BLACKBURN with Darwen's bid to become Britain's millennium city has been hit by a secret Whitehall assessment which brands it too small, too deprived and without history or royal connections.

The leaked document, drawn up by civil servants in the Home Office, makes clear they believe that Wolverhampton or Brighton and Hove would be the best choice for the Queen's accolade this summer.

There are 27 English towns to be whittled down to a short list and the winners will then compete with urban areas in Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland before a final recommendation is made to Buckingham Palace.

The assessment of the bid has yet to go to ministers and will not necessarily bind their decision. Local authorities may be asked for further information.

Home Secretary Jack Straw is prevented from taking any part in the process while Blackburn is still a runner because he is MP for Blackburn.

The assessment of Blackburn with Darwen is considerably worse than those for Wolverhampton and Brighton and Hove, and is also less glowing than that for Bolton branded as a "lively, thriving town and a focal point for the surrounding area."

But it is better than the descriptions of Blackpool - "a medium-sized seaside town with no royal associations and of fairly recent origin" - and Preston where "it is not clear how well the bid is supported locally, however, as a number of complaints have been made about Preston Council."

The assessments make clear that populations of around 200,000 or more is considered to be appropriate for city status. It then says: "Blackburn with Darwen has a population of around 140,000, considerably below the threshold for English towns.

"It has a long history of a regional centre within South East Lancashire and was a centre of the textile industry prior to its decline.

"The borough has worked hard to attract inward investments from a number of national and international companies but is attempting to recover from the decline of traditional industries.

"Although it has obtained national and European funding to regenerate the area, it is still the 41st most deprived area in England and Wales and there is nothing in its regeneration programme which marks it out from towns in a similar position.

"It has no significant royal or historical associations."

The document is currently with the Department of Environment, Transport and the Regions for comment before Mr Straw's junior minister Mike O'Brien starts work on producing the initial short list. There will then be discussions with the Scottish, Welsh and Northern Irish secretary before any final recommendation.

The leaked assessment is also bad news for Luton and Swindon - both of which considered themselves hot favourites.

Luton's claim to be a "focal point for the region" is rubbished while Swindon's application is branded "particularly materialistic." Hyndburn MP Greg Pope said: "Blackburn has plenty of history.

"This is typical civil servant speak - what does it matter whether the town has royal connections or not.

"I, and all the local MPs, will be lobbying for Blackburn to get city status because it will give a tremendous boost to East Lancashire as a whole."

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