A £7.5MILLION plan to bring luxury canalside living to the centre of Blackburn was unveiled today.

The former Warwick and Bailey mill, close to Bolton Road in the Infirmary area, will be demolished and replaced with a new 150-home estate to be called Waterside.

Council bosses - who are investing in the scheme along with national regeneration agency English Partnerships - said today they aimed to cater for a variety of buyers, including executives wanting apartments.

English Partnerships, which is investing £2.7million in the project, said it would model the development on a similar scheme in Northwich, but base it on demands in Blackburn.

Exact specifications are yet to be drawn up, but the luxury apartments aimed at executives are understood to be catering for a growing demand from people moving into the area and commuting further afield.

Prices of properties in traditional commuter areas - such as Ribble Valley - are now so high that up-and-coming developments in Blackburn are very popular.

It is one of several schemes aimed, in part, at the higher end of the housing market. Pub boss Margo Grimshaw's £7million plan for flats in the town centre - to include roof-top penthouses - were approved last month, while a new development at Eanam Wharf is also planned.

Bringing in more affluent buyers into previously rundown areas is seen by the Government as a good way of boosting communities, with local businesses benefiting from the knock-on spend.

Affordable housing will also be included on the site.

Coun Mohammed Khan, Blackburn with Darwen executive member for housing and neighbourhoods, said: "The demolition of the factory will help assemble enough land to form a significant first phase for new development.

"We want to rebuild a community in the Infirmary Waterside area that will last for generations to come.

"This is a once in a lifetime opportunity provided by the government to improve private sector housing and a great challenge and opportunity for the Council. This exciting high quality development will house both existing and new families and residents and is the first of several similar quality developments that will be carried forward in all parts of Blackburn with Darwen."

Blackburn MP Jack Straw was due to unveil details of the scheme today. He said: "These plans will transform this area, bringing real improvements to the lives of local residents.

"The government's housing market renewal programme is not a quick fix but a sustained investment over the next few years across the borough with the aim of regenerating the local housing market and acting as a catalyst for further private investment.

"As plans for this area show, the new build will improve the area dramatically with the knock-on effect of raising property values across the whole borough."

Paul Spooner, English Partnerships' regional director for the North West and West Midlands, said: "We are delighted to invest in this project. This is a strategic site and the improvements that are planned here will act as a catalyst for further regeneration. The demolition of the Warwick and Bailey building will make way for a new-build housing programme and overall the scheme will bring forward greater links to the town centre."

Max Steinberg, chief executive of Elevate , the housing market renewal agency working on plans for other parts of Infirmary, said "English Partnerships' investment supports Elevate's aim to make this neighbourhood a place where people choose to live and will help create a sustainable and attractive environment."