DARWEN could become one of 12 towns transformed under recommendations from retail expert Mary Portas.

Last year, the retail adviser, who made her name in the BBC show Mary Queen Of Shops, was asked by the Prime Minister to lead an independent review into the future of Britain’s high street.

She came up with The Portas Review, a 28-point list of recommendations to turn round the fortunes of Britain’s town centres.

And now, Local Government Minister Grant Shapps has launched the Portas Pilots competition, based on the report.

Under the scheme, 12 towns or cities can bid for a share of £1million to become Portas Pilot towns.

Town MP Jake Berry said Darwen fitted the bill.

He said: “Darwen is perfect for this. The Portas Pilot scheme is looking for towns with markets at their heart.

“It is looking for different types of towns across the country as well. So it would be nice to have a seaside town, a countryside town, and a mill town like Darwen.

“I think this is hugely exciting for Darwen and I will work with the borough council and town council to try to win the competition.”

Mr Berry said planning was already under way to put a bid together for Darwen.

He said: “I have been working on this for the past two weeks with Blackburn with Darwen Borough Council.

“We intend to put a bid together, including a film on why Darwen should be a Portas Pilot town, to be done by media students at Darwen Academy.

“There is no guarantee of success, but lots of things from the report can be implemented even if we are unsuccessful.

“Really, I’d like to make Darwen a Portas Pilot before the competition closes.”

Blackburn with Darwen Councillor Dave Harling, executive member for Regeneration, said: “If there’s funding available to help make further improvements to either of our towns, it would always be useful.

“We’re passionate about making our town centres better and want both Blackburn and Darwen to have the best possible offers. We’re looking at the bid criteria now to see what benefits it could bring.”