PLANS have been lodged for as many as 100 new homes as well as a careers hub and industrial units on land at Milking Lane, Lower Darwen.

Previous proposals to build 180 homes on three sections of land, including the site of the former paper mill, collapsed in November 2015 after the developers and borough council failed to sign an agreement over affordable housing.

But now an application has been submitted to Blackburn with Darwen Council to bring the site back into use.

The site is now relatively undeveloped with the exception of two derelict office buildings which front Greenbank Terrace.

It was bought as a joint venture between Blackburn with Darwen Council and Barnfield Construction earlier this year.

They hope to develop the land near Junction 4 of the M65 as a business park, bringing new jobs to the area, and for housing.

Council bosses say the site is ideally located and will provide much-needed employment land for new businesses for local expansion and inward investment in the borough.

A design and access statement submitted as part of the application reads: “The lower parcel generally comprises the remnants of the of the former Lower Darwen Paper Mill, which dates back to the early 1890s.

“At its peak the mill occupied a footprint of approximately 9,628m2.

“The business was operational until the early 1990s when all the buildings were demolished.

“Some of the retaining walls, which support the steeply sloping banks, remain visible.

“The southern portion this lower parcel was subsequently developed as offices but never occupied and later abandoned.

“An application to demolish the abandoned buildings was submitted by Barnfield Blackburn Ltd and has been decided as prior approval not required."

“Details relating to layout, scale, appearance and landscaping will all be submitted as part of a separate reserved matters application following successful granting of outline planning permission.”