A POPULAR local pub is to close tomorrow after owners Thwaites sold it to a developer.

Outline planning permission to develop the site for housing had already been approved at the Punch Bowl at Pothouse as the Blackburn brewery looked to offload the pub.

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And landlady Jean Powell, 60, confirmed she would be leaving the Roman Road pub and retiring from the trade following   the closure.

Mrs Powell, who has been at the pub for four years, said: “I have enjoyed it here.

“It’s a nice, friendly local and I have never had any trouble. It is a shame it will be going.

“There are some great characters who come in and I will miss them all terribly.”

Mrs Powell previously ran The Foundry in Birley Street, Blackburn, for a decade before the smoking ban came in.

Mrs Powell said she had enjoyed a party weekend ahead of closing tomorrow.

She said: “I want to thank all my regulars for making this a great pub while I have been here.

“I would also like to thank my darts team, Bella and Chris and everyone in the pool team.

“Hopefully I will see them all in the next couple of days for a farewell drink.”

Last year, regulars at the pub signed a petition and lodged an application to have the pub protected from development as an asset of community value.

The application is still being considered by Blackburn with Darwen Council’s planning department.

A spokesman for Thwaites said: “We have exchanged contracts on the sale of the Punch Bowl, which will be completed on Friday.

“Unfortunately, The pub is   no   longer sustainable and is therefore being sold as a development opportunity.

“We are aware that it has been nominated for registration as an Asset of Community Value.

“However this has not yet been adopted and will be a matter for resolution under the new ownership.”