A £30MILLION scheme that will transform Blackburn’s Cathedral quarter, and which could create around 350 jobs, is set to get the green light this week.

A developer has been signed up for the project which has been scaled down considerably from plans originally announced four years ago.

But council and church bosses say they hope the development – which includes a hotel – will bring the “heartbeat and balance back to the centre of our town.”

Proposals include: a hotel with 70 bedrooms with retail and restaurants on the ground floor; 30,000 square foot office space; a new bus interchange; a ‘Clergy Court’ with 11 apartments and houses including a library, diocesan offices and refectory and a new square which will form the focal point of the scheme.

Funding for the project has been approved and council officers are waiting to be given the go-ahead by local councillors at the meeting on Thursday.

In 2007 the council had earmarked £70million for the Cathedral Quarter project, which included two major hotels, apartments, shops, cafes and a health club, Clare Turner, Blackburn council's development manager, said that it had been a ‘real feat’ to make this project a reality during a tough economic climate.

She said: “We have been working on this for the last ten years and it has been a lot of hard work to keep the scheme alive given the recession.

“It has been challenging and even though it is not what we had initially drawn up it is great that we are doing something for the town, especially considering the state of the economy at the moment.”

Preston-based Maple Grove Developments, who built the £21million Barbara Castle Way Health Centre, have been signed up to carry out the work.

They have previously worked with Booth's supermarkets and created the Wainwright Yard shopping area in Kendal.

In Blackburn they are hoping to create a modern mix of buildings to complement the historic cathedral.

Ms Turner, said: “The Cathedral Quarter development is the next transformational step in the delivery of an ambitious 15-year town centre strategy, driving up the competitiveness of Blackburn Town Centre against neighbouring towns and cities and substantially raising our regional profile to both investors and visitors alike.”

The cathedral will also be given a revamp with a new cloister-the first since medieval times-and the Crypt cafe will also be given a fresh look.

The Bishop of Blackburn, Nicholas Reade, said: "This development draws on two important examples of transformation which the church has contributed to in its service to, and working with, the community.

“The first was the vision which saw the conversion of Blackburn’s Parish Church into Lancashire’s great Cathedral, when the Diocese was created in 1926. The second is a new way of looking at community founded on faith in its neighbourhood.

“Together these two transformations will establish Blackburn as a beacon of hope for other positive changes in Lancashire’s life.

The scheme will also result in the clergy moving back into the town from their current homes around the town into a mix of houses and apartments yards away from the cathedral.

The Dean of Blackburn Cathedral, Christopher Armstrong said: “It’s an imaginative development which will bring the heartbeat and balance back to the centre of our town.

“It unites the commercial, administrative, spiritual and educational as well as helping to repopulate the town centre with a new community, transforming a neglected area and protecting the heritage of the town for future generations.”

The development is part of the local authority's £80million masterplan for the town, which includes the Youth Zone in Jubilee Street, the new Barbara Castle Way health centre, the Mall redevelopment.

Council bosses said that they would not occupy the new office buildings which would be offered to private sector companies including solicitors and national food chains.

Andrew Dewhurst, of Maple Grove Developments, said: “We are progressing the design work for the office and hotel buildings as well as the new public square. We will be sharing our plans with the public before lodging a planning application with the council.”

The plans will go in front of the Executive Board on Thursday and if given approval work on the scheme will start at the end of next year with a completion date of 2014.