HUNDREDS of Blackburn jobs will be lost if Preston’s multi-million pound expansion goes ahead, council bosses have warned.

Blackburn with Darwen Council also claimed the town’s retail turnover would drop by more than £31million because of the £700million Tithebarn project, which was given planning permission yesterday.

It hopes the gloomy forecasts, prepared by the public service consultant Tribal Group, will persuade the government to demand a public inquiry into the plans.

Tory council leader Mike Lee said: “These are my fears as well. There is only so much to go around at the moment.”

The Tithebarn scheme would see Preston bus station demolished and 81,000 square metres of floor space created.

According to the Tribal report, if becomes a reality:

  • Blackburn’s retail turnover would fall by as much as £31million a year
  • 570 retail jobs would be lost
  • The amount lost in wages to the town would be £8.2million.

In its conclusions, Tribal said Blackburn with Darwen had experienced “social unrest” and “political extremism between communities” in recent years.

It added: “If this is further exacerbated by investment decisions that hasten or deepen that decline over the longer-term then we believe that this is a major cause for concern.”

Blackburn with Darwen, along with Blackpool Council, has faced stinging criticism for the way it has opposed the scheme.

The two councils have been branded “nimbies” and Preston bosses were furious after they wrote to local businesses urging them to oppose the scale of the development.

But Coun Lee insisted they were not scaremongering. He said: “It’s all backed up and it’s all legitimate.”