THE arrival of Akbar's Indian restaurant in Blackburn will be welcomed by the town's young people, senior councillors have been told.

Blackburn with Darwen's Youth MP Muhammad Bapu said the arrival of the national chain in King George's Hall would help keep them in the town for a night out rather than heading for Manchester.

He spoke out as the borough's executive board approved the lease to allow Akbar's to take over the former Blakey's Bar at the side of King George's Hall in Blackburn.

The premises in the town's new £50m cultural quarter was formerly home to the EastzEast restaurant, which shut in September.

Mr Bapu said: "I welcome this.

"This is the sort of thing young people want.

"It will help keep them in the town rather than going out in Manchester."

Borough regeneration boss Cllr Quesir Mahmood said: "Akbar's is the sort of high-end venue we want in the borough.

"It will be a great addition to our cultural quarter."

Council leader Cllr Phil Riley said: "One of the things we want to see is young people staying in the borough. This will help that."

A report to the board meeting said: "The purpose of this report is to seek approval to agree a 15-year lease with the Akbar restaurant chain to establish a new restaurant at the first floor, King George's Hall, Northgate, Blackburn.

"Akbar restaurants are high-quality and highly popular.

"They are established in many UK cities, including Leeds, Bradford, Manchester, Newcastle, Birmingham and Glasgow.

"The selection of Blackburn as a new location for this national brand is a significant and positive milestone for our town centre."

EastzEast Blackburn has no connection with eastZeast which runs restaurants in in Manchester, Preston, Bradford and Leeds.