PLANS have been submitted for a large new adult care facility in Ewood, on the site of the former Albion Mill.

Verum Victum Healthcare has worked with Blackburn with Darwen Borough Council’s housing and adult services departments to identify the need for extra care facilities within the town.

The planning application is for a 91 apartment Extra Care complex, which will include other facilities within it for the use of residents, such as hairdressers and a restaurant.

The development will meet a need identified by Blackburn Council’s housing department.

A decision could be made in the late summer and the company says it could be open by early 2016 if approved.

Roy Kenny from Verum Victum Healthcare said: “We recently held a public consultation event in both Mill Hill Community Centre and directly to the residents of Brackendale, the home directly adjacent to the site, to inform the neighbours of the proposed new development.

He added people had the opportunity to comment on the application and 94.7 per cent of responses were in support of the scheme.

Mohammed Khan, Blackburn’s executive member for the Health & Adult Social Care, said: “We definitely need extra care, and facilities like these are the best way for people who want to live independently instead of in a residential home.”

Albion Mill, in Albion Street opened in the 1850s, was closed due to lack of orders in 1975 and was demolished in 2010 after falling into disrepair.

The site had been used by community groups, but closed in 2008, leaving 200 indoor bowlers searching for a new base.