SAINSBURY'S have joined in the store wars over the development of the former Prestige factory site at Burnley.

They have submitted joint plans with a developer to transform the 11-acre site into a hotel, restaurant, garden centre, Homebase, Sainsbury food store, office and business and enterprise complex.

A second application has been received by Burnley Council for change of use of the present Sainsbury store in Church Street into three non-food shops.

It is hoped that more than 600 jobs will be provided on the site, included those which will be re-located from the Church Street store.

The Colne Road facade, a listed structure, will be retained but the remainder of the factory will be demolished to make way for the new development. Castlemore Securities have already put in an application to create 120,000 square feet of non food units on the Prestige site with the creation, they say, of 500 new jobs. It had long been rumoured that Sainsbury's were interested in the site but it was only yesterday that they showed their hand with the two joint applications with Thornfield Properties plc.

The plans show the redevelopment of the Adelphi Hotel on the side of the site close to Burnley Central Station, linked to restaurant facilities.

There are plans for extensive office space at the Colne Road end of the site.

The project includes 500 car parking spaces including 16 disabled spaces. Access to the site will be from Active Way.

A spokesman for both Sainsbury and Thornfield said more details would be revealed in about two week's time.

The applications may be put before councillors at the next planning committee meeting on May 28 when the Castlemore scheme is also scheduled to be discussed.

Whoever takes over the site, its development is seen as the final link in Burnley's evolution by effectively closing the gap between the town centre, adjoining Anchor Retail park and the Asda site in Princess Way.

Converted for the new archive on 14 July 2000. Some images and formatting may have been lost in the conversion.