in extra care housing and specialist dementia housing support, attracting high quality investors against the odds and keeping projects on track over many years including difficult sites such as Riverside Heights in Darwen, Eachstep and Albion Mill in Blackburn.

“Thanks to his leadership, our towns are in a very strong position for the future.”