AFTER the opening of the new market and the extended Mall, Blackburn town centre looks set for more major transformation.

Plans by Thwaites to sell its brewery site to Sainsbury’s could both bring more jobs and increase Blackburn’s attractiveness as a regional hub that will pull in shoppers from a wide area and compete vigorously with Preston and Bolton.

At the same time, Thwaites has announced that it plans to build a new state-of-the-art brewery and is talking to Blackburn with Darwen Council to try to identify a suitable local site for it within the borough.

The firm says the new complex will provide ‘a platform for long-term growth and sustain employment’.

The name of Thwaites has long been preceded by the words ‘Blackburn brewer’. The town and company have been together for more than 200 years.

The two are inextricably linked and it would be a tragedy if they were to part company.

Blackburn desperately needs to keep strong, respected manufacturing names like Thwaites, not to mention the 300 jobs they provide.

However, if the two projects go ahead as hoped, the result will be win-win for Blackburn.